I am exclusively using Zillow and my realtor will send me properties through the MLS as well.

All of my notes are exclusively in SA.

You lose the Sec121 exclusion and I believe an accountant will tell you that since you are personally using a "business" asset, you've screwed yourself over (is my layman's way of putting it). 

Some of the rights you transfer are: Possession - the right to occupy the property, Exclusion - the right to choose who can enter (visit) the property, Enjoyment - the right to participate in any activities he or she finds pleasurable without outside interference (baring any criminal activities, excessive noise, etc.) and Control - the right to legally use the property as the occupants see fit, again, baring any criminal activities. 

While not mutually exclusive options, the career piece comes down to what you'd love to do and the lifestyle you want combined with the gifts and talents you have which will make you fulfilled.

You also may want to look into IRC 121, which allows for exclusion of capital gain upon sale of a primary residence if you owned it for 2 of the last 5 years. 

The conversation depending on how good of a sales person that agent is, usually results in a buyer broker agreement which basically states that the prospect agrees to become a client and will work exclusively with the agent that they have signed with.

It is pretty normal for an agent to ask you to sign an exclusivity statement, it is really to protect them - nobody wants to hustle to get you a deal and have you turn around an use another agent to close.

That being said...After 5 years you won't be able to take the sec121 exclusion on capital gains. 

I thought it would be the base I would be stationed at forever, so I bought in an exclusive part of this neighborhood.