What questions should I ask a real estate agent before hiring them?

<div><p>Interviewing real estate agents is the best way to find the right person for the job. Consider asking the following questions to find the best agent for you:</p><ul><li><p>How will you show my property?</p></li><li><p>Will you do open houses to market my home?</p></li><li><p>How will you handle dual agency (representing the buyer and you as the seller)?</p></li><li><p>Should I make repairs to my home before listing?</p></li><li><p>Will you get professional photos taken of my home?</p></li><li><p>What is the best price you think we can get for my property?</p></li><li><p>How long do you expect the sale to take?</p></li></ul><p></p></div>

Do I need a real estate agent as a buyer?

<div><p>You don’t legally need a real estate agent as a buyer, as you can represent yourself, but you should always hire an agent as a home buyer. A professional real estate agent will have access to local MLS services to find homes that meet your criteria and needs, can connect you with other professionals—like a mortgage broker and real estate attorney—you’ll need for the purchase, and can often negotiate a better price for your home to help save you money. Plus, as the buyer, your agent’s commission comes from the seller’s proceeds from the sale of the home.</p></div>

Get matched with top real estate agents in Shaver Lake, CA

Q: Do I need a real estate agent as a buyer?

<div><p>You don&rsquo;t legally need a real estate agent as a buyer, as you can represent yourself, but you should always hire an agent as a home buyer. A professional real estate agent will have access to local MLS services to find homes that meet your criteria and needs, can connect you with other professionals&mdash;like a mortgage broker and real estate attorney&mdash;you&rsquo;ll need for the purchase, and can often negotiate a better price for your home to help save you money. Plus, as the buyer, your agent&rsquo;s commission comes from the seller&rsquo;s proceeds from the sale of the home.</p></div>

There are 0 highly-rated local real estate agents.

Matching on Angi

Share some details about your home project.

Within moments, match with highly-rated local pros.

Compare quotes and choose the best pro for the job.

Verified Reviews for Real Estate Service pros in Shaver Lake, CA

*The Angi rating for Real Estate Service companies in Shaver Lake, CA is a rating based on verified reviews from our community of homeowners who have used these pros to meet their Real Estate Service needs.

*The HomeAdvisor rating for Real Estate Service companies in Shaver Lake, CA is a rating based on verified reviews from our community of homeowners who have used these pros to meet their Real Estate Service needs.

Last update on April 08, 2025

Reviewed in April 2025
Alan Gitz was extremely helpful, friendly, knowlegable and professional. Not to mention very patient with us. We were visiting from another state looking for a house to call our home. After a month and multiple houses we found one we really like. He worked with us through the whole process via...
Keaty Real Estate, LLC
Request a quote
Reviewed in September 2018
The Brad Korb Real Estate Group did an excellent job of selling and preparing our home for the market. We needed extensive repairs and upgrades before listing the house. Living out of state we were at a loss on how to handle the logistics of hiring contractor's to make the repairs. Brad's team...
Brad Korb
Request a quote
Reviewed in December 2016
Great, Rose was wonderful. She was diligent, efficient, prompt, and took my needs into consideration. She took the worry out of selling my house.
Team Forss Realty Group
Request a quote
Reviewed in November 2020
Mike was very easy to work with. He was super responsive, attentive to our wants & needs, and shared his real estate knowledge as well as research on prospective properties . He made our relocation experience much less stressful.
Michael Marshall - Buyer's Resource Realty Svcs.
Request a quote
Reviewed in May 2013
I am in an area that Angie's List is not established in (Barstow). I left a message looking for an appraiser in that area. Penny does not handle the area I am in. Normally if there is nothing in it for the vendor you never get a call back. Penny called back within minutes and went out of...
Penny Smith Realtor/Appraiser
Request a quote
Reviewed in July 2011
I found Christy Sparkmans ability to work with me across the country a wonderful experience. She was extremely helpful with every question I had and was upfront and honest with every minute detail I had. I would recommend her services and want to say it was a pleasure working with someone with...
Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Georgia Properties
Request a quote
Reviewed in June 2014
We used Charles McCann who works out of this office. Cell #: 707-498-3830. Extremely helpful! Definitely had our best interest in mind. We are very happy in our new house thanks to Charles!
COMMUNITY REALTY
Request a quote
Reviewed in October 2012
Several years back when starting to research real estate opportunies in the Russian River area we met Richard and John at Herth Real Estate. They've been great to work with ... knowledgeable, supportive, and helpful. The Russian River is about an hour from where we live and they made it easy...
HERTH REAL ESTATE SONOMA
Request a quote
Reviewed in February 2013
Sue Forbes and Sarah Corliss true professionals in every aspect of their work. From working with us to establish a selling price to taking care of appearance fix-its (paint touch up; carpet replacement; septic and other inspections) for us in CA while we were living in OH was a HUGE...
Sue Forbes
Request a quote

Real estate agents in Shaver Lake

Real estate services FAQs

Real estate agents work on commission, so the cost of hiring an agent will depend on the cost of the home you’re buying or selling. The listing contract should include information about the commission for both agents, which is usually 6 percent of the sale price in total or 3 percent per side. With an average national home value of around $440,000, the typical commission per agent is $13,200. However, you won’t pay this total out of pocket. Instead, the commission comes out of the sale price of the property.

Interviewing real estate agents is the best way to find the right person for the job. Consider asking the following questions to find the best agent for you:

How will you show my property?
Will you do open houses to market my home?
How will you handle dual agency (representing the buyer and you as the seller)?
Should I make repairs to my home before listing?
Will you get professional photos taken of my home?
What is the best price you think we can get for my property?
How long do you expect the sale to take?

Yes, hiring a real estate agent is worth it. Many homeowners make the mistake of trying to sell their homes by themselves, thinking that they’ll save money on the commission, but what they save on the commission, they very often pay for in frustration and concessions on the sale price. Hiring a real estate agent to handle the sale of your home not only makes the process far easier and takes the burden off of you, but most homeowners get more for their homes when going through an agent because of the marketing and salesmanship they bring to the table.

You don’t legally need a real estate agent as a buyer, as you can represent yourself, but you should always hire an agent as a home buyer. A professional real estate agent will have access to local MLS services to find homes that meet your criteria and needs, can connect you with other professionals—like a mortgage broker and real estate attorney—you’ll need for the purchase, and can often negotiate a better price for your home to help save you money. Plus, as the buyer, your agent’s commission comes from the seller’s proceeds from the sale of the home.

The homeowners guide to real estate services

From average costs to expert advice, get all the answers you need to get your job done.

See all articles