8 questions to ask before you hire a real estate agent
Buying or selling a home is likely the largest financial transaction you will make, and there are roughly three million licensed agents in the country. They are not interchangeable. These are the eight questions worth asking in an interview, and what a strong answer to each one sounds like.
Are you full time or part time?
Plenty of people get licensed as a side venture and work deals when a friend or family member comes along. That is a legitimate way to hold a licence. It is a poor fit for representing you.
Two problems. The first is availability — real estate moves fast, and you need someone reachable when the right property lists or an offer needs a response the same afternoon. The second is subtler and matters more: an agent working a handful of deals a year is not in the market often enough to know how it is currently behaving.
How many transactions have you closed this year?
Note the phrasing. Not "in your career" — this year. A top producer award from a decade ago, possibly in a different city and definitely in a different market, tells you very little about how they will handle your deal now.
You are testing for three things:
- Current — active in this market, not a past one
- Local — active in the area you are buying or selling in
- Balanced — working with both buyers and sellers, not just one side
For reference, Jim closes around 50 transactions a year across resales, new builds, investors, first-time buyers and 1031 exchanges.
What kind of market are we in, and when did it last shift?
This is the question that separates experience from tenure, and it is the one most worth asking.
A good agent should be able to explain the current market to you clearly, and then reach back to a comparable period and tell you how deals were negotiated then. The 2025 Las Vegas market has a lot in common with 2019: prices high, rates high, and transaction volume thin because sellers holding low rates do not want to move and buyers are stretched on affordability. Knowing how 2019 was negotiated is directly useful now.
In a buyer's market the leverage moves to your side of the table, and the skill required is different. You want someone who has negotiated in this direction before. More on that in how to sell in a buyer's market, and the current numbers are in the Las Vegas housing market hub.
Do you work with investors — and do you invest yourself?
Two different questions, and the second one matters. An agent who owns property evaluates a deal on return rather than on how the kitchen looks. They can calculate ROI and negotiate from an owner's perspective because they have been on that side.
If you are buying an investment property, a competent agent should be able to speak to:
- Rental demand in the specific submarket
- Current rental rates, not last year's
- Turnover rates and average days to rent
- Property management realities
- Planned development nearby that will affect value
This helps even if you are buying your first home rather than a rental, because it surfaces long-term value that a purely transactional agent will not flag. See how to evaluate a rental property and investing strategies that still work.
Have you worked with remote clients before?
If you are buying from out of state, or selling a Las Vegas property while living elsewhere, you do not want to be the first remote client someone has handled.
Remote transactions have their own mechanics. A video consultation up front so the relationship is face to face. Recorded walkthroughs of properties, plus live video from the house so you can direct the camera into the corners you actually care about. For sellers, an agent who assesses the property in person, makes recommendations and arranges the work.
International sellers add a layer, because deeds need notarising and that requires access to an international notary. If that applies to you, ask about it specifically rather than assuming it will be handled.
If you are relocating, the Las Vegas relocation guide covers the wider picture.
Do you have a network of vendors?
You will need an inspector, an appraiser, title and escrow, and at some point an electrician, a plumber or a roofer. Building reliable connections takes years, and the list has to be maintained — who is still doing good work now, not who did good work in 2019.
There is a second benefit that only shows up later. An agent who handled your purchase still has the inspection report and knows the house. When something needs attention five years on, that context is worth more than a search result.
Are you on social media?
This one sounds superficial and is not, particularly if you are selling.
A listing agent with no audience is relying entirely on the portals — the same Zillow entry every other house has. An agent with genuine reach can put your home in front of people who were not searching for it, through a dedicated video rather than a square-footage-and-bed-count summary.
That matters because you know things about your house that a listing sheet cannot carry. What the surrounding area is like. What is being built nearby. How far you actually are from the freeway, the hospital, the schools. Video conveys that; a data field does not.
For investors, the same channel can explain appreciation potential, rental rates and average days to rent — the case for the property, not just its specifications.
There is also a tell in it. If an agent has no online presence at all, it is reasonable to ask what else about their marketing is running on old assumptions.
How do you communicate, and how often?
Ask it — but listen for how they answer rather than what they answer.
A weak answer describes their own preference. A strong one turns the question around and asks what yours is. Some clients only text. Some only call. Some live in Instagram DMs. Some work graveyard or swing shifts and can only take calls at odd hours. Some are on Hawaii time, or East Coast time, and someone is getting up early.
"I only text and never pick up the phone" is a complaint people make about their agent after the fact. It is avoidable by asking in advance.
Worth also asking what happens when they are unavailable. A single agent cannot answer every call. A team means someone picks up, handles what they can, and passes on what they cannot — rather than a missed call and an explanation later.
The checklist
- Are you full time or part time?
- How many transactions have you closed this year?
- What kind of market are we in, and when did it last shift?
- Do you work with investors, and do you invest yourself?
- Have you worked with remote clients before?
- Do you have a current network of vendors?
- Are you on social media, and what does your marketing look like?
- How do you communicate, and how will you accommodate my schedule?
Ask all eight of every agent you interview. Comparing answers to the same questions is the point — it turns an impression into a comparison.
Hiring an agent: FAQ
What questions should I ask before hiring a real estate agent?
Ask whether they work full time, how many transactions they have closed this year, what kind of market we are in and when it last shifted, whether they work with investors and invest themselves, whether they have handled remote clients, whether they keep a current vendor network, whether they have a real marketing presence, and how they communicate. The answers to those eight tell you more than any award or sign count.
How many transactions should a real estate agent close per year?
There is no official threshold, but an agent closing one or two deals a year is not in the market often enough to read it accurately. What matters more than the raw number is that the volume is current, local to your area, and spread across both buyers and sellers rather than concentrated in one side of the business.
Does it matter if my real estate agent is part time?
Yes. Real estate moves quickly, and a part-time agent has another job competing for their attention when a property hits the market or an offer needs a response. Beyond availability, an agent doing this as a side venture is not in enough transactions to know how the current market is actually behaving.
Should my agent be an investor if I am buying an investment property?
It helps considerably. An agent who invests personally can evaluate a deal on return rather than on finish quality, and should be able to speak to rental demand, current rental rates, turnover, property management and planned development nearby. That perspective is useful even on a first home, because it identifies long-term value that a purely transactional agent may miss.
Do I need my own agent when buying new construction?
You benefit from one. Some agents treat a new build as a hand-off, registering you with the builder and waiting for the house to finish. A good agent keeps negotiating after the contract, on lot premiums, upgrades, incentives and the issues that come up through construction and walkthrough. Bring your agent to the first visit, as most builders require it.
Can a real estate agent help if I live out of state?
Yes, if they have done it before. Remote transactions run on video walkthroughs, live video calls from the property, virtual consultations and a coordinated closing. Out-of-country sellers add a further step, because deeds need notarising and that requires access to an international notary. Ask directly how many remote clients they have handled.
Why does a real estate agent's social media presence matter?
For sellers it is distribution. An agent with a real audience can put your home in front of people who are not scrolling the listing portals, using video to convey what a listing sheet cannot, such as the surrounding area, nearby development and commute. It also tells you something about how current the rest of their marketing is.
Consider this your first interview
Jim has been selling real estate in Las Vegas since 2005, closes around 50 transactions a year, has invested here for 20 years and runs a property management company. Bring the eight questions and ask them.
Also useful: selling in a buyer's market, buying new construction, and what to look for in a neighborhood.
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Jim Fong · NV license BS.0068736 · The Jim Fong Group at Real Broker · 702-997-2050