Most sellers interview one agent, maybe two, and pick whoever they liked best in the meeting. That’s not enough information to base a decision on. The agent you choose controls your price strategy, your marketing, and how many headaches you deal with between now and closing. A short list of pointed questions in that first conversation tells you a lot more than a friendly personality does.
I’m Robbie English, REALTOR and Broker at Uncommon Realty in Austin, and these are the questions I’d want a client to bring into any listing interview, mine included.
TLDR: What to Ask Before You List
- What’s your commission, and what’s included for that fee?
- What does your marketing plan look like for a home like mine?
- How did you land on this list price?
- How often will you update me, and how?
- What happens if I want to cancel the listing agreement?
Commission, Marketing, and Pricing: The Questions That Affect Your Bottom Line
Start with commission. Ask for the total percentage, how it splits between your listing agent and the buyer’s agent, and whether that number is negotiable. Get it in writing before you sign anything. Also ask what’s bundled into that fee versus billed separately: professional photography, staging consultation, and print materials are common line items that vary agent to agent. A vague answer here, or one that changes when you ask twice, is worth noticing.
Next, ask for specifics on marketing. “I’ll list it on the MLS” isn’t a plan, it’s the baseline every agent does. Ask what professional photography and video look like for your home, whether there’s a walkthrough or drone footage, how the listing gets promoted beyond the MLS, and whether the agent does open houses or broker previews. Push for details tied to your actual property, not a generic answer they’d give anyone.
Then get into pricing. Ask the agent to walk you through the comparable sales they used to arrive at their suggested list price, and ask what their plan is if the home hasn’t sold or gotten strong showing activity within the first few weeks. Pricing affects everything downstream, how fast you sell, how many offers you get, and what you walk away with. An agent who can’t explain their comps clearly hasn’t done the work yet.
Communication and the Exit: What Happens After You Sign
Ask how often you’ll hear from your agent and through what channel, whether that’s a weekly call, a text after every showing, or a monthly check-in. Sellers who feel out of the loop during a listing usually trace it back to this question never getting asked upfront.
Also ask about the listing agreement itself: how long is the term, and what’s the process if you want out before it ends. A reasonable agent will explain their cancellation terms without hedging. If they won’t answer directly, treat that as information too.
How I Answer These Questions
When sellers ask me these same things, I give them straight numbers, not a sales pitch. I walk through my commission structure and what it covers, show the comps behind whatever price I’m recommending for their home, and lay out a marketing plan specific to their property rather than a template. I also tell people upfront how I communicate during a listing and what the cancellation terms look like, because a seller who understands the agreement they’re signing makes better decisions than one who’s just trusting a handshake.
If you’re getting ready to list and want to go through these questions with me directly, get in touch and we’ll talk about your home and your timeline.
