Hi Brratzy,
It sounds like you don't have one agent working for you. If you are not registered as a buyer on ziprealty.com I recommend that you sign up - it's free and we have really great Realtors who pride themselves on giving excellent service (I know because I am one of them). If you are registered on ziprealty.com and you are not getting excellent service you can request a different agent from the site. Meet with your ZipRealty agent - he or she can explain the home buying process and you can let him/her know what you're looking for. We'll send you listings that meet your criteria and get you in to see the listings that you like. Once you have found the right house, your ZipRealty agent will prepare an offer to purchase and represent you, safeguarding your interests, all the way through closing.
I would avoid calling listing agents directly - they have a fiduciary duty to the seller and may not be able to represent you as well as a buyers agent can. I would also recommend against having more than one buyers agent with some sort of "whoever finds the house first gets the deal" competition. Most good agents will not want to play that game.
As for buying a home site unseen, that is very unusual and I would advise strongly against it. Sometime sellers list a property asking for offers "subject to inspection". This means that prospective buyers will not be able to see the house prior to making an offer, but the offer is contingent upon the buyer approving the condition of the property after the offer is accepted. This is most common when the property is occupied b a tenant who is less than cooperative or possibly does not know that the property is for sale.
I hope this helps - Good luck!
