The first important choice in a house purchase is choosing a REALTOR®, and choosing the wrong one can cost a buyer or seller far more than the commission line. Experience, market expertise, communication style, and the new buyer-broker compensation regulations that went into effect nationwide are all covered by the appropriate 20 questions, allowing you to hire based on facts rather than impressions.
For most people, purchasing or selling a home is the biggest transaction they will ever make. Buyers and sellers typically don't realize how much of the outcome is controlled by the agent driving it. negotiating a price. inspection reaction. transfer of escrow. whether the deal closes on schedule or fails during the appraisal phase. The REALTOR® is the conduit for everything.
The good ones get paid more than their commission. The bad ones cost their clients time, money, and, in many cases, the house itself.
When hiring an agent, three factors are important. knowledge. local expertise. whether their response to a challenging question is genuine or a diversion.
You can obtain such answers in a single 30-minute interview by answering the questions listed below. That interview will be attended by every agent who is worth employing. Any agent who opposes it ought to immediately disqualify themself.
Some of these questions are more important now than they were even two years ago. After the Sitzer-Burnett antitrust case was settled by the National Association of REALTORS®, the regulations governing buyer-agent remuneration were altered, which has an impact on what buyers sign and pay. This collection includes a number of questions created especially for that new setting.
I've been on the lender side of these transactions for more than 20 years, and I can't even begin to count how many times a buyer's first-choice house has been lost due to the choice of agent. On paper, the wrong agent typically seems fine. If I were seated across from the candidate, I would ask the twenty questions listed below.
Before the list, one more item. Having a mortgage is the strongest position in a real estate deal. Without it, buyers are shopping in a price range that might not be within their budget and making educated guesses about affordability. In order to provide the REALTOR® a genuine number to work with right away, we at AmeriSave work with purchasers to lock in preapproval terms before the agent search begins.
It's time for the interview.
Real estate has a long tail of part-time agents. The typical REALTOR® has 10 years of experience, but the median annual transaction count sits well below what most full-time professionals close. Plenty of license holders close fewer than five deals a year. A buyer or seller working with someone at that volume is hiring a hobbyist.
Sales is a craft built through repetition. So is real estate. The agent doing this work full-time has run a hundred negotiations this year. The agent doing it part-time has run six. Those are different competence levels, regardless of how long the license has been held. I came up in this business as an introvert who got good at sales by doing it over and over. I look for the same pattern in the people who close transactions for a living.
What to look for: at least 25 closed transactions per year for a buyer's or seller's agent in a normal market. The candidate should give a specific number and be willing to show a closed-deal list, with addresses redacted, on request.
Red flag: vague answers. "I've been doing this for years" without a transaction count is a non-answer. So is "I do most of my business in another state."
A REALTOR® and a real estate agent are really different. A person with a state license is a real estate agent. A real estate agent who has joined the National Association of REALTORS® and is subject to an enforceable Code of Ethics is known as a REALTOR®. Arbitration and member discipline are two ways that the Code of Ethics is enforced. When something goes wrong, a non-member agent is only subject to state law, which is a slower and more constrained remedy.
What to look for: The candidate's NRDS member ID is accessible upon request. At least a couple of the 17 Articles of the Code should be understandable to the agent. Article 1 requires that all parties be treated honestly while prioritizing the client's interests. REALTORS® must either offer services within their area of expertise or, in the event that they are not, bring in a certified professional. A REALTOR® who deals with these on a daily basis has assimilated the norm.
The National Association of REALTORS® offers designations that require additional coursework, transaction minimums, and ongoing education. The Accredited Buyer's Representative (ABR) is specifically for buyer's agents. The Certified Residential Specialist (CRS) is the most rigorous residential designation in the industry, held by a small fraction of all REALTORS®. Seniors Real Estate Specialist (SRES), Military Relocation Professional (MRP), and others target specific buyer or seller situations.
What to look for: at least one designation that matches the transaction. A buyer should be working with an ABR. A senior selling a long-held home benefits from an SRES. A military family relocating wants an MRP.
Designation-free agents are still capable of doing good work, but they have not invested in the formal training their peers have. The investment usually correlates with the seriousness of the agent.
Recent references are the only references that matter. The market today is not the market two or three years ago. References from older transactions describe how the agent worked when inventory was different, rates were different, and competition was different. The most recent six months is the relevant window.
What to look for: three names, three phone numbers, three permission-granted contacts. The agent should hand them over without flinching. Then call all three. Ask whether the agent met response-time commitments, how they handled the inspection step, and whether the closing went smoothly.
Red flag: "I'd rather not bother my past clients." That is the answer of someone who is afraid of the call. The agent who has earned their references will be proud to hand them over.
These two numbers separate strong agents from weak ones. The sale-to-list-price ratio shows how close the agent gets to asking price for sellers, or how much they negotiate off asking price for buyers. Days on market shows how efficiently they move a transaction from listing to contract.
What to look for: for sellers, a sale-to-list ratio at or above 98% in a balanced market is strong. For buyers, the agent should be able to talk about how much they typically negotiate off the asking price and how that varies with inventory levels. Days on market should sit in line with or under the local average reported in the multiple listing service.
Red flag: an agent who has never run these numbers on themselves. Anyone serious about the business knows their numbers cold. An agent who needs to look them up at the end of the year is not paying attention to their own performance.
A general "I work the whole metro" answer is the wrong answer. The agent should know specific block-level details. Which streets back up to a freeway. Which subdivisions have HOA disputes pending. Which schools have boundary changes coming. Where the new commercial development is going in. Neighborhood quality is the top factor buyers weigh when choosing where to live, well ahead of convenience to a job. The agent needs to know the neighborhood at that level of detail.
Test it. Ask the candidate to describe three specific streets, intersections, or developments in your top neighborhood and explain what makes each one different from the others. The answer reveals whether they have walked the streets or whether they are reading from a search portal.
A working agent knows the active listing count, the months-of-supply figure, and the recent absorption trend off the top of their head. That data sits in MLS reports they pull weekly. Supply has tightened across most metros and pace has shortened, but local markets vary dramatically. A national average is useless for a specific zip code.
The answer to this question tells a buyer or seller whether they are entering a buyer's market, a seller's market, or a balanced market, and how the agent intends to position them accordingly. AmeriSave loan officers track the same housing data on the financing side, which lets buyers calibrate their offer strategy against current rates and inventory in tandem.
This question separates strategists from order-takers. An agent who answers "rates are what they are, you just have to deal with it" is missing the play. The strategic answer covers buy-down financing, seller-paid concessions, lender credits, ARM versus fixed positioning, and the question of whether the buyer should lock now and refinance later when rates fall.
A good answer here will reference working with the buyer's lender. At AmeriSave, we work closely with REALTORS® who understand that financing strategy and price strategy are the same conversation, not two different ones. The agent and the loan officer should be on the same page before the offer goes in.
Even buyers without children pay for school districts, because resale value is bound to school ratings. HOA disputes show up in title work and impose monthly fees that affect debt-to-income calculations on the loan side. Zoning issues, especially around accessory dwelling units, short-term rentals, and lot-line changes, can crush a buyer's plans for a property.
The Department of Housing and Urban Development Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity has clear rules about how an agent can and cannot discuss these factors. A trained REALTOR® stays on the right side of that line by giving the buyer sources to verify rather than steering them toward or away from any community. The agent's job is to point you to the data. Your job is to make the call.
Many top-producing agents run teams. The senior agent does the listing presentation and contract negotiation. Junior agents handle showings, inspections, and the day-to-day. There is nothing wrong with that model, but a buyer has to know it before they sign. If you signed up for the senior agent's experience and the team's resources, that is fine. If you signed up for the senior agent's full attention and you are getting a junior agent, that is a misalignment.
Look for clarity about who handles what. Ask for the names and brief bios of any team members you would touch during the transaction. A good agent will give you that without hesitation.
Response time is the single most common complaint clients have about their agent. The fix is to negotiate it upfront. Reasonable defaults look like this. Same-day response on weekday business hours. A four-hour response window for urgent matters once a transaction is under contract. A clear after-hours policy that names which channels work for emergencies. Phone, text, and email all work, but the agent should tell you which they prefer for which kinds of communication.
If an agent's reflex answer is "whatever works for you," push for specifics. The agent who has thought about communication is the agent who delivers on it. The agent who handles communication well also tends to coordinate well with the lender, which keeps the AmeriSave team and the agent on the same calendar through closing.
Top producers can carry a lot of active clients without losing service quality. Average producers cannot. Ask the number, and ask how many of those clients are at the offer stage, the inspection stage, and the closing stage. An agent with 12 active clients all closing in the next 30 days is going to be stretched. An agent with three active clients is either new to the business or selective by design.
Neither extreme is automatically bad. The point is to know what you are buying. A new agent with capacity and hunger can outperform a tired veteran with a full plate, and a selective agent who turns down marginal business is often a better fit than a high-volume agent who treats every transaction the same way.
This is where the recent industry changes matter most. Following the National Association of REALTORS® settlement of the Sitzer-Burnett class action, buyer's agents are now required to have a written representation agreement signed before they show homes. The agreement should specify the duration of representation, the geographic and price range covered, the agent's compensation, and the conditions under which either party can terminate.
Read the agreement before you sign it. Ask about the termination clause specifically. A reasonable agent will release a buyer who has lost confidence in the relationship. An unreasonable agent will not. The termination clause is the single most important sentence in the document. Treat it that way.
The pre-settlement model assumed seller-paid buyer-agent commissions. The post-settlement model treats buyer compensation as a separate, negotiated line. The buyer-broker agreement spells out exactly what the buyer owes the agent, regardless of what the seller offers. Some sellers still offer concessions to cover buyer-agent compensation. Some do not. The buyer-broker agreement covers both scenarios.
Ask the agent two specific questions. What happens if the seller offers less than my agreed compensation? What happens if the seller offers more? The answer should be clear and in writing. AmeriSave loan officers can walk borrowers through how seller concessions and buyer-paid agent compensation interact with the financing structure, because the math affects the down payment, the closing costs, and the maximum loan amount.
Beyond commission, expect transaction coordinator fees, broker administrative fees, courier fees, and a mix of third-party costs. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau publishes a closing-cost worksheet and a Loan Estimate template that itemizes what is owed at closing. The agent should be able to walk you through their portion of the closing disclosure line by line.
Hidden fees are among the most-flagged issues in CFPB consumer complaints about real estate transactions. Get every fee in writing before you sign. The complete picture of what you owe at closing should never be a surprise on the day.
This is the practical version of the compensation question. Different sellers in different markets handle buyer-agent compensation differently. A good agent has a playbook for both cases. They will negotiate with the listing agent for a seller credit. They will price-shop the offer to absorb the cost. They will explain the trade-offs honestly when neither option works.
A weak agent will steer you toward listings where the seller is paying their commission and away from listings where the seller is not. That is a conflict of interest. Article 1 of the National Association of REALTORS® Code of Ethics prohibits it. Ask the question directly, and pay attention to whether the answer feels honest or rehearsed.
This is the question that reveals whether the agent is a salesperson or a strategist. A salesperson talks about "winning" the offer. A strategist talks about three things. Comparable sales evidence. The seller's likely motivation. What concessions matter most given the buyer's specific financing structure.
A buyer with FHA financing has different inspection-repair leverage than a buyer with cash. A buyer using AmeriSave's loan options has rate-lock and concession-credit flexibility that influences the offer structure. The agent should know how to use that flexibility, which means they should be willing to get on a three-way call with the loan officer to map out the strategy before the offer goes in.
A seasoned agent has a working network of lenders, inspectors, contractors, attorneys, and title officers. People who pick up the phone when a deal is in trouble. That network is part of what a buyer is paying for. Ask for two or three names in each category. Ask whether the agent has any financial relationship with any of them. The Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act, enforced by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, requires disclosure of any compensated referral arrangement.
A buyer is not obligated to use the agent's preferred vendors. But the agent's recommendations are usually a good starting point because they have seen the work and the response times. AmeriSave has worked with thousands of REALTOR® referrals, and the loan officers know which agents communicate well, which deliver complete files, and which keep transactions moving when something unexpected hits.
In a tight market, buyers feel pressure to waive inspection contingencies, appraisal contingencies, and financing contingencies in order to compete. Some of those waivers are reasonable in specific circumstances. Many are not.
The agent should be able to walk through each contingency, what risk it covers, and the conditions under which a waiver makes sense. They should never push a buyer into waivers without making the risk explicit. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has published guidance specifically warning against pressure to waive financing contingencies, because financing-contingent buyers protect themselves against appraisal gaps and last-minute loan denials. An agent who does not bring up that risk is either inexperienced or working against you.
Every transaction has problems. Inspection findings. Appraisal gaps. Lender conditions. Title issues. The question is not whether problems show up. It is how the agent responds when they do.
The answer should describe a calm, problem-solving process. Not an avoidance pattern. A good agent gets on the phone with the lender within the hour. They drive to the property if the inspector flagged a structural issue. They arrange a re-inspection without the buyer paying twice. They keep the seller's agent informed without escalating tension.
Ask for two examples from real recent transactions where something went wrong and what the agent did to fix it. Names redacted, but the story should be specific. "We had an appraisal gap on a Cape Cod two months ago, here is what we did" is the answer of a working professional. "Things usually go fine" is the answer of someone who has not seen enough transactions to know better.
An interview with twenty questions is lengthy. Most applicants won't pass all 20 with flying colors. Perfection is not the aim. It provides an unbiased assessment of the agent's strengths and weaknesses as well as if the gaps are significant for your particular transaction.
Evaluate the responses. Knowledgeable about the area but unfamiliar with the new buyer-broker regulations? Go ahead. It is too crucial to learn the rules on the spot, and they will come up at signing. Strong references and track record, but mediocre communication style? Go ahead. During the 60-day escrow period, communication will wear you down.
Strong in the majority of categories with a few manageable weaknesses? It's a hire.
One final test. Observe the candidate's actions throughout the first 48 hours following the interview. Do they provide the promised real estate listings? Is the buyer-broker agreement sent by them? Do they give the lender a call? During the first two days, an agent's effort and attitude are evident. Over the next sixty, ability emerges.
Attitude. Work. Capacity. The first two are options. Employ the agent who is producing them.
The financing side is the following step after selecting the appropriate REALTOR®. By providing purchasers with a written commitment that they can provide to the agent right away, AmeriSave's preapproval procedure strengthens their negotiating position and assures listing agents that the offer is genuine. Locking the lender and selecting the agent are two aspects of the same choice. When they worked together, they solidified the transaction prior to the initial showing.
No. Not every real estate agent is a REALTOR®, but every REALTOR® is a real estate agent. A person holding a state license to broker real estate transactions is known as a real estate agent. A real estate agent who has paid annual dues, joined the National Association of REALTORS®, and is subject to an enforceable Code of Ethics is known as a REALTOR®. Over 1.5 million people countrywide are members of the National Association of REALTORS®. The distinction is important because non-member agent complaints go through state regulators alone, which is a slower and more constrained process, whereas Code of Ethics infractions can result in arbitration and sanctions.
Buyer-agent pay is now negotiated separately and recorded in a written buyer-broker representation agreement as a result of the National Association of REALTORS® antitrust settlement. Although the amount is completely variable, buyer-agent remuneration typically ranges from 2% to 3% of the transaction price. The majority of sellers still provide buyer-agent pay as part of the listing, but the offer is no longer guaranteed and is no longer listed in the multiple listing service. Purchasers should anticipate an upfront discussion and written confirmation of pay. The relationship between buyer-paid agent remuneration and seller concessions and the financing arrangement can be explained to borrowers by AmeriSave loan personnel.
Most customers are aware of this situation but misjudge it. entering an open house, falling in love with a house, and learning that the price is 15% more than what they are truly eligible for. The buyer's negotiation position is weakened when they eventually submit an offer, and it takes time and emotional energy. The math is altered by preapproval. A buyer has a defined price cap, a quicker offer submission process, and credibility with listing agents and sellers when they arrive with a written preapproval letter from a lender like AmeriSave. For just these reasons, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau advises preapproval as a first step in the home-buying process.
In general, no. Usually, the new buyer-broker representation agreement is exclusive, which means that the buyer will only collaborate with the signed agent within the predetermined price range and geographic area for the duration of the agreement. The agent's time commitment is safeguarded by this exclusivity. However, a buyer who want flexibility might write that into the agreement by limiting its reach to particular neighborhoods, particular sorts of properties, or brief periods of 30 to 90 days. For instance, a buyer may sign a 60-day exclusive contract that covers a single zip code while allowing them to collaborate with another agent on a secondary search outside of the area. Before signing, thoroughly read the contract.
A public license lookup is kept up to date by the real estate commission in each state. Public records include the license status, expiration date, and any disciplinary proceedings. Additionally, NRDS member IDs that verify membership are kept in a member directory by the National Association of REALTORS®. A buyer can verify the license through the state commission, validate membership in the National Association of REALTORS® through the local board, and quickly look up any consumer complaints that have been made with the state attorney general or Better Business Bureau for a comprehensive check. Consumer protection offenses involving real estate professionals are also monitored by the Federal Trade Commission. Five months of regret later on is not worth five minutes of verification at the beginning of a relationship.
A termination clause is typically seen in buyer-broker agreements. Before signing, read it. Reasonable agents offer a short notice time for termination without cause. Only for-cause termination, which is more difficult to invoke, is considered a less reasonable agent. Don't sign the agreement if there isn't a clear way to terminate it. If you need to cancel after signing, you must give written notice to the agent, reference any applicable termination clauses, verify the effective date, and affirm in writing that no payment is due for properties that have not yet been shown or included in an offer. Loan officers at AmeriSave frequently deal with buyers who switch agents in the middle of the transaction. As long as the loan application deadline is met, the finance transfers.
A home buyer or seller should schedule two or three agent interviews, each lasting about thirty minutes. Along with a few transaction-specific questions pertaining to the house, neighborhood, or price range, the interview should cover the most of the 20 questions in this article. Give yourself 24 to 48 hours following the interviews before making a decision. Long enough to check license status and contact references. It's brief enough to prevent the ideal applicant from accepting their next ad while you're still debating. One reason why so many transactions feel hurried during the agent-selection stage is that the median buyer interviews fewer than two agents.
Fact Checked
