Finding a good real estate agent can be a challenge. You want to find and work with a partner that understands your needs, adapts to your personality, and eventually helps you achieve your goals. Finding the partner you click with is crucial to the transaction’s success since real estate is a very interpersonal profession. If your goals and personality don’t align with the agent who came highly recommended by those around you, that agent may not be the best fit for you. Therefore, interviewing potential real estate agents is crucial to identify the best fit for your demands, and hopefully, they will make an excellent first impression. But where do you even begin? To help you, we compiled a list of essential questions to ask your real estate agent to ensure you find the right partner.

Is the real estate agent a full-time or part-time agent?

Of course, there are a lot of excellent part-time agents. Unfortunately, working part-time can sometimes limit your time interacting with your agent. They might still be good agents, but if they have many clients simultaneously, they must be great at time management to have enough time for each client.

On the other hand, full-time agents typically have more transactions and more significant experience. A full-time agent’s only emphasis is clients like you, so they have more time to respond to your requirements since they focus more on you and your needs. After all, you don’t want to compete with other clients for your agent’s attention. Also, if your agent is part of a real estate team, ensure you have spoken with or know how to reach the other team members if you can’t contact your primary agent.

Does your agent work with buyers or sellers?

The processes of buying and selling a property are similar yet distinct, and each demands particular expertise. The terms buyer agent and seller agent refer to two different vocations, which many people are unaware of. Although many agents work in both areas, you could discover that if you want to sell your house, your agent has minimal expertise working on the sell side or the opposite. Real estate transactions are complicated; much is at stake if something goes wrong. As a result, ensure that at least some of the recommendations you find while looking through your agent’s previous work are from the side of the transaction you need them for.

Does your agent have experience with the local market?

Every city is unique. Therefore, the region where you are interested in buying or selling has distinct economic and lifestyle influences that add complexity to the area. Real estate agents typically specialize in working in a particular region. Take Missouri as an example. When you work with a reputable local real estate agent, you get a professional intimately familiar with the area. They know the market like the back of their hand and can give you all the tips that apply to this market.

On the other hand, you probably wouldn’t trust a Florida-based agent to complete the sale of your property in Missouri. They won’t be as familiar with the local market and won’t have the same insider information. Therefore, finding a real estate agent in the region that is familiar with the area, like a local, is crucial.

Does your agent have connections with specialists in other fields?

As you probably know, buying and selling a home can require you to work with other experts in different fields. For instance, you might need a house inspection before buying a property. If you have an agent with connections all over the city with various experts, they can probably recommend a good house inspector. Also, you might need a professional decorator or stager, cleaning services, maintenance specialists, or a lawyer. In addition, with the help of a connected real estate agent, you can easily find a helpful moving team that can help you relocate cross-country from Missouri if that is what you need. Therefore, one of the essential questions to ask your real estate agent should be related to their connection with other experts in the area.

What is your agent’s overall experience?

When you plan to sell a property, you need a real estate professional to evaluate it at its fair market value and negotiate for the highest possible sale price. To do this, you need to look for someone who naturally possesses excellent communication skills and has worked hard to establish a connection with their clients. They should be able to calm your fears and reassure the most demanding customers since experience breeds confidence.

At the same time, considering that most real estate agents pick up their skills on the job, the more transactions an agent has closed, the more knowledgeable they are. Therefore, you should search for agents who have completed sufficient transactions and can handle deals from listing to closing. In addition, you cannot overlook the importance of education. As a result, you should look for a real estate agent working hard to enrich their knowledge and qualifications and grow their expertise.

Furthermore, as mentioned above, choosing an agent with expertise in your property type and region is just as essential. The commercial, rural, and urban house markets need different knowledge bases and skill sets. So choose a real estate agent with experience selling or buying properties that are similar to yours and in your area.

Can your agent provide some feedback from past clients?

Asking an agent for a few current references is usually a good idea, just as with any other professional you consider working with. The information you receive from references will give you an idea about your agent’s working connection and relationship with past clients. That will enable you to decide whether the agent is a suitable fit for you. In addition, if possible, ask the references about the agent’s communication style, how long it took them to find a property or a buyer, how helpful the agent was at each step of the process, and whether or not they would use them again.

Final thoughts

There are many essential questions to ask your real estate agent. However, the ones we listed in this article are among the most important. So if you want to ensure you find a true professional to work with, use this list as a guide. We guarantee that you will find your perfect partner no matter what real estate transaction you must close.

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