When seeking a real estate agent in order to sell your home, there are several important preparatory measures you should take before signing on with the first person or firm you meet. First off, you should do your homework, researching the current real estate market, the neighborhood the real estate is located in, etc. Know who the prominent real estate agencies are in your area. The seller should also consider getting a certified real estate appraiser to appraise the house before meeting with the potential agent.

Questions to Ask Before Signing on With a Real Estate Agent:

• How much experience do you have in professional residential real estate? Experience in any given field may be the closest thing to a guarantee that you’ll get. Real estate is no different and it certainly helps if your agent is not only experienced in the business, but familiar with the particular market you’ll be selling your property in.
• Do you have any references? While you should certainly ask around the neighborhood to see who or what agency recent home sellers have used, an agent should be able to provide you with recent clients. Similar to arbitrary job references, realty references can be very telling, however subjective. Use your discretion when exploring a agent’s references, but definitely explore this resource.
• What designations does your realtor currently hold? In order to be a "realtor" the agent must be part of the National Association of Realtors (NAR) (which is a great resource for realty sellers/buyers). Additionally other designations may be obtained, such as GRI designation or Certified Residential Specialist (CRS) designation, which require special training to achieve.
• What percentage of your listings sell? The markets obviously much tougher during the recession however, a realtor should be able to provide the client some sense of their success rate.
• How many listings do you currently have on the market? While the biggest agents in your area may handle very important clients, it’s important to gauge just how thinly spread your agent’s attention will be once you sign on with them. How many listings are they currently attending to? If they’re currently selling 30 listings then how much time will they be able to allocate to you versus their other clients?
• What percentage of initial asking prices were the same or close to the final sales price of homes the agent sold? With such an investment there can obviously be disagreements and haggling going on regarding the price of real estate.  Find out if your realtor generally achieves well near their initial asking price to get some idea of what your property might ultimately sell for.
• What types of advertisements and other marketing systems/tools will your agent utilize to sell your home? Is your realtor freelance or part of a larger agency with better marketing capabilities? How will they market your particular property prominently enough that it garners the right attention (and hopefully, the right buyer)? Your realtors' answer should be systematic and confident. Ask what kind of success rate their marketing tools have?
• Can your realtor recommend (or advise against) local service providers including: contracting companies for home repairs/improvements, mortgage brokers, etc.? Going hand-in-hand with a realtors experience in the business is their connectivity in their professional community. A realtor should have a good idea who a reputable appraiser or loan agency might be? Do many of their clients use the same contractor for large repairs or any other kind of home repair/improvement work?
• What type of resources and support does your brokerage office make available to your clients? Communication is key when hiring someone to sell one of your most valuable assets. How helpful has the realtor and their agency been in facilitating general business needs of previous clients? What resources are available to their clients, for example: a real estate attorney?