There is also a line of arguement that suggests that if you are starting from a position of not knowing much about a market or buying somewhere for the first time a good agent can be very helpful indeed and not a bad place to start at all.
There are many so factors about abuying abroad for the first time that i would never advise someone to do it on their own
I personally would not pay any sort of deposit straight away and see what sort of information i was provided with, what service levels i was given, and if i liked and trusted them to decide if i was happy to continue the relationship with an agent. I would also undertake a level of research myself that i thought was appropriate.
Of course an agent will be paid on comission and you can never go away from that, but a good one will offer solid information and are industry experts. They also can have really good contacts and offers that the man in the street will often never hear of.
I totally agree that money spent on research is never wasted and it is sound to have some idea what you want before you do anything, but what if you have not got the time or inclanation to undertake indepth research and local travel? does this mean you cannot sucessfully buy overseas?
When looking for "good" agents there is an organisation recently set up called the association of international property professionals that has self regulating industry guidelines.
Their memebers have to adhere to their guidelines and represent thier clients best intrests at all times. They can provide you with the details of lots of agents within their organisation selling all over the world and can also help you in many ways as well. www.aipp.org.uk
It is unfortunate that there are "bad agents" out there and stories like the ones listed earlier about misrepresentation etc etc, but there are also some really professional, diligent, and shrewd business people willing to ease your purchase of really competitive overseas property that desreve your trust.
Mark