Yes, you can interview both agents within the same company. You can interview as many agents as you like until you meet the agent you feel will do the best job possible to market and sell your house.

The listing agent can be extremely important. While it is true they seldom bring in the buyer - in some states dual agency is not allowed and they could not bring in the buyer. Some agents refuse to do dual agency too. A listing agent is key to getting the word out that your house is on the market. Marketing your house correctly allows people to know it is for sale, how much, shows it in its best light, etc. Some agents promise the moon and do not deliver, other agents meet every expectation and more.

You list two zones in your profile, which market are you selling in?

I'm selling my house in Minnesota (Twin Cities area).

Some agents promise the moon and do not deliver, other agents meet every expectation and more. How can I find out which category one falls into? Moon-promisers or expectation-meeters?

Good question, jenswrens.

Do you have any friends or business associates that have had good luck with a Real Estate agent? Have you tracked the "for sale" and "sold" sign in your immediate area? When we last sold we interviewed the guy that had every "sold" sign in the area for the previous few years. He had practically cornered the market in a 2-3 sq mile area. A lot of people draw comfort from an agent that shows up to be interviewed with comps and a game-plan. They list that they are going to do XX and YY and put it in their contract.

And, regardless of what the agent promises much of it depends on you. Make sure your house is clean and decluttered. Need fliers in the box? Forget calling the agent, print them and put them out yourself. What extra marketing brochures for prospective buyers to take with them? Print them and out them out yourself. The agent's pictures are awful? Hire a professional photographer to make the most of your house and send the photos to the agent to use on the mls.

Yes, I do understand the agent makes a commission and should be responsible for these items, but the truth is no one wants to sell your house more than you!

Another thing, get those promises in writing, including a cancellation clause.

We had a really good agent in St. Paul, both to buy and sell a house. If you'd like a referral, please let me know.

If you want more than one picture of your home on Realtor.com make sure that you choose an agent who subscribes to enhanced listings.

Thanks, everyone.

What about that 6% commission for the first agent that I like? DH says he won't pay that much, but is he being unreasonable? What should we be paying for commission?

kec01, I'd like to get a referral. You can email me at jenswrens at yahoo dot com. (I don't think my email link on My Page works anymore.)

What about that 6% commission for the first agent that I like? DH says he won't pay that much, but is he being unreasonable? What should we be paying for commission?

See what services are being offered for 5% vs 6%. And, make certain that the "going rate" really is 5%. Commissions depend on what is customary in the area, local housing prices, how much the Realtor wants the listing, how hot the market is, what selling features are being offered, etc. I paid 6% is a red hot market. When we looked in NJ, commissions varied between 2% - 4%. That market was also hot back then. I have read, and maybe some of the Realtors here could chime in, that as the market cools commission rates will actually go up. Maybe in your area 6% really is outrageous. Maybe 5% is common but does not get you great marketing, an enhanced listing, a virtual tour (if you like that), etc. Maybe both agents offer the same value and one agency just charges 1% more. Compare what you are getting for the money.

Referral should be in your mailbox now.

jenswrens, the email I sent was returned. Would you email me at jefkit@comcast dot net and I'll try a return to sender?

Below is a link to some questions I put together when I was looking for an agent. I used posts from here, trying to take common questions into consideration.

I interviewed 2 agents from the same office, one we really clicked with, the other had experience in a similar market. We ended up going with experience.

The fact is, you can interview all you want but until you work with them, you never know. Make sure you can get out of the contract if you are unhappy. Best advice I can give you.

If you need an agent that advertises at realtor.com, make sure you start your search there by looking at your competition, then see who has the best listings there. A lot of buyers use realtor.com as their main search when buying. If your agent has enhanced listings, it makes it easier on the buyer.

Here is a link that might be useful: Agent Interview Questions for sellers

Thanks everyone! That is a great list, roselvr.

Lots have mentioned the "get out of it" clause. What should this read like? Because I haven't seen anything like that in the one contract I've been given to look at so far.

I personally (which doesn't mean anything!:) would consider how easy or hard a sell the house will be as a negotiating point when it comes to commission.
I.e. if I were a seller in a slow market but had a "hot" property aggressively priced to sell soon - I would imagine I might be able to use that as a bargaining point for a 1% less. Conversely if I were a realtor and someone wanted me to sell an overpriced slovenly mess, I'd stick to my 6% or whatever because I know I'm going to have to deal with it a lot longer.
I'm not sure what your market is or how easily your house will sell.

In addition to Roselvr's excellent list, I would certainly look at their listings on the MLS to see if the pictures are ok, the write ups well written and without mistakes. You might want to have it put in the contract that you get to review the MLS listing, pictures etc. before it goes on.
There are intangibles, will they take input from you? Many will blow you off, just a little, they are used to dealing with nervous sellers.
I had a perfectly nice, competent realtor but it just didn't seem as urgent to her that the pictures she took were barely ok and the pictures I had taken (several photography classes) were better. Or wasn't that timely in getting her pictures which were shrunk and turned around fixed. I was freaking because I think first impressions are important and of course all these things were wrong for the first week it was on the MLS.

Last - these are really just my observations reflected through my world view and yours will be different. You can consider the age and gender you might want in an agent. I've had two young inexperienced agents and I feel I have now done my bit to pay back those who gave me a leg up in my field when I was young and inexperienced. I wouldn't say never to someone young and inexperienced but I'd think twice. I am starting to prefer male agents. Women still seem to handle all family emergencies etc. more than men and I have had them be unavailable at inopportune times because their realtor schedules are more flexible that the spouse with a 8-5 job (of course the gender could be reversed here), or in one case their new second husband with a regular job wants them to travel with them on weekends, or what have you. Personally I have liked some of the older, towards the end of their career agents. Some of them have gotten to the point where they tell you what they really think vs. what I call "professional speak" which often tells you nothing but is something they probably learn to do in seminars.
Their time is more their own, sure they are often still working because they need to but sometimes also for the personal interaction and joy of it.
I think most people probably communicate well with an agent in similar life circumstances.

jenswrens - You're wise to find an agent quickly since the market is starting to heat up in the TCs now that the weather is nicer. I also have an agent I can refer to you. She helped me out a lot for months before we moved here and she has integrity. She is with a discount brokerage company, but I wouldn't let that stop you. If you want her name, drop me an email from my profile.

What is a "discount brokerage"? What does that mean?

(Email sent!)

Ask each agent that you interview to prepare a report showing each house he/she has sold in the past two years. And specify that you want to see properties that had used the agent as the listing agent (not just that brokerage). On each property, there should be listed the listing price, the selling price (what seller concessions were given) and how many days the property was on the market. This report is very simple for the agents to prepare and it should give you some facts to compare. Also, be sure to have a cancel anytime clause. Good luck.
Susan

What should that cancel anytime clause say? Can someone give me some wording, since I think I'll have to add it as an addendum or something...

jen - a discount brokerage is a company that charges lower commission. Instead of paying, say 6%, you may pay 5% or less. I don't know the exact commission standards in the TC area, so those numbers are just an example.