Hiring an agent is a must if you're off to sell your property. Of course you want to be represented by someone who’s competitive and is also trustworthy and easy to communicate with, since an agent will have access to information about your finances. You may ask for recommendation from friends and family, or look up online. Once you have a list of names, call them up for an interview. Here’s 3 important questions you should ask:

Experience is the best teacher, especially for this kind of job. An agent that can't sell will not last long in the field since their earnings are commission-based. It’s ideal to hire someone who has years of experience under his or her belt – they’ve bulked up their contacts, are more prepared to handle situations when faced with conflict, and are better communicators and organizers. Ask for their history of sales over the past 6 months and the areas that they’ve covered. This will help you gauge how competitive they are and how much they know about the market, which are both deciding factors in choosing an agent. Although experienced agents are the better option by default, novices have good things going on for them too. They’re definitely eager and enthusiastic to make that sale. Ask if they’ve been under the wing of a mentor and look up the credentials of that person too. Newer agents will tend to have more time to cater to you since they probably don’t have a string of clients just yet.

This will help you determine if your prospective agent has time for you. If she is working with a dozen other clients, ask her what her strategy is in juggling all of you while still delivering the best possible work. Also ask if she has a team on her side to help her. In line with this, ask for references from past clients. They will of course give you contact to a client with which they had a smoothest transaction with but it's still best to know firsthand how their experience with the agent went.

This will test if your prospective agent is adamant on selling your property. If she asks for things such as details on the property, what your preferred marketing strategy is, what your timeline is in making the sale, your preferred mode of communication and available hours, it's an indication that she is making way for a client-centered transaction which works best to your advantage.