How to Choose a Real Estate Agent
The Espresso ShotEverything all at once. Short and strong.
- The right agent understands what you want, cares how it goes for you, and works toward your goals, not theirs.
- Some urgency is good. Hurry that serves the agent more than you isn’t, and the pace should suit you.
- An agent can only work for you and the seller at the same time if you both agree to it in writing.
A lot of buyers end up with an agent by accident: the name on an open house sign-in sheet, a cousin’s friend, whoever answered the first online inquiry. Any of those can work out fine. But this is the person who will sit next to you through the biggest purchase you’ve ever made, so it’s worth choosing on purpose.
It’s OK to talk to more than one. You’re trusting someone with something big, and it’s fine to have a conversation with more than one agent before you decide who that is. Treat it like a job interview, because that’s what it is.
Pay attention to the pace. Some agents are pushy. They’ll rush you to sign with them, or to make an offer before you’ve had time to think it through. A good agent should act with urgency, because the right house can go quickly and contract deadlines are real. But always do a gut check: is the hurry for your benefit or for theirs? This is your home, and the pace should be one you’re comfortable with, whether that’s fast or slow.
Questions worth asking. How do you like to stay in touch, and how fast do you usually reply? Will I be working with you, or with someone on your team? When things get busy, how will you make sure I still get your full attention? What would you do if you thought I was about to overpay? Their answer to that last one tells you whether they’ll put your interests ahead of a quick sale.
Ask how long they’ve been doing this. Ask me too. I haven’t been licensed as long as some others, and I’ll tell you that straight, along with how I’d handle the parts I haven’t done many times yet. What you want from anyone is an honest answer, not a polished one.
Local knowledge is more than knowing the streets. Out here, it means knowing which homes are on a well or septic system, which side of the county line an address falls on (that changes the property taxes), and what the drive on 410 looks like in January. Ask what they’d check about a house in the area that a buyer from somewhere else might miss.
Read the agreement before you sign it. In Washington, an agent needs a written agreement with you to be paid for helping you buy, so expect one early, often before you tour a house together. It spells out how much the agent’s firm is paid and who pays it, and whether they’ll still show you homes where the seller isn’t offering to cover it. Ask how long it lasts and what happens if you decide to stop working together. The terms are negotiable, and it’s fair to ask for changes before you sign.
You’ll get a pamphlet, and it’s worth reading. Before you sign, the agent has to give you a short state pamphlet on the law of real estate agency. It explains what an agent owes you, like honesty, care, and telling you important facts they know about a house. It’s plain language and a few pages long.
Ask what happens if they also represent the seller. If you fall for a house your agent has listed, they’d be working for both sides. Washington calls that limited dual agency, and it’s only allowed when both the buyer and the seller agree in writing. Ask up front how they handle it, so you’re not deciding in the middle of an offer.
Look them up. Anyone can check a Washington broker on the state’s license lookup. It shows whether the license is active and which firm the broker works under.
Then trust the conversation. The paperwork tells you what they’ve promised, and the conversation tells you how they’ll keep it. Notice whether they explained things without making you feel behind, and whether they listened more than they pitched. If you’d hesitate to text them the night before your inspection deadline, keep looking.