Getting a real estate agent is one of the secrets for you to have a great and trouble-free investing endeavor. Agents can fully assist you in every stage of the investing process, particularly if this is your first time investing in a house. But hiring an agent that you think will be loyal and reliable to you is not an easy task for you. It is not enough to hire an agent that you just see on the street or in an advertisement online. The key for you to be able to get a competent and very skilled one is through the interview you are going to perform with all the real estate agent that you will potentially hire. As a smart homebuyer, you should also give time to have quality interviews to fully qualified agents so they will have equal chances to work for you. For sure, interviewing will take quite a lot of time and effort but it is the only sure way for you to be confident and complacent about the agent that you will hire. When you are already in the interview process, do not forget to ask these kinds of questions from them:

1. How long have they been a real estate professional?

The more experienced the real estate agent is, the more competent and equipped he will be to give you a quality and excellent service. However, it is also preferable if you will consider new agents, most particularly those that are under the management and training of already successful real estate professionals. Newly starting agents can give most of their time and attention to your investing needs because they do not have that much clients and they really do want to prove that they can excel in the business.

2. What marketing plans do you have?

Ask the agent about his or her strategies regarding the investments plans that you are trying to build as a buyer. You can ask him about the process she or he is going to follow to be able to have quality listings of houses that you would want. You should also know what how many number of houses do they expect you to visit before you can be able to find the house that you are looking for. What if there are competitions from other buyers, are they ready for that and can they manage it? Let us say, you visited some Pleasanton homes for sale. From one of them, you see the right Pleasanton real estate property that you like to purchase but the problem is, you are not the only one who wants to buy it. Ask your agent about what would be his or her strategy to win the deal when a situation like that happens.

3. What is your average ratio in terms of price list and sales list?

You also have to be knowledgeable of the average ratio of the agent. As a buyer’s agent, ask about how much he or she can negotiate so he can make the sales price lower than the list price. You should be able to assess if the agent is good with his or her negotiation skills.

4. Do you have references?

This is important. The agent should give you a list of the reliable and credible people who can testify to his professional qualifications. It can be a previous employer or a client before that he successfully worked with.

5. Why are you the most suitable for this job?

Ask the agent what qualities and work philosophies he or she possesses and follows that makes him the most ideal agent to work for you. He should be confident to answer you all his or her traits and qualifications that will help him or her to provide you with an excellent professional service.

Besides these kinds of information, you also have to know if they can refer other real estate professionals like those in home inspection services and lending companies. Do not hesitate to ask questions that will lead him or her to giving you information that you need to know the most.