A trust worthy agent won’t do what is easiest but what is best for you. The main focus of the interview process is to really determine how trust worthy they are.

AN INSIDERS TIP: You aren’t looking for the most experienced agent but one that you can trust. When you interview an agent you are trying to determine how they work and will they be looking out for your best interest.

Here is the typical list of agent interview questions;

-         How long have you been in business?

-         Tell me about your knowledge and experience in the neighborhoods I’m interested in.

-         How many transactions did you have last year?

-         How many listings do you have?

-         Tell me about any awards you have?

These are superficial and won’t give you any real insight about the agent.  These questions are mostly focused on experience but the problem with this is;

-         Experienced agents can get into habits and ruts about the way they practice real estate. They don’t always adapt. The most experienced agent isn’t always the best agent.

-         A competent agent doesn’t have to be solely focused on a particular neighborhood or area of town. As a buyer’s agent I work all over our market and can fully represent someone even if I don’t specialize in the area. (There are exceptions. If you are looking for something specialized like urban housing, investment property, a farm, etc then you would want an agent who understand the issues that are specific to these transactions)

-         The high volume producers will likely have a team, which means you may not even work with the top agent. They have a staff of agents who actually handle the transactions. It’s highly likely you may be assigned to someone you haven’t even met yet.

-         Some high volume agents are great at getting clients but it doesn’t mean they are the best at handling transactions. .

WHAT THEY AREN’T TELLING YOU; Agents with a team approach often delegate the transaction to a buyers agent on their team and the Top Producer will cherry pick the clients they want to work with. Having a team simply allows the agent to handle a large volume of clients.

Here is what you are trying to determine when interviewing an agent;

-         Are they trustworthy?

-         Will they go to bat for me? Are they going to structure the best deal possible for me?

-         Do they know how to negotiate and can they negotiate the best deal for me?

-         Are they going to sell me a house or show me a house?

-         Are they going to do what is easiest or what is best for me?

-     Are they a “yes man” or will they be able to confront me when they need to?