Use a blind reference if you really want to see

I strongly recommend blind references when interviewing agents. These are references where people will write directly to you. This is much more effective than getting a set of pre-written letters. Anyone -- and I mean anyone -- who has been in the business for two or three years can find two or three people who will say they were a great agent.

When you get to the blind reference, these are the questions I think you should ask.
1. Did the agent know about the town, the area, the market?
2. Do you believe that the agent was working in your interests and not being influenced by other agents?
4. Do you believe that the agent helped you develop a plan and stick to it?
5. Did the agent provide an attractive marketing presentation of the house? Did you like the look of your listing sheet and materials?
6. Did your agent show respect for your time and your property? Was anything stolen or damaged during the showing process?
7. Did the agent provide useful information during the Offer process? Did you get market data to inform your decisions? Did you feel well informed during negotiation?
8. Did you feel pushed into selling something too quickly? Did you think that the agent failed to work for your best deal in order to get the deal done?
9. What adjective would you use to describe this agent when house hunting? When negotiating?