Did you interview your Realtor before hiring him or her? It's important that the Realtor handling your biggest investment has the knowledge and tools to the get the job done right!

 How long have they been in the business?  Handling your real estate business requires long term experience. The more experience Realtors have, the more likely they’ll be able to handle any issues that arise or foresee any problems.

Are they a REALTOR®?   Ask whether agents are REALTORS®.   This means they’re members of the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® (NAR). NAR has been an advocate of agent professionalism and a champion of homeownership rights for more than a century.

What designations does your Realtor hold?  Designations like GRI (Graduate REALTOR® Institute) and LMC (Loss Mitigation Certified) which require that Realtors complete many hours of training, prove that your business is their priority. Ask what designations your Realtor holds.

How many homes did your Realtor sell last year?  You can list with
agent or agency. While agencies may offer different tools for their (agents)
Realtors, isn’t it the Realtor who is working directly with you?  You may never meet the Managing Broker or Owner, but your (agent) Realtor needs to have long term market activity to do the best job for you!

How many days on average did it take you to sell homes?   Ask agents to show you this data along with stats from their local Multiple Listing Service (MLS) so you can see how many days, on average, their listings were on the market compared to the average for all properties in the MLS.

How close were the asking and sales prices of the homes you sold?   Sometimes sellers choose their agent because the agent’s suggested listing price is higher than those suggested by other agents. A better factor is the difference between listing prices and the amount homes actually sold for. That can help you judge agents’ skill at accurately pricing homes and marketing to the right buyers. It can also help you weed out agents trying to dazzle you with a lofty sales price just to get your listing.

How will you market my home?  The days of agents putting a For Sale sign
in the yard and hoping for the best are long gone. Look for an agent who does
aggressive and innovative marketing, especially on the Internet.

Will you represent me exclusively?  In most states, agents can represent the
seller, the buyer, or both in a home sale. If your agent will also represent
buyers, understand and consent to that dual representation.

How will you keep me informed?  If you want weekly updates by email, don’t
choose an agent who plans to contact you only if there’s an offer. Follow-up is
important, period.  If you can’t get your Realtor to answer your phone call within one hour, they may not be the right Realtor for you.

Can you provide references?  Ask to talk to the last three customers the agent
assisted. Call and ask if they’d work with the agent again and if the agent did
anything that didn’t sit well with them. It’s ok to interview your Realtor. If your
Realtor is offended by that, find someone else!