Most people choose an agent because someone recommended them, or because their sign was on a nearby lawn. Both are reasonable starting points and neither tells you how the next few months will go. These questions do.
About your situation, not their résumé
Ask what they would do with your house, or your search, specifically. Not what they generally do — what they would do here, given what you have just told them.
A good answer is specific and includes something you did not want to hear. A weak answer is a description of their marketing. You are not hiring a brochure.
Follow it with: what would you change before we start? If the answer is nothing, either your situation is unusually straightforward or they are being agreeable rather than useful.
About price, if you are selling
Ask how they arrived at the number, and ask to see what they compared it to. The figure matters far less than the reasoning behind it.
Be wary of the highest number in the room. Anyone can suggest a price; the question is whether they can show you why a buyer would pay it. An agent who talks you into an optimistic listing price is setting up the conversation where they talk you back down, and by then you have lost the weeks when your house was new to the market.
About how you will actually hear from them
Ask who you will be talking to. Some agents work alone, some have a team, and both can work well — but you should know before there is a problem whether the person you are sitting with is the person who will answer at eight on a Sunday.
Ask how often you will hear from them and in what form. Then ask what happens when there is nothing to report, because silence is when most people start to worry.
About what goes wrong
Ask them to tell you about a transaction that did not go smoothly, and what they did. Everyone who has done this for any length of time has several.
What you are listening for is whether they describe the problem in a way that suggests they saw it coming, and whether they take any responsibility in the telling. An agent who has never had a difficult deal has either been very lucky or is editing.
About the agreement itself
Ask what you are signing, how long it lasts, and how you end it if this is not working. Ask what is included and what is billed separately.
These are ordinary questions and a professional will answer them without friction. Reluctance here is worth taking seriously — it is the clearest early signal you will get about how the rest of the relationship handles awkward conversations.
What the answers are telling you
Across all of it, you are testing one thing: will this person tell you something you do not want to hear? Buying or selling a home involves several moments where the useful advice is unwelcome. An agent who cannot be direct in an interview, when they are trying to win your business, will not suddenly find it later.
This is general information, not advice about your situation. Every sale and purchase is different. Call Jackie on (425) 246-1547 or send a message and you will get an answer about yours.