Questions to Ask a Real Estate Agent

You’ll want to find a knowledgeable, credible agent with lots of experience who can easily answer all your questions. (And if you don’t have a buyer’s agent or a listing agent—depending on your needs—APM is more than happy to recommend a few.)

Hiring a real estate agent is entering into a business relationship. Buying or selling a home is a business transaction, and a good agent will help you make the best decisions for your family, your housing needs, and your financial future.

So where do you start?

Whether you’re a first-time homebuyer or looking to sell your home for the first time, these six questions can kick-start your search for the perfect real estate agent.

1. “What neighborhoods are you most familiar with?”

You’ve probably heard that real estate is all about location, location, location. Well, here’s something you may not know: Location doesn’t pertain only to the house! It’s important for the realtor as well. 

Look at listing agents who are dialed in and have vast experience within your desired market. The best real estate agents will be able to supply information about the neighborhood, trends, crime, and schools. 

Beyond that, listing agents and buyer’s agents who are familiar with a neighborhood should be able to tell you about their recent real estate transactions in those areas. This is invaluable during the homebuying process or if you’re selling your home.

2. “Will I be working directly with you or one of your associates?”

Getting a straight answer to this can be tricky. Many listing agents and buyer’s agents have the best of intentions. They want to work directly with all their clients, but time doesn’t always allow that. Others may be worried that if they say most of your contact will be with someone else, then you won’t use them as your real estate agent.

If you do prefer a more hands-on experience, then you need to know whether your real estate agent will have time to work directly with you, or if they’re planning to hand you off to an assistant or associate. 

One way to do this is to find out how busy they are. Having a lot of clients is a sign of a good agent, but it may also be a sign that you won’t get the one-on-one attention you really want.

Depending on how important this is to you, you can always try communicating with the agent for a day or two. Send them questions here and there, and then see if they respond or just pass you along to other team members. 

It’s always best to lay out your expectations before agreeing to work with a real estate agent. 

3. “What’s the status of your license and standing?”

Checking up on someone’s license can be awkward, we know. Luckily, this isn’t so much a question you have to ask them as one you should figure out for yourself. 

Visit the California Bureau of Real Estate website at your leisure to make sure that the real estate agent you’re considering has an active license and is in good standing. 

In such a competitive market, you want to go with a reputable listing agent or buyer’s agent with a squeaky-clean track record. You can’t afford not to!

4. “Can you provide me with some references from recent clients?”

There may be no better way to gauge a real estate agent’s skills, style, and quirks than speaking with past clients. Getting to know the agent through the experience of others could provide a level of comfort that’s hard to achieve by simply reading online reviews. 

Remember, signing on with a real estate agent is entering into a business relationship. You’re essentially interviewing for the job of being your listing agent or buyer’s agent. With that in mind, it’s completely appropriate to ask for references! 

Since these references will be coming from the real estate agent—who will likely choose clients who will sing their praises—you might want to prepare a variety of questions. Try some of these:

  • “What could the real estate agent have done better?”
  • “What’s a challenge the real estate agent faced during your transaction, and how well did they handle it?”
  • “Were you ever nervous you weren’t going to have your bid accepted or wouldn’t sell your house at a price you were comfortable with?”

5. “Can you tell me about your experience and education?”

This open-ended question will allow the agent you’re considering to highlight some of their proudest professional moments while making their sales pitch to you. 

While you’re taking note of their credentials, listen carefully to how they sell themselves. This can give you some insight into how they’ll handle your transaction later on, as well as how they’ll interact with other agents or lenders.

6. “When are you available, and how will I be able to reach you?”

Your relationship with your real estate agent will be filled with trust, transparency, and open communication. At least it should be. 

Because the real estate market moves so quickly, you’ll need an agent who is easy to reach so you don’t miss out on any golden opportunities. Find out if it’s easiest to contact your agent by text, email, or phone call—and also how they prefer to contact you. 

Along the same lines, ask the agent what their normal working hours are. A realtor who works part time or takes weekends off might not be around when you need them most! 

Whether you’re selling a house or want to buy one, real estate transactions take a team of people to accomplish. Asking the right questions of any potential real estate agent is crucial. 

We buy houses in Lake Charles

How to Hire a Real Estate Agent

Real estate agents are a dime a dozen, right? While it’s true that buyer’s agents and seller’s agents are in no short supply, a good real estate agent is something to appreciate. So how do you know if they’re good, and—even better—how do you know if they’re good for you

Thankfully, there are plenty of ways to separate outstanding real estate agents from the rest. And it’s easy to determine whether they’re a fit for you. 

First, let’s start with the broader question: Is this real estate agent any good, period?

Check Online Reviews

Buying or selling a home is one of the biggest financial investments you’ll make. Don’t go into it blind! Luckily, you have a little thing called the World Wide Web to help steer you in the right direction. 

Even if you used Google to find some promising real estate agents, go a step further and Google each agent’s name, along with words like “review” or “rating.” Google, Yelp, and real estate listing websites also publish online reviews on buyer’s agents and seller’s agents. 

Be sure to read both the good reviews and the bad ones (you can usually sort reviews by rating). 

Beyond whether the agent was friendly or not, you want to get a sense of how knowledgeable they were, how quickly they communicated, whether this real estate agent works directly with most clients or passes them off to assistants and other agents, and how they handled any problems that arose during the homebuying process and throughout the real estate transaction. 

Review Their Social Media Accounts

A good real estate agent’s social media pages should be free of errors like typos, poor grammar, and problematic punctuation. Beyond that, these channels shouldn’t contain any promises that you know they can’t keep (e.g., “Just hire me and watch the bidding wars begin!” or “I guarantee you’ll pay way below listing price if you go with me!”). 

Don’t just look at their posts, however. Look at how many followers they have, as well as how they respond to any comments. Is the real estate agent welcoming? Do they answer any questions posed? How do they handle remarks or suggestions (of both the positive and negative varieties)? 

Many real estate agents use these channels to position themselves as experts in the real estate market. For this reason, you want to review the information they’re providing. Is it accurate? Are their links from credible sources, or do they direct you to news sites you’ve never heard of? 

Finally, it’s great if a real estate agent adds some personal touches to their social media channels—maybe a little about their family, hobbies, or background. But it could be a red flag if the page gets too personal. Passive-aggressive posts and or negativity could be a sign to run for the hills!

Ask Friends and Family for Referrals

Who better to trust than your friends and family? 

If you know someone who has recently bought or sold a house, ask them how their experience was. 

Would they recommend their agent? What did they like about them? What didn’t they like? Did any surprises pop up, and if so how did the real estate agent handle them?

Don’t forget that your friends and family may know a great realtor even if they haven’t bought or sold a home recently. You never know whose neighbor, carpool mate, bridge partner—you name it—may be a successful realtor or have a close connection to one. 

Now let’s get a bit more granular. You’ve already found a few candidates, thanks to the strategies above, and it’s come down to who’s the best fit for you

That’s an easy one …

Ask Questions

It’s a novel approach, we know, but before you hire a real estate agent, you should actually ask them a few questions. 

If you’re a first-time homebuyer, then you want a buyer’s agent who’s a pro at showing newbies the ropes. If you’re going to be selling your home, then you want someone who can walk in, see the value of your home, and identify what should be highlighted and what may need to be repaired. 

You also want an agent who specializes in your neighborhood. That means in your desired neighborhood if you need a buyer’s agent and in your current neighborhood if you’re looking to sell your home. 

Ask for some references, and give them a call. Ask the same questions you would if a family member had referred a real estate agent. 

From there, it’s a matter of preference and comfort. It’s a good idea to drop in on one of their open houses if possible to see how they interact with interested buyers.

Pay close attention to how the agent responds to your requests and questions. You want someone who provides quick, concise, and honest answers … not someone whose out-of-office is always up or who has an assistant constantly apologizing for a delayed response. 

The business relationship you have with a real estate agent is a serious one—one that requires some time and attention.