How to Choose a Real Estate Agent: Questions for Buyers and Sellers

Choose the person who will handle your difficult moments

Many agents can open a door or publish a listing. The difference becomes visible when a buyer needs to judge a rushed offer, an inspection uncovers a serious problem, a seller receives two complicated proposals, or a deadline falls on the agent’s day off. Interview for judgment, communication, and follow-through—not just friendliness or a sales total.

Talk with at least two or three candidates who regularly do the kind of transaction you need in the relevant market and price range. Tell each person the same facts: timing, financing, property type, location, sale contingency, communication needs, and any relocation complication. Their questions about your situation are part of the interview.

Verify the basics before evaluating the pitch

Ask for the agent’s full licensed name and license number, then check the state real estate regulator. ARELLO offers a multi-jurisdiction licensee verification database using data from participating regulators; when a jurisdiction is not covered or a result is unclear, use the state’s official commission or licensing agency. Confirm active status and any public disciplinary information the regulator provides.

“REALTOR®” means membership in the National Association of REALTORS®; it is not another word for every licensed real estate agent. A broker, salesperson, associate broker, and team member can also have different legal roles depending on the state. Ask who will represent you, who supervises that person, and whose name will appear on the agreement.

Recent relevant experience matters more than a lifetime transaction count. A buyer seeking a rural property with a well and septic system needs different issue-spotting from a downtown condo buyer. A seller coordinating a vacant home from another state needs a strong vendor, security, and communication process. Ask for examples without requesting confidential client information. If the destination itself is unfamiliar, separate the agent interview from the wider work of evaluating an unfamiliar place.

Questions a buyer should ask

Buyer interview questions

“How would you help me narrow this market?” Listen for commute, property type, address-level cost, insurance, condition, and daily-life questions—not a generic neighborhood ranking.
“How many buyers like me have you represented recently?” Ask for the property type, price band, financing, geography, and challenges that make the experience relevant.
“Who shows a home if you are unavailable?” Learn the normal response time, evening or weekend coverage, team structure, and whether another person changes representation.
“How do you help me evaluate an offer?” Look for price evidence, contingencies, timing, cash needs, appraisal risk, inspection choices, and a clear explanation of trade-offs.
“Which professionals do I still choose independently?” The agent may suggest lenders, inspectors, attorneys, title or escrow providers, but should explain choices and conflicts without demanding one vendor.
“What happens after an inspection finds a major problem?” Ask for the process and local options, not a prediction that every issue will be fixed.
“May I speak with recent clients?” Ask for recent, relevant contacts rather than only hand-picked long-term references, subject to the clients’ permission.

A distant buyer should add questions about live video tours, agent previews, inspection attendance, final walk-throughs, remote documents, local insurance constraints, and how showing trips will be concentrated. The long-distance home-buying guide explains how those roles fit the wider purchase and move.

Questions a seller should ask

Seller interview questions

“Show me how you reached the recommended list price.” Ask which comparable sales matter, which do not, how current competition changes the strategy, and what would trigger a price discussion.
“What should I repair, prepare, or leave alone?” Request a prioritized plan tied to buyer expectations and likely return, not a long vendor wish list.
“How will this specific home be presented?” Ask about photography, description, floor plan, showings, accessibility, launch timing, feedback, and marketing beyond the agent’s own contacts.
“How will you compare offers?” Price is one term. Ask how financing, appraisal, contingencies, concessions, closing, possession, and buyer strength will be explained.
“Who handles showings and urgent issues?” Learn whether the listing agent, team member, showing service, or lockbox process is involved and how the home is secured.
“What reports will I receive?” Agree on showing feedback, online activity, competing listings, market changes, offer communication, and a regular review schedule.
“How do you manage a vacant or long-distance sale?” Ask about inspections, vendors, storm or freeze checks, mail, keys, security, utilities, and documented approval of expenses.

Compare evidence and working style on one page

Agent comparison sheet

Record the evidence behind each answer
Criterion	Evidence to record	Warning sign
Relevant experience	Recent similar clients, properties, locations, and problems handled.	Large lifetime number with no connection to your transaction.
Availability	Response expectations, showing coverage, backup person, vacation or workload plan.	“Always available” with no actual coverage process.
Local judgment	Specific explanation of price, condition, insurance, disclosures, demand, and address-level trade-offs.	Only promotional neighborhood claims or certainty about future value.
Communication	Preferred channel, decision summaries, document review, update frequency, and escalation.	Pressure to decide before questions or documents are understood.
Agreement	Services, duration, area, representation, compensation, expenses, termination, and post-termination terms.	Verbal assurances that contradict or avoid the written agreement.

Read the agreement before the relationship becomes urgent

Buyer and listing agreements describe services, duties, duration, compensation, and termination. Terms and state law vary. Ask the candidate to explain every blank and clause before signing, and obtain legal advice for a contract question the agent cannot answer.

NAR’s national practice changes require many MLS participants working with buyers to enter a written buyer agreement before touring a home, including a live virtual tour, as of August 17, 2024. This is an industry practice rule for covered professionals, not a universal state law governing every person or situation. Open houses attended independently and initial conversations about services are treated differently under NAR’s guide. Compensation is negotiable and should be stated clearly in the agreement.

Ask how to change or end the relationship, what happens to properties or buyers introduced during the term, which expenses require approval, and whether the agreement is exclusive. Do not choose an agent based on a promised commission figure without comparing the services and contract.

Choose clarity over confidence

The strongest candidate does not need to predict the market perfectly. They explain what is known, what must be verified, what choices belong to you, and how they will respond when facts change. They can disagree without creating pressure and can put the agreed process in writing.

Before making the selection, call the references, verify the license, read the agreement, and send one follow-up question. The quality and speed of that response is useful evidence. Then tell the chosen agent what communication, decision, and documentation habits helped earn the work.