Asking around is usually how people hook up with agents. If you check the Yellow Pages, you'll see that real estate agents are plentiful. Whether you've gotten a referral or called cold, here's what to ask:

1. How long have you been an agent?
  • Someone with five or more years of experience has probably been successful.
2. How long have you found and sold houses in this area?
  • Someone with five or more years of experience in the neighborhood would be best.
3. What types of homes do you specialize in, and in what median price range?
  • If you're looking for a lower price home in a specific area, the person representing you should be a specialist in that market.
4. How long have you been with your present company?
  • If the agent has worked there a year or more, the office probably provides good support.
5. Do you have partners or assistants who help you with customers?
  • If the agent works out of their home and doesn't have an office, it could be a sign that this person is working only part-time in real estate.
6. Do you do this full time or part time?
  • There are a lot of well-intentioned folks out there who do real estate as a sideline, but you need and agent who eats, breathes and dreams real estate.
7. What times are you available to help?
  • Your agent should work around your schedule, to the best of his or her ability. You're the customer.
8. Will you be available to help me over the next 10 weeks or do you have other commitments?
  • Make sure the agent doesn't have a cruise or plastic surgery scheduled when you expect to be making an offer on a house.
9. What do I need to do to make this work?
  • A good agent will tell you what he or she needs from you, including, pre-qualification for loans or other house-hunting information
10. What will you be doing to look out for me?
  • They should outline for you how much they'll look at listings for you, the names of escrow companies or lawyers they work with, title companies and lenders they may have lined up, the names of trustworthy home and termite inspectors.
11. How much contact will we have?
  • The agent should inform you when and how you'll be contacted during the week and on weekends. Also, they should advise you if the hours they'll take you around each week to look at new listings.

If the answers aren't fully satisfactory, you might want to contact three of the agents' references and ask each of them two questions:

  • What are the agent's strong points and weak points?
  • Would you use this agent again to help you buy or sell your home?

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