All good questions, methinks. Likely no one person will answer them all. I’ll hit a couple of them.
Definitely get pre-approved.
One piece of advice I would give is – know up-front how much you want them to do for you. Do you want to surf redfin and only have them let you into the property ? Do you want them to preview everything an only call you when they see something you like ? Depends on how busy you are, how well you know the areas, etc.
Some things you would want to know about your agent:
1) Do people who have used them in the past recommend them? Only interview agents that are recommended to you. Don’t pick them out of a phone book or bench ad.
2)How many transactions do they have under their belt ? How many as a buyer? How many as a seller?
3) Let them know you are interviewing several agents and ask if they are they willing to reduce the commission, especially if they are only there to let you into the house.
4) Can you use your own mortgage agent, escrow agent, inspector, etc if you wanted? Agents always want you to work with someone they recommend. Sometimes it is for good reasons, but sometimes there are incentives to the agent so you don’t necessarily get the right one for you. Even if you don’t intend to use your own, ask if you can. If not, ask who they recommend and check up on them.
Suggest you consider the “spectrum” of real estate agents as such: On one end are those who just want to get you into a house. They are great at keeping the process smooth, not ruffling feathers, avoiding pitfalls, closing the deal.
Then, there are the fighters. They work to get you the best situation. They worry about negotiating position as well as the house itself. Occasionally they risk not getting a deal done in order to push the seller a little harder. Consider where you want to be in that range.
Typically, first-time buyers really like the first type of agent because they make everything easy but it isn’t always best.
