10 Questions to Ask a Realtor Before You Hire One

The questions worth asking a realtor are the ones with answers you can check afterward. License status, last year’s closed transactions, who pays for the inspection, how you cancel, and what happens when a commitment gets missed all have verifiable answers, and the ten questions below are built around that test.

Everything else amounts to an interview about personality. Friendliness does not predict whether someone returns your call at 6pm on a Friday, and neither does twenty years in the business.

For each question you get three things: what a strong answer sounds like, what an evasive one sounds like, and how to verify the claim without taking the agent’s word for it. My own answers, with the proof, are at the end.

How the numbers in this guide work. Local figures are anchored to Fort Worth’s $319,999 median sale price, 29 median days on market in Tarrant County, and a 95.0% sale-to-list ratio, all from my market report. Industry benchmarks come from the National Association of Realtors 2026 Member Profile, which surveys the association’s own membership about the 2025 business year. Commission percentages are averages compiled from Texas broker surveys rather than a published rate, because no published rate exists.

What the Ten Questions Are Actually Testing

The ten questions test five things, and they run in that order.

The record (questions 1 to 4). Is this person licensed, active, working full time, and closing deals in your price band right now? Every claim in this group is checkable in about five minutes.

The money (questions 5 and 6). What do you pay, what does the agent pay, and which costs land on you before any money from the transaction arrives?

The exit (questions 7 and 8). How long are you committed, how do you leave, and what happens when the agent misses something they promised?

The proof (question 9). Will they hand you people who can contradict them, or only a page they wrote themselves?

The cadence (question 10). How often do you hear from them, on what channel, and did the answer hold up during the interview stage?

Most people spend the whole interview on the first group and sign a contract without asking about the third. The exit terms live in the agreement you sign, which is the part most buyers and sellers never read twice.

Print this

Run the same sheet on every agent you interview. Two or three is enough, as long as the questions and the order stay identical.

• Write the license number down during the callThen check it on the TREC license search while you still remember the conversation.
• Record last year's closing count and the zip codesAsk them to describe three of those closings from memory. Real ones come with details.
• Note whether the answer to full-time was yes or a pivotThen request a weekday-afternoon showing on 48 hours' notice and see what happens.
• List every name that will touch your fileAsk which of them is licensed and who signs the offer.
• Get the commission rate in writing, with who pays itPlus a net sheet if you are selling or a cost estimate if you are buying.
• Write down what you pay before closingInspection, appraisal, and for sellers the full prep bill. This is where two identical rates stop being identical.
• Read the cancellation clause before anything is signedTerm length, protection period, and whether the exit you were promised verbally is actually in the document.
• Ask for the accountability clause and time the responseIf it exists, it is in the agreement and they can find it immediately.
• Collect the reference phone numbersCall them and ask what went wrong in the transaction and how it was handled.
• Agree a contact cadence and then watch itResponse time before you sign is the best sample you will get of response time after.

Score each agent out of ten on answers you were able to verify independently, not on answers you liked. Hire the highest number.

The Ten Questions, One at a Time

Each one below comes with a strong answer, a weak answer, and the way to check the claim yourself.

1. Are You Licensed, and Who Is Your Broker?

Start here. It takes a minute and most people skip it.

A strong answer gives you a license number and a sponsoring broker’s name without hesitating. Every Texas agent works under a broker, and the agreement you sign is with that brokerage rather than with the individual, which matters if the person you hired leaves mid-transaction.

A weak answer is a brokerage logo with no license number, or “I’m with a big national brand, you can look us up.” A brokerage brand tells you nothing about an individual agent’s license status.

Verify it. TREC’s license search shows status, sponsoring broker, and any disciplinary history for every agent in Texas. While you are checking, note whether anyone handed you the Information About Brokerage Services form. Texas requires it at the first substantive conversation about a property. If it never arrived, expect the rest of the paperwork to be handled the same way.

2. How Many Homes Did You Sell Last Year, and Where?

This question has two halves, and the second carries more weight than the first.

What counts as a good number

Fewer than most people assume. NAR’s 2026 Member Profile puts the typical individual agent at nine transaction sides for 2025, with a median 13 years of experience and a median gross real estate income of $59,200, up from $58,100 in 2024. The same report puts team-based brokerage specialists at a median of 32 transaction sides and $17.5 million in sales volume.

Against that benchmark, an answer of “eleven last year, nine of them in south Tarrant County” is a good answer. A claim of sixty closings usually means a team’s production is being counted as one person’s, so ask which number you are being given.

How to check it in Texas

Volume on its own tells you little without location. You want an agent who was active in your price range and your zip code within the last twelve months, because pricing a $290,000 house in Como and a $650,000 house in Aledo are different jobs.

Verify it. Texas is a non-disclosure state, so sale prices are not in the public record and no county office compiles per-agent totals. The practical check is the agent’s MLS profile on a consumer portal such as HAR.com, which lists closed transactions, plus asking the agent to walk you through three recent closings near you. An agent who cannot name recent nearby sales from memory has not been working your area.

3. Is Real Estate Your Full-Time Job?

The question sounds blunt, and it is one of the most predictive on the list.

A strong answer is a plain yes with the schedule to back it. In NAR’s 2026 Member Profile, real estate is the only occupation for 73% of members, and the typical member worked a median 35 hours a week. That means roughly a quarter of the licensed agents you might interview are doing this alongside something else, and the median workweek across the whole profession is shorter than a standard one.

A weak answer shifts to availability language. “I’m always reachable” is not the same claim as “this is my only job.”

Verify it. Ask for weekday-afternoon showing availability on 48 hours’ notice, then test it once during the interview stage. A part-time agent often cannot get you into a house at 2pm on a Wednesday, and with a 29-day median time to contract in Tarrant County, that delay is how buyers lose houses.

4. Who Actually Handles My Transaction?

Twenty-one percent of Realtors worked on a team in 2025. Teams are not a problem by themselves; undisclosed handoffs are.

A strong answer names every person who will touch your file and what each one does: who writes the offer, who negotiates the inspection response, who attends closing.

A weak answer is “we’ve got a great team behind me.” The person you met at the open house is often not the person who will negotiate the repair amendment, and that negotiation is where most of the money moves.

Verify it. Get the names in writing, then ask which of those people is licensed and who signs the offer. If the answer changes between the first meeting and the paperwork, you have found the problem before signing rather than after.

5. What Do I Pay You, and What Do You Pay For?

The commission question gets asked constantly. The second half is asked far less often and is frequently worth more money.

The commission question

Total commission in Texas averages roughly 5.6% to 5.9% of the sale price, usually split between the listing side and the buyer’s side at about 2.8% to 2.95% of the sale price each. No Texas law sets that number and federal antitrust law prohibits agents from agreeing on one, so treat any quoted rate as a market average. A strong answer states the rate, states who is being asked to pay it, and confirms that it is negotiable before signing. The full commission math breaks down where each side of it goes.

The out-of-pocket question

Two agreements at the same commission rate can differ by thousands of dollars in what you spend before closing. The inspection runs around $600. The appraisal runs around $600. Pre-listing prep for a seller, meaning cleaning, repairs, yard work, and staging, can run into the thousands, and every dollar of it is due before any sale proceeds exist.

Verify it. Ask for a written net sheet for sellers or a written cost estimate for buyers in the first conversation. An agent who cannot produce one is not ready to price your house or your budget. What a listing agent owes you on the seller side is a separate conversation worth having in full.

6. What Happens to My Earnest Money if the Deal Falls Apart?

For most buyers this is the first real money at risk, usually about 1% of the purchase price in DFW.

A strong answer walks you through the option period, the contract deadlines that follow it, and the specific circumstances where the deposit is at risk. It also tells you who holds the money, which is the title company, not the agent and not the seller.

A weak answer is “don’t worry, you’ll get it back.” Sometimes you will not, and the cause is usually a missed deadline rather than a problem with the house.

Verify it. Ask the agent to name the deadlines in the contract from memory and to show you how they track them. My earnest money guide covers the Texas mechanics, including how the option fee and the deposit are two different checks with two different sets of rules.

7. How Do I Fire You?

Ask it in those words. The reaction tells you as much as the answer does.

A strong answer is an easy exit, in writing, at no cost, effective the day you ask. A confident agent offers this before you request it.

A weak answer explains why a six-month commitment protects you. It protects the brokerage. A standard Texas exclusive-right-to-sell listing runs a set term, commonly six months, and cancellation is at the broker’s discretion unless the document says otherwise. Buyer agreements have the same shape.

Verify it. Read the cancellation clause and the protection period before you sign, and get any promised exit right written into the document rather than agreed to in conversation. Verbal assurances tend not to hold once a deal gets difficult.

8. What Happens When You Miss Something?

Most transactions include a missed call, a slipped deadline, or a showing that fell through. The question is whether anything follows.

A strong answer names a consequence with a number attached, or a written target with a make-up provision. Most agents have no written accountability policy, so asking for one narrows the field quickly.

A weak answer is an apology in advance and a promise to communicate well.

Verify it. Ask for the clause. If it exists, it will be in the agreement and the agent will be able to point to it in under thirty seconds.

9. Can I Call Your Last Five Clients?

This means phone numbers of real clients you can call unscripted this week, not a review page.

A strong answer hands them over, or explains which clients agreed to be references and connects you the same day.

A weak answer offers a testimonials page and changes the subject. Hesitation at this question is the strongest negative signal in the interview.

Verify it. Call them, and ask three specific questions: did the agent do what they said they would, what went wrong in the transaction, and how was it handled. The second question is the most useful, because most deals hit a problem and the answer shows how the agent handles one.

10. How Often Will I Hear From You, and How?

Communication is the most common complaint about agents and the easiest thing to pin down before you start.

A strong answer is a number and a channel. Twice a week by text during an active transaction, weekly during a search, same-day response on anything time-sensitive.

A weak answer is “I’m very responsive,” which every agent says.

Verify it. Put the cadence in writing, then watch what happens during the interview stage. Response time before you sign is the best available sample of response time after you sign.

At a glance

The Ten Questions on One Screen

Every question above, with the answer that should reassure you and the answer that should not. Screenshot this table or print it and take it into the interview.

Question number#	Question	Strong answer	Weak answer
1	Are you licensed, and who is your broker?	Strong answerA license number and a sponsoring broker's name, given without hesitating.	Weak answerA brokerage logo, no license number, and “you can look us up.”
2	How many homes did you sell last year, and where?	Strong answerA count plus the submarket, such as eleven last year, nine of them in south Tarrant County.	Weak answerA big round number with no answer on whether it is a team's production.
3	Is real estate your full-time job?	Strong answerA plain yes, backed by weekday-afternoon showing availability on 48 hours' notice.	Weak answerA pivot to availability language: “I'm always reachable.”
4	Who actually handles my transaction?	Strong answerEvery name that will touch the file, what each person does, and which of them are licensed.	Weak answer“We've got a great team behind me,” with no names.
5	What do I pay you, and what do you pay for?	Strong answerThe rate, who is being asked to pay it, confirmation it is negotiable, and a written net sheet or cost estimate.	Weak answerA rate quoted as if it were fixed, and no answer on what you spend before closing.
6	What happens to my earnest money if the deal falls apart?	Strong answerA walk through the option period, the deadlines after it, and confirmation the title company holds the funds.	Weak answer“Don't worry, you'll get it back.”
7	How do I fire you?	Strong answerAn exit in writing, at no cost, effective the day you ask for it.	Weak answerAn explanation of why a six-month commitment is there to protect you.
8	What happens when you miss something?	Strong answerA written consequence with a number attached, and the clause produced in under thirty seconds.	Weak answerAn apology in advance and a promise to communicate well.
9	Can I call your last five clients?	Strong answerPhone numbers handed over, or references connected to you the same day.	Weak answerA testimonials page, and a change of subject.
10	How often will I hear from you, and how?	Strong answerA number and a channel, such as twice a week by text during an active transaction.	Weak answer“I'm very responsive,” which every agent says.

Every question links back to the full answer above, including how to verify the claim yourself.

What to Read Before You Sign Anything

The interview produces answers. The paperwork produces obligations, and the two do not always match. Four documents decide more about your next six months than any answer in the conversation, and three of them are published for free by the state.

Information About Brokerage Services. Not a contract. It is a TREC disclosure explaining what a broker, a sales agent, and an intermediary each are, and Texas requires it at the first substantive communication about a property. Its real use is administrative: if you never received it, you have learned something about how the rest of the paperwork will be handled.

The representation agreement. This is the one that binds you, whether it is a buyer representation agreement or an exclusive-right-to-sell listing agreement. Four clauses matter. The term, meaning how many months. The protection period, meaning how long after the term ends a commission can still be owed on someone the agent introduced. The cancellation terms, meaning whether you can leave and at whose discretion. And the compensation clause, meaning what you owe if the other side of the transaction does not cover it. A promised exit that is not written into this document does not exist.

The One to Four Family Residential Contract (Resale). This is the promulgated TREC form most DFW resales run on, and it is public. Reading it before you are under one is the single best hour a first-time buyer can spend, because it is where the option period, the financing and appraisal provisions, the deadlines, and the earnest money outcomes all actually live. Question 6 in this guide is really a question about whether your agent knows this form cold.

The written accountability policy, if there is one. Most agents have none, which is why question 8 narrows the field so quickly. If an agent claims one, it belongs in the representation agreement with a number attached, not in an email.

Before you sign

Documents to have in hand

Request all five in one message. An agent who is ready will send them the same day.

• The Information About Brokerage Services formShould have arrived already. If it has not, ask why before you ask anything else.
• The representation agreement you are being asked to signNot a summary of it. The document, with the term, protection period, cancellation, and compensation clauses readable.
• A blank One to Four Family Residential ContractFree from TREC. Read the option period section and the deadline table before you are under contract, not during.
• A written net sheet or buyer cost estimateSellers get the net sheet, buyers get the cost estimate. Either one shows what leaves your account before closing does.
• Any accountability or service guarantee referenced in the interviewIn the signed agreement, with a dollar figure. A verbal promise survives exactly as long as the deal stays easy.

Every one of these is a document you are entitled to read before signing. An agent who treats the request as unusual has answered question 7 for you.

My Answers, With the Proof Attached

Here are all ten, in the same order, plus two commitments the list doesn’t ask about.

Question	My answer	How to check it
License and broker	Texas license NTREIS-0704632, licensed since 2018, sponsored by broker John Hill at Close Real Estate in Fort Worth	TREC license search
Sales last year and where	300+ closed transactions, 102 independently verified, across Dallas, Tarrant, Ellis, Parker, Johnson, Collin, Wise, and Denton Counties	My HAR.com record
Full-time	Full-time residential agent, no second job	Test my weekday showing availability
Who handles your file	Me, start to finish. No team handoffs	Ask my past clients who showed up at closing
What you pay me	Buyers never pay me a commission. If the seller won’t cover it, I absorb the difference myself	The buyer agreement, before you sign
What I pay for	Buyer or seller, I pay for the home inspection out of my own pocket. Around $600, plus a lender-paid appraisal and full seller prep	My written inspection, appraisal, and seller-prep guarantees*
Earnest money	If you lose your earnest money because of an error or omission on my side, I write you a personal check to cover the full amount	My written earnest money guarantee,* in the signed agreement
Cancellation	No 6-month buyer agreements and no exclusive listings with lock-in clauses. Send me a text and the representation ends that day	The cancellation clause in my agreement
Missed commitments	If I’m late, dishonest, or drop a ball on any commitment, I Venmo or Zelle you $100 on the spot	My written accountability guarantee,* and my past clients
Past client references	Five clients with published phone numbers, connected the same day	My client references page
Communication	Minimum twice-weekly contact during an active transaction	Ask the clients whose numbers I publish

* Each starred item is a separate numbered commitment in the written guarantee agreement described below, not a verbal promise.

Two commitments sit outside the ten questions. Buyers get a written savings target and sellers get a written timeline target, and if I miss either one I pay the gap out of my commission at closing. Every buyer and seller also gets a $500 closing credit toward movers, boxes, or the first night’s takeout, paid when you close. Both are numbered items in the same signed agreement.

All thirteen commitments live on my written guarantees page with the dollar amount attached to each one, and I sign that agreement before you sign anything. The five phone numbers are on the client references page next to 100+ Google reviews, 22+ verified client reviews, and 11 video testimonials.

Check Every Answer Yourself

None of this requires taking my word for it, or theirs. These are the public databases, the free state forms, and the published records behind each question above.

Resources

Verification tools and primary sources

Bookmark the first four before your first interview. They answer questions 1, 2, 7, and 8 without an agent in the room.

• License holder searchTexas Real Estate Commission

  Status, sponsoring broker, expiration, and disciplinary history for every license holder in Texas.

• Information About Brokerage ServicesTexas Real Estate Commission

  The disclosure you should receive at the first substantive conversation about a property.

• One to Four Family Residential Contract (Resale)Texas Real Estate Commission

  The promulgated contract most DFW resales run on. Read the option period and the deadlines before you are under one.

• Consumer guide to TRECTexas Real Estate Commission

  What the agency regulates, what it does not, and what recourse exists when representation goes wrong.

• How to file a complaintTexas Real Estate Commission

  The filing rules, the timing window, and the documents a complaint needs to be actionable.

• 2026 Member Profile highlightsNational Association of Realtors

  The benchmarks quoted throughout this guide: nine transaction sides, 13 years median experience, $59,200 median income.

• Buying a houseConsumer Financial Protection Bureau

  Plain-language federal guides to loan estimates, closing disclosures, and shopping a mortgage.

• My HAR.com recordHouston Association of Realtors

  102 independently verified closed transactions, published under license NTREIS-0704632.

• My written guaranteesConner Nielsen

  All thirteen commitments with the dollar amount attached to each one, signed before you sign anything.

• Client referencesConner Nielsen

  Five past clients with published phone numbers, plus 100+ Google reviews and 11 video testimonials.

Bring the List to a Ten-Minute Call

Interview two or three agents, ask all of them the same ten questions, and write the answers down. Then hire whichever one gave answers you were able to verify yourself. That method is more reliable than a referral from a friend who used an agent once in 2019.

Book a free 10-minute Initial Consultation and ask me all ten in order. It is a Zoom call where I tell you plainly whether to move now or wait. I send $100 by Venmo if you feel it wasted your time. You can also call me at 806-928-8884 and ask them over the phone instead.

If you are earlier in the process, the buyer representation and seller representation pages spell out exactly what I cover on each side of a deal.