Should You Interview a Buyer’s Agent?

Why should you interview a buyer’s agent? All of the “real estate experts” will write columns that say the answer is yes.

But what are you looking for from an agent? And what will you gain from an interview?

That’s the million dollar question. Active Rain’s Lenn Harley recently did a post on this, that was very anti-interview. Lenn’s point - and a very good one - is that how can you use the interview to find a good agent from an interview? What is the goal of this discussion? Are you going to discover a great agent by asking these questions? Maybe, but you could also be had by a smooth-talker that isn’t really into the market.

And while, I agree with Lenn on some points, I think the interview can be a great way to find an agent — you just need to have the right reason for interviewing an agent.

So what should you interview an agent for?

• Personality - You are going to be spending a lot of time with this agent. Let’s make sure that we are personalities that can at least work together for this process.
• Personal Service - How are you going to help me? What is your plan of attack.
• Connection - Going along with personality, how do you connect - can you trust this agent?

But do the gurus tells you this?

A well-known real estate coach distributes a free e-book on “choosing your agent”. I refuse to link to it because it is exactly the type of information that I don’t want my buyers to choose me for. A collection of his questions …

• Do you work full-time or part-time as a real estate agent? My response would be yes. But what does this questions tell you? A better question would be, how many buyers do you work with at one time? How many do you have now? The “idea” is that part-time agents don’t spend as much time in real estate as full-time practioners, hence are not as professional. But, an agent with 20 buyers at one time will give you less service than a part-time agent with one client.
• How well do you know the specific area(s) that I’m interested in? I don’t care what agent you ask about this, they are going “know the market” that you are asking about. I’m currently working with a buyer in dowtown Columbus. I was up-front and told them what I knew about the area — but I’ve been educating myself to know as much as I can about the German, Italian, Schumacher, and Merion villages as I can.
• Will you handle all aspects of my transaction? This is one of the few questions on this list that I like. If you are working with a team - make sure you meet the people that you are going to be working with most.
• Will you be accessable when I need you? The answer is “yes” to almost every agent that this is ever asked to. But, then why is “lack of communication” one of the most common complaints? I don’t understand it either. But a better question would be how are you doing to get this information to me?
• Will you give me a CMA of recent sales in the area and homes currently for sale? Duh. I’m a real estate agent. I hope that I would do this, if the answer is no. Then you need to run - not walk - away.
• Is your license in good standing? How did you find this person anyhow?
• What is your educational background? This is an interesting question. And I would love to have it asked as Toby has an MBA. But, really, what does this have to do with finding a home for you? Some, not a lot.
• Will you use the MLS listings and the Internet to find properties with features I want? Again, this is one of the dumbest questions I’ve ever seen. Are you going to use the Internet to find me a home? Nah, I’m going to use my levitating powers and your home will mysteriously appear in my mind … don’t ask questions, this is the house that the spirits want you to have …

Umm … okay. So you ask me these questions and what do you really know about me? Not much right?

David Bach recently had an article in Yourhome which gave a better list of questions.

• How long have you been in the business?
• How long have your worked in this market?
• How many listing do you have?
• How many clients are you currently working with?
• How many deals have you closed in this area the past year?
• Why should I work with you and not your competition?
• What makes you a good real estate agent?
• What is the process — how do you work with clients?
• Do you have a team or an assistant?
• Can you give me the name of three clients you’ve worked with who are in a similar situation as mine?

I bolded the questions that I think will be what you should focus most on. And of course it is important to listen to the agents — pay attention to the non-verbals — and read the response. Does it sound rehearsed? Or is it maybe a little too off-the-cuff that makes it sound “flippant? A couple “red-flags”.

But the most important thing is to find an agent that you have trust in and work with them to find that house. If it isn’t working out — say so! The agent is probably thinking the same thing.

Good luck!

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