Your agent is the single most important decision in your home purchase. More important than the lender. More important than the rate. More important than the house you pick. Because your agent decides how your offer is written, how it’s negotiated, and whether it closes.
A great agent gets you the house at the right price with the right terms. A bad agent costs you the house — or costs you thousands on the one you get.
Here’s how to choose one.
How to find an agent
The easy way: ask someone who recently bought a home who they used. My team uses this Facebook post — you can put up the same one: “Asking a favor, I’m trying to find a local realtor, someone who works with first-time buyers and is local to [your area]. If you know a great one, please tag them in this post or DM me.” That post works because it filters for agents people actually liked.
More ways to find one: referrals from friends, family, coworkers, or your lender; Google “best real estate agent in [your area]” — but remember, those results are mostly paid ads, so check reviews and experience, not just the ranking; or use an agent finder like homeandmoney.com/fthb/ to get matched with agents who work with first-time buyers in your area.
Full-time and local. That’s the filter.
A part-time agent who sells two homes a year is not the same as a full-time agent who sells thirty. And an agent who knows your neighborhood — the streets, the schools, the prices — is not the same as one who drives in from two counties away. From city to city, even zip code to zip code, the market can be really different. You want someone who understands home-buying where you’re buying.
Make sure they’re working full-time as a real estate agent, and local to your area. Ask what types of homes they’ve helped people buy, and whether those are the same types you’re in the market for.
Interview them like it matters
Talk to at least two or three agents before you commit. Here’s what to ask:
- Are you a full-time real estate agent? If they have another job, they’re not going to be available when you need them.
- How long have you been doing this? Experience matters — especially in a negotiation.
- How many first-time buyers have you helped in the last year? You want someone who knows the first-time-buyer process, not just the luxury market.
- Do you work in my area? Local knowledge is not optional.
- How will you communicate with me? Text, call, email — and how fast do you respond?
- What happens if the inspection finds problems? You want an agent who has handled this before and knows how to negotiate repairs or credits.
- Have you handled a low appraisal before, and what happened? That’s a good way to gauge their negotiating skills before you actually need them.
- How do you handle a bidding war? In a competitive market, this is where a good agent earns their money.
And two more from the episode that people forget to ask:
- When you put a $25,000 seller credit on the offer, do you use the seller credit to buy down the rate? A good agent knows how to structure a credit so it actually helps you.
- Can a lower rate with seller credits work? Same idea — the credit is a tool, and a good agent knows how to use it.
If an agent can’t answer these clearly, keep looking.
What your agent does that you can’t do alone
- Finding a home. A good agent knows what’s coming on the market before it’s listed, and they know which neighborhoods fit your budget.
- Negotiating. Price, repairs, credits, timeline. A good negotiator saves you thousands.
- Handling the details. Inspections, appraisal, escrow, closing. A good agent keeps the deal on track and catches problems before they kill it.
- A low appraisal. When the appraisal comes in below your offer, a good agent negotiates the price down or finds another way. Ask whether they’ve done it before.
- Wire fraud. Your agent and your lender both verify wire instructions. One phone call before you send money is the difference between closing and losing your down payment.
Dat’s take
Find a full-time local agent. Interview them like it matters — it does.
What to do with this
- Read Start Here for the full process.
- Read First-Time Home Buyers: Where to Start in the Home Buying Process.
- Read How to Budget for Buying a House.
- Then start your pre-approval and I’ll connect you with an agent I trust, or work with the one you bring.
Hear me talk about choosing an agent on the podcast: Episode 3 — Choosing a Real Estate Agent. Buying process hub: Buying Process.
Rates move. Your actual payment depends on your rate, your credit, your county’s tax rate, and your insurance. This is education, not a rate quote or a loan approval.