How to Choose a Real Estate Agent-Who is Actually a Listing Agent

What Every Home Seller Should Know Before They Sign Anything

This guide was written by Michele Noonan, a listing specialist licensed since 1996 with nearly 30 years of transaction experience in Plantation, Fort Lauderdale, and surrounding South Florida markets. As a Hawks Landing resident and luxury listing advisor, I have guided homeowners through every market condition this region has seen.

Last Updated June 2026

Most homeowners hiring a real estate agent ask the wrong question first. They lead with commission. They accept whoever gives them the highest suggested list price. They assume all agents offer the same level of service, marketing, and expertise — and then they wonder why their home sat on the market, required multiple price reductions, or sold for less than it should have.

The agent you hire to sell your home is one of the most consequential decisions you will make in this process. Not all agents are listing specialists. Not all agents market your home with the same level of investment and professionalism. Not all agents will be personally available when it matters most. And not all agents have the negotiating experience to protect your interests when offers come in, inspections get contentious, or deals start to fall apart.

This guide will show you exactly what to look for, what to ask, and what mistakes to avoid before you sign anything.

Before You Ask About Commission, Read This

Most homeowners begin the agent selection process with one question in mind — what is your commission? It feels like the logical starting point. But commission is actually the last question you should be asking, not the first.

Without knowing whether an agent is an experienced listing specialist, how many homes they have sold, and whether they will personally manage your transaction — the commission rate is completely irrelevant.

Here is what most homeowners do not realize. An agent who charges less almost always spends less on marketing your home. In many cases they spend nothing at all. The psychology is simple — if an agent is earning less on a transaction, they are going to invest less in it. What that means for you as a seller is that your home — worth hundreds of thousands or potentially millions of dollars — may be marketed with nothing more than cell phone photos uploaded to the MLS and a sign in the yard.

I see this every single day in our local MLS. Luxury listings photographed on a cell phone. No video. No digital advertising. No professional presentation of any kind. And every time I ask myself the same question — how did a homeowner agree to this? How did they sign a listing agreement and never ask to see how their home was going to be presented to the world?

Professional photography is just the beginning. A serious marketing strategy includes video, digital advertising, social media exposure, targeted outreach to qualified buyers, compelling property descriptions, and a coordinated launch designed to generate maximum interest in the shortest period of time. None of that is free — and an agent who discounts their commission is telling you something important about how much of it you are going to get.

Hiring an agent with a lower commission but little to no experience and little to no marketing investment is one of the most costly mistakes a homeowner can make. There is an old saying that applies here — you get what you pay for. A lower commission does not save you money if the agent lacks the pricing expertise, marketing strategy, and negotiation skills to sell your home for its maximum value. The wrong agent at a lower commission can cost you tens of thousands of dollars in reduced sale price, extended time on market, and costly mistakes along the way.

This is one of the primary reasons homes fail to sell the first time around — not the market, not the price, not the timing — but the agent. Answer these five questions first. Then talk about commission.

The Warning Sign Most Sellers Miss

One of the most common mistakes homeowners make when selecting a listing agent is choosing the agent who suggests the highest price. While it can be tempting to believe your home is worth more than other agents suggest, some agents intentionally recommend an inflated price in order to secure the listing. This practice is known as buying the listing.

Overpriced homes frequently receive fewer showings, spend more time on the market, require price reductions, and often sell for less than if they had been priced correctly from the beginning. An agent willing to tell you what you want to hear about price is not necessarily the agent who will get you the best result. The two most reliable warning signs that you are sitting across from the wrong agent are an inflated suggested price and a discounted commission. Neither one serves your interests.

What Homeowners Should Look For in a Listing Agent

Before you schedule a single listing appointment, the right questions can save you significant time and potentially thousands of dollars. Most homeowners focus on the wrong things when evaluating agents. They compare commission rates. They accept whoever suggests the highest price. They hire someone they like without understanding whether that person has the experience, marketing strategy, and negotiation skills to actually deliver results.

What you should be looking for is an agent whose business is primarily focused on representing sellers, who is actively selling homes in today's market, who will personally manage your transaction from listing to closing, and who has a professional marketing strategy that goes well beyond placing your home in the MLS and waiting for showings.

Communication is equally important. Selling a home involves dozens of decisions, deadlines, negotiations, and moving parts. You should understand who your primary point of contact will be, how frequently you will receive updates, how showing feedback will be communicated, and how quickly the agent responds when issues arise.

Online reviews and testimonials can provide useful insight but should be evaluated carefully. Rather than focusing only on the number of reviews, pay attention to what past clients say about communication, responsiveness, negotiation skills, professionalism, and overall results. Detailed reviews often provide more useful information than simple five-star ratings.

The goal is not to hire the agent who has been licensed the longest or advertises the highest sales volume. The goal is to hire an agent who combines meaningful transaction experience, active market involvement, strong communication, negotiation expertise, and a proven ability to guide sellers through the entire process from listing to closing.

The 5 Questions to Ask Before You Ever Schedule a Listing Appointment

These five pre-screening questions are designed to eliminate unqualified agents before they ever walk through your front door. Finding a true listing specialist takes real work. Based on the criteria that matter most — an agent whose business is 90 to 100 percent focused on representing sellers, with consistent sales volume, years of active experience, and a professional marketing strategy — you may need to make phone calls to 15 or more agents before you identify two or three who genuinely qualify for a face-to-face meeting.

That may sound like a lot of effort. But consider this. If you were hiring a financial advisor to manage your investment portfolio — hundreds of thousands or potentially millions of dollars — would you hand that responsibility to someone who just passed their licensing exam and had never managed a client account? Or would you insist on someone with a proven track record, demonstrated results, and years of experience navigating different market conditions on behalf of real clients?

Selling your home is no different. For most homeowners it is their single largest financial asset. The equity you have built over years — sometimes decades — can be protected or eroded based entirely on the agent you choose to represent you. That decision deserves the same level of due diligence you would apply to any major financial decision.

Question 1:  Do you work more with buyers or sellers in your business?

Most real estate agents work primarily with buyers. Helping a buyer find and purchase a home does not develop the skill set required to successfully sell one. Pricing strategy, marketing, offer negotiation, inspection management, appraisal challenges, and coordinating with lenders are skills built through years of representing sellers — not buyers. The majority of agents you speak with will have spent most of their career on the buyer side of the transaction. Understanding this distinction before you hire anyone is one of the most important steps you can take to protect the outcome of your sale.

Question 2: How many homes have you sold in the last 12 months?

According to Redfin, 71% of licensed agents did not close a single transaction in 2025. An agent's recent sales volume tells you how active and relevant they are in today's market. Look for an agent who has sold at least 12 homes in the last 12 months.

Question 3:  How many of those sales were specifically representing sellers versus representing buyers?

An agent who sold 12 homes but 10 were buyer transactions is not a listing specialist. Ask them to break down the numbers specifically — sellers versus buyers. Most agents cannot answer this question clearly because they have never tracked it. Look for an agent whose majority of business is seller focused.

Question 4: How many years of experience do you have?

Experience matters because no two transactions are alike. Pricing challenges, inspection disputes, appraisal issues, financing problems, title concerns, and difficult negotiations are situations that agents learn to navigate through real transactions over time. The more years a listing agent has actively worked in this market, the more likely they are to recognize problems early, respond effectively, and guide your sale to a successful closing. A newly licensed agent has not yet encountered — or resolved — the kinds of challenges that can derail a transaction.

Question 5: If we work together, who will be my primary point of contact for the day-to-day management of my listing?

Many agents — including some of the highest volume producers in the market — hand off the day-to-day management of your sale to a junior agent or transaction coordinator the moment the listing agreement is signed. The agent you interviewed, whose experience and credentials impressed you, may have very little involvement in your actual transaction from that point forward. Ask directly who will be negotiating on your behalf, who will be communicating with the buyer's agent, and who will be solving problems when they arise. If the answer is anyone other than the agent sitting across from you, make sure you are comfortable with that before you sign anything. Some sellers are. Many are not. The right answer depends entirely on the level of personal service and accountability you expect when selling your most valuable asset.

As for my own practice — 99% of my business comes from representing sellers. When I do work with buyers, it is because one of my own sellers needs to purchase their next home, or a past client has specifically asked me to help a family member or close friend because of the level of service and negotiation they experienced firsthand. Those buyers are not leads I pursue — they are relationships I honor.

When a homeowner signs a listing agreement with me, they are hiring me — not a junior agent, not a team member, not an assistant. I am the person who answers your calls, negotiates your offers, manages your transaction, and fights for your best outcome from the day we sign to the day we close. The whole point of hiring an experienced listing specialist is the experience itself. If you wanted a junior agent managing your sale, you would have hired one.

My entire business — every system, every strategy, and every skill I have developed over nearly 30 years — has been built around one purpose. Helping homeowners sell their homes for the best possible result.

The Due Diligence Most Sellers Skip — And Why It Matters

If you have worked through the five pre-screening questions you have likely eliminated most agents before they ever walk through your front door. The agents you are meeting with now should all appear qualified on paper. The challenge is determining which one has the strategy, systems, marketing, and experience necessary to maximize your home's value and successfully navigate the challenges that often arise during a sale.

Most sellers skip the deeper due diligence at this stage because they assume that if an agent has made it this far in the process they must be capable of delivering results. That assumption is where costly mistakes are made.

The questions that matter most in a face-to-face listing appointment go well beyond how long an agent has been licensed or how many homes they sold last year. They uncover how an agent determines list price, what their marketing strategy actually includes in detail, whether they are proactive or passive once your home is live, how they handle communication and feedback throughout the listing period, what their plan is if the home is not generating offers, and how they approach inspection negotiations once a buyer is under contract.

These are the questions that separate good agents from great ones — and the answers are often where sellers discover things they never would have known until after they signed a listing agreement.

I put together a complete agent interview guide that covers the 7 questions every seller should ask in a face-to-face listing appointment, what a strong answer looks like for each one, and the specific red flags to watch for in each response. You can download it below at no cost.

Download the Complete Agent Interview Checklist
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Should I Interview More Than One Agent Before Making a Decision?

Interviewing more than one agent can be valuable — but it is not always necessary. The goal is not to meet with a specific number of agents. The goal is to find a professional who demonstrates the experience, pricing expertise, marketing strategy, communication skills, and negotiation ability needed to successfully sell your home.

In my experience, many homeowners begin the process planning to interview several agents. However, there are times when a seller meets with an agent who clearly demonstrates a well-thought-out pricing strategy, a comprehensive marketing plan, strong market knowledge, and a clear process for managing the sale from start to finish. When that happens, some homeowners decide they have gathered enough information to make a confident decision without continuing the interview process.

What matters most is whether the agent can clearly explain how they will price your home, market it to qualified buyers, negotiate on your behalf, and manage the transaction from listing to closing. A strong listing agent should be able to support their recommendations with market data, explain their strategy in detail, and answer your questions in a way that makes you feel informed and confident.

Whether it takes one conversation or several, the decision should be based on expertise, trust, and a strategy that makes sense for your specific home and situation.

The Two Questions Most Sellers Ask First — And Why They Should Be Last

Most homeowners narrow down their choice of listing agent using two criteria — what is your commission, and what is the highest price you think you can get for my home. On the surface both feel like smart logical starting points. They are not.

These are actually the two worst questions to lead with. Without first establishing that an agent is a listing specialist with proven experience, consistent sales volume, and a professional marketing strategy — neither answer tells you anything meaningful about whether that agent can actually sell your home successfully.

An agent who tells you what you want to hear on price and commission is not necessarily the agent who will get you the best result. In fact these are often the two most reliable warning signs that you are sitting across from the wrong person.

Price and commission absolutely belong in the conversation — but they belong at the end, after you have confirmed you are speaking with someone who has earned the right to represent your most valuable asset.

As for my own approach — I am happy to discuss compensation openly and directly once you have had a chance to evaluate my pricing strategy, marketing plan, and process. That conversation makes the most sense after you understand exactly what I do and how I do it — not before.

What Fiduciary Duties Does a Listing Agent Owe a Seller?

When you sign a listing agreement in Florida, your agent owes you specific legal duties — loyalty, confidentiality, disclosure, obedience, and accounting. Loyalty means your agent is working for your interests, not the buyer's. Confidentiality means nothing you share with your agent — your motivation to sell, your timeline, your bottom line — gets disclosed to the other side. Disclosure means your agent is required to tell you anything that could affect your decision making. If you are ever unsure whether your agent is acting in your best interest, those fiduciary duties are the standard they are legally held to.

Does the Brokerage Matter When Selling a Home?

In most cases the brokerage matters less than the individual agent. The agent's experience, marketing strategy, negotiation skills, and personal involvement in your transaction will have a far greater impact on your outcome than the name on the sign. That said, brokerage affiliation can affect MLS access, marketing tools, and network reach in some markets. What matters most is who is actually managing your listing day to day — not the logo on their business card.

Can I Cancel a Listing Agreement If I Am Unhappy With My Agent?

It depends on what your listing agreement says. Most listing agreements in Florida are binding for the term specified — typically three to six months. Some brokerages will release a seller if there is a genuine breakdown in communication or performance. Others will hold you to the contract. Some may have a cancellation fee.  It may save you money to pay the fee than be tethered to an a real estate agent that is not able to help you sell your home.  Before you sign any listing agreement, ask directly — what is your cancellation policy if I am not satisfied? A confident agent who believes in their service should be willing to have that conversation openly before you sign.

What Happens If I Am Not Satisfied With My Agent's Performance?

Start by having a direct conversation with the agent about your specific concerns. Most issues — communication gaps, feedback delays, showing activity — can be addressed quickly once they are raised. If the issue is not resolved, escalate to the broker of record. If the relationship has broken down entirely, request a release from the listing agreement in writing. Document everything. And if you are considering relisting with a new agent, make sure the original listing period has either expired or you have a written release before signing anything new.

Ready to Have That Conversation?

If you would like to understand exactly how I approach pricing, marketing, and negotiations for homes in Plantation, Hawks Landing, Fort Lauderdale, and surrounding communities, I am happy to have that conversation with no obligation.

You can reach me directly at 954.882.8900 or email info@michelenoonanllc.com

Links to More Seller Resources

The complete hub for seller guides, tools, and resources for Fort Lauderdale and Plantation homeowners preparing to sell.

How to Choose a Real Estate Agent — The specific questions to ask before you sign a listing agreement, including the one disqualifying question that saves you from wasting time with the wrong agent.

What's My Home Worth — Get an honest picture of where your home stands in today's market based on the specific variables that actually affect its value. Not an algorithm. A real analysis.

Home Seller FAQs — Answers to the most common questions about selling a home in Fort Lauderdale and surrounding South Florida communities.

Selling a Condo in South Florida — Everything a South Florida condo seller needs to know before they list including milestone inspections, reserve funding, HOA financials, financing eligibility, and pricing strategy.

Pricing Your Fort Lauderdale Home — Why the first 14 days on market are your most powerful window and how getting the price wrong costs sellers money before the first showing ever happens.

Preparing Your Home to Sell in Fort Lauderdale Florida — Which preparation decisions protect your equity and which ones cost more than you recover at closing.

Cash Offer — Find out what your South Florida home would sell for in a cash transaction and whether a cash offer makes sense for your specific situation.

Serving Hawks Landing, Plantation, Davie, Weston, Lauderdale-by-the-Sea and Fort Lauderdale & Surrounding Communities | Michele Noonan | Real Estate Agent | Listing Specialist | 50- 5★ Reviews | Licensed Since 1996 | Keller Williams | Laurie Reader Team | Call or Text (954) 882-8900