Picking a Real Estate Agent - Boston, Massachusetts

[Maxwell Kaplan]

I'm a new investor and looking to learn what are the best practices when it comes to working with real estate agents and what to expect of them? Is it acceptable to work with more than one agent if you have them covering different areas in (i.e. agent for boston area, agent for north shore, and an agent for south shore)? My thought was that agents in different geographies know their market best and might have knowledge of off-market listings, which I don't want to miss out on. Given how challenging the market is in the greater boston area I am including a lot of towns as I'm looking for the property that has the best chance to cash flow. The other conundrum I face is I know quite a few agents, both friends and family. What's the best way to go about picking and working with an agent? (thank you in advance for the help)