Most advice about choosing an agent produces the same interview: how long have you been licensed, how many homes did you sell last year, what's your marketing plan. Every agent has polished answers to those. Polish is not information.
Ask instead: "Tell me about a deal that went wrong, and what you did." Every experienced agent has one. What you're listening for isn't the problem — it's whether they took responsibility, communicated early, and protected their client when it cost them something.
Second: "What would make you tell me not to buy a house I love?" A good agent has walked clients away from bad deals and can tell you exactly what triggers that conversation. An agent who can't answer this is a salesperson, not an advisor.
Third: "Who does the work — you, or a team?" Neither answer is wrong, but the honest version matters. You're hiring the person who will actually answer the phone at 9pm before an offer deadline. Make sure you've met them.
Written by the Leadogo team.