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4 Questions to Ask Your Real Estate Agent Before Buying a Home

A home is the largest investment you are likely to make. So working with a real estate agent who can offer good advice and help you make the right decision is important. The problem is, how do you find a realtor whose advice and direction you can trust? 

Knowing what questions to ask a real estate agent is a key part of the process. 

Find the Right Realtor – Get the Right Answers to These 4 Questions

No matter what questions you ask, and what answers you get, only you can decide on the best agent for your needs and goals, and the one you feel most comfortable with your investment.

Whether you’re looking for Markham, Richmond Hill, Vaughan or Newmarket houses for sale, these questions will help you find the right one at the right price.

  1. Why Should I Choose You?
    This one might be a bit of a tricky question for the agent. They usually get questions about experience, numbers of clients, etc., that they use to highlight their track record.

    But if you make the question more open-ended, it can be more revealing. Some things to look for:

    1. Do they answer about how good they are – or how they can help you with your particular needs?
    2. Do they talk in specifics, like the communities they specialize in, or generalities?
    3. What sense do you get from them in general? Do you feel like you could work with this person?
    4. Are they part-time or full-time agents? Full time is the only acceptable answer. 
  2. May I Get References from Previous Buyers in the Area?
    Of course, no matter what home buyers ask a realtor, they’ll never get a bad answer. But if you can talk to someone who bought a home through the same realtor, especially one who bought in the area you’re interested in, you’re more likely to get unpolished answers.

    Ask the previous buyers similar questions that you might ask the agent, but from the buyer’s point of view. Things like what services were offered and how the agent helped them find the right home. Did the agent help negotiate a better sale price? Perhaps most importantly, ask if they would use the agent again, and why. 
  3. Can You Help with Other Parts of the Buying Process?
    Buying a home is such a major investment, it pays to have expert advice in many different areas. Mortgage brokers, real estate lawyers and renovators can all help you minimize and/or protect your investment.

    Recommendations from good agents can be the best way to find reliable sources for everything you need. The people who are recommended by the agent know that, if you don’t receive good service, they risk losing all the business the agent refers. 
  4. Has the Home Been Inspected?
    If you are buying a resale home, a home inspection can be a great way for you to get an idea of the condition of the house.

    Unfortunately, considering that we’ve been in a seller’s market for just about as long as anyone can remember, home inspections all but disappeared as a condition of sale. Homeowners recently haven’t needed to spend the time or money to get an inspection.


However, recent trends in real estate have made it less of a seller’s market. So it’s at least worth asking your agent about making a home inspection a condition of your purchase offer.

Again, buying a home is the biggest investment you’ll make. Once you buy a resale home, you’ve also bought of its problems. There’s no returning it for a refund. A home inspection helps you avoid costly surprises.

If the homeowner isn’t getting the home inspected, you’ll have to factor in the cost of one in your budget.

Whether you want to buy or sell, to learn more about real estate market trends, check out our post “Why 2021 Will Be Another Great Year in Real Estate”.