Real Estate Agent Interview Preparation Guide

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Having another job shouldn't necessarily cut a potential real estate agent out of the running, but you need to be aware if this is a part-time gig before committing. Someone who also works somewhere else may be harder to reach and could miss out on opportunities to show your house.

Good word of mouth tends to spread within neighborhoods, so if your real estate agent has had a lot of home sales in your area, that's probably a good sign. Familiarity with your neighborhood can only help your agent sell your home.

There is no magic number to look for here; just use your common sense. If the number is very high or very low consider that a red flag - you are looking for someone with a thriving business who still has time to devote to your home sale.

A full service Realtor should be at the home inspection, bank appraisal, etc. You are paying this person a lot of money. Make sure they earn it! They have a fiduciary responsibility to YOU!

There are some buyers who believe that real estate agents would prefer to only have to show a couple houses to their buyers before they purchase a home. This is true. In most cases, a great buyers agent will only have to show 5-10 houses to their clients.

Why is this? A great buyers agent will be able to identify their clients wants, needs, and preferences. Sometimes this is able to be done with a simple face-to-face meeting and sometimes after looking at a couple houses. A real estate agent who shows 25 houses to you without narrowing down and being able to identify what you are looking for is wasting not only their time but also yours.

Advertising takes place in two forms:

Traditional - newspapers, signboards, agency window display and brochures
Digital - online advertising that reaches clients through their digital device such as online listings on agency and third party websites (realestate.com.au, domain.com.au etc) and e-mail marketing/brochures.
Depending on the type of property and its location, digital media options may be enough - have a look at what similar properties are doing in your area.

For agents across Australia, vendor paid advertising (fondly known as "VPA") is the ideal. The practice, however, varies by market, property type and agent. Will your agent put money on the table for any marketing costs or is it your responsibility? It pays to find out to avoid any surprises. Also, it may be of use when it comes to negotiating commissions. If you bear all of the marketing outlays, the agent may be willing to reduce their rate.

The Realtor should be making sure they explain to you how they get paid and what exactly they do for the money earned. Commissions can vary from agent to agent but don't be shortsighted here. If the going rate is X don't necessarily think you are saving money if agent tells you that they will charge Y instead.

Membership in this professional organization is what allows a real estate agent to use the title Realtor. Being a Realtor means that the person has agreed to follow the organization's ethical guidelines and to keep up with continuing education.

Real estate agents love to share their knowledge and expertise. A real estate blog is a great venue to share their wealth of knowledge. Ask potential buyers agents if they have a blog or an example of article they have written. If they provide you a URL for their real estate blog, be sure to check it out. What types of articles have they written geared specifically towards buyers? Have they written articles giving advice for first time buyers? General home improvement articles?

As a real estate agent, representing buyers is different than representing sellers, period. There are different "tasks" that a buyers agent is responsible for during the transaction and the same for the sellers agent. It's important to know how many homes a potential buyers agent sold last year while representing buyers.