Buying and selling a home is a difficult and stressful process. Selecting the right real estate agent will remove much of that stress and worry.

Although this is the first step in a long and detailed process it is the most critical. Choosing the right agent allows you to be confident that you will not only have a potentially stress free experience, it will also allow you to get the best possible price for your property.

When selecting an agent, reputation, honesty and ethics are extremely important. People that have a great reputation not only attract the best clients, but they also have a reputation in the area of getting the highest possible price for your home. When selecting an agent, have a chat to family, friends or people living in the area. Choosing an agent via this method usually gains you the possible results.

It is also recommended that you sit down and meet the agent face to face in your home with your partner. This should almost be like a job interview. You need to relate to this person not only professionally but personally also as you will be dealing with them on a regular basis for the next couple of months. Therefore they really need to be a good fit and you need to feel as if you can be comfortable and honest with them and vice versa.

When interviewing the agent you need to ask a number of important questions. How will they advertise the property, how will they attract buyers, will they want money up front or will they take it from the sale settlement? The ones that want money up front are the ones we recommend you distant yourself from. A good agent will work hard with the listing and deserves to be rewarded at the end for their efforts.

After this meeting your gut feeling will tell you if they are right for you. If not, speak to another agent in the area, there is sure to be one that you will be happy with and one that will get the result you require.