Buying and selling real estate is different in every state. Particularly with residential real estate, agents are used to dealing with inexperienced buyers and sellers. If you’ve been through the process in CA before, and are an experienced and concientious buyer, you should have no problem navigating the process without an agent representing you. Agents get paid for the service they provide, sometimes it’s their experience, sometimes it’s just hand holding that’s required. If you don’t think you need that service, negotiate that savings accordingly and do it yourself.