One of the joys of writing for Realty Times is engaging in dialogs with consumers and with real estate agents. But the letter that I received from this upset buyer touched me, especially because she followed the advice that she had read in Realty Times - to hire an agent to help her find a home and sign a buyer's representation agreement to strengthen the bond between agent and buyer. Her disappointing results could be attributed to the fact that she simply got the wrong agent, but unfortunately there are many agents who operate the way Terry describes her agent, Katy. Most agents would feel fortunate to work with a first-time buyer like Terry. A transfering nurse, Terry was anxious to move into a home, and planned to be in the home only about three years before moving on. Any agent who helped her would have a great shot at reselling the same home in a very short time. Terry was also fully prepared to buy. She was pre-qualified for a loan with a locked-in rate. She outlined to her buyer's agent, Katy, exactly what she wanted and how much she could spend. To move the process along, Terry even passed out flyers in the neighborhood she was interested in telling homeowners that she wanted to buy a home. She passed the names of two potential sellers along to her agent. Terry went so far as to sign a seven-month buyer's representation agreement, believing that an agreement would cause her agent to take her mission to find a home more seriously. She only found out later that three to six-month agreements are customary. How did Katy reward her enthusiastic buyer? By dragging along her seven-year-old son uninvited to showings, pleading single parenthood as her excuse; By showing Terry her own brokerage's listings first, insisting that these were "the best" listings, and making discouraging remarks when Terry wanted to see other brokerages' homes; By asking Terry to drive by houses that interested her first, but failed to help narrow the list by previewing the homes herself or providing Terry with sufficient details to help her earmark homes in advance; By taking days to return Terry's calls; By always being in a hurry, causing Terry to feel as if she were unimportant or taking too much time; By never offering to take Terry to homes, preferring to meet her at each home instead; By so closely scheduling her appointments that she never left time to discuss the homes she showed Terry; By not learning in advance where the homes are located, instead relying on Terry to map them and navigate their way to them while she followed behind in her car; By never providing a CMA for Terry even when she tried twice to put contracts on two different homes; By telling Terry that she was giving her the same attention any agent would give; By seldom making herself available on the weekends to look at homes when Terry was available to look; By making Terry wait until she returned from one of her frequent out-of-town weekend trips to take her offer to a seller who had meanwhile accepted another contract, causing Terry to miss the home of her dreams; Incredibly, after all this, Terry hung in there and put a contract on the second home of her choice. But the transaction didn't go smoothly. After making an offer of $110,000 on a $111,000 listing, the inspection revealed close to $10,000 worth of repairs needed including the replacement of an ancient furnace. A radon report also came back positive. Terry wanted to know what to do. Katy told Terry that she couldn't advise her. Terry also learned that the home had been purchased only a year before, and some cosmetic improvements were added, but $16,000 was also added to the price of the price of the home. The agent had told her earlier that homes were appreciating at about 2.5 percent a year, yet could not explain why this home was worth so much more than other comparables in the area, particularly close to two highways and with a small lot. "I was not asking her what I should offer/should have offered, because she said she wasn't allowed to be that specific. She couldn't say, either, whether 14k was an incredible gain for modest remodeling, in general, for one year ownership," wrote Terry. "It had been remodeled cosmetically, but no flooring was needed, and no plumbing or kitchen cabinets--just paint, floor sanding (1100-1800.00) a bathroom vanity, and knocking out a small bedroom wall/closing off a door. Why 16K more, and should they expect to get 14k over their purchase price in one year?" Terry further complained, "When the radon results came back positive, and she knew it needed fixing, she didn't urge me to stick to my guns. She became irritable and flip, and said, "He's offering 700.00. You could offer him something more off the purchase price, but I don't think he'll take it." When Terry and Katy met with the seller, Katy hinted to the seller that she didn't think the radon was a big deal. Consequently, the seller refused to negotiate the repairs, and insulted Terry with the comment that she must have a problem with trust. Katy defended the seller and said the home was worth the negotiated price. At that point, Terry decided to back out of the contract, at a $700 loss. "Indeed I had lost all trust after that discussion---in her, in the buyer's agent system," wrote Terry. "You have to wonder how she didn't realize it would anger me, and later anger the seller too, when I explained to him it was a matter of mathematics only, and that refusal to pay radon expenses was simply the straw that finally collapsed the deal." When the deal fell through, Katy presented an already drawn-up and signed release of representation form. She said, "I'm sure you want this as much as I do," At that point, I sorely did," wrote Terry. "Apparently, my money was good if I wanted the house, but I was not welcome if not." Terry writes that the home is still available for sale, and she is still interested, but she feels burned. She is worried about being forced to pay Katy if she were to make another offer on the home. She is considering starting fresh with a new home search, but now questions whether or not she should use a "buyer's agent" again. So what should Terry do? If you are an agent, please write your response to this story and what advice you have for Terry.