The most important decision in your move comes before the sign goes up
Before you pick a price or a paint color, you pick a person. The real estate agent you hire shapes everything that follows: how your home is priced, how it is marketed, how offers are negotiated, and how calm you feel when a wrinkle appears. Across Fresno, Clovis, Kerman, and Madera, we have watched buyers and sellers choose both well and poorly, and the difference is almost never the website or the sign. It is the person behind them.
The good news is that choosing well is a skill you can practice. It starts with asking the right questions, listening to the answers, and trusting your own comfort level. Here are the ten questions we would want answered if we were hiring an agent today. We ask the same ones of ourselves, and we are happy for any client to ask them of us.
Ten questions to ask before you hire anyone
1. How many homes have you sold in my neighborhood and price range in the last year? Recent, local sales matter far more than a big lifetime number, because the market changes quickly and the agent who sells regularly on your street knows the buyers and the competition. 2. How will you price my home, and what data will you show me? A confident agent brings comparables, not a guess, and explains what the market actually says. 3. What is your marketing plan, and how will my home get in front of buyers? Ask about photos, video, online exposure, and how many buyers in their own database will personally hear about your home. 4. How will we communicate, and how often will I hear from you? You want to know who answers your call, how quickly, and who handles the details on a busy day. 5. What happens if my home does not sell? Every listing deserves an honest answer to this one before you sign, not after sixty quiet days go by.
6. How do you negotiate, and can you show me real examples? Wait for specifics, like how they handled a low offer, a demanding inspection, or a stubborn appraisal. 7. Can I talk to past clients? A confident agent shares references happily. If the answer is hesitant, that is an answer too. 8. How do you stay current? Ask about market reports, local data, and continuing education, because today's market does not look like a market from five years ago. 9. If I am buying, what will my written buyer-broker agreement say? Since the start of 2025, California buyers sign a written agreement with their agent before touring homes, and it spells out exactly how the agent is paid. Read it, ask about the term, and understand the compensation before you sign. 10. Why should I work with you specifically? You deserve a straight, specific answer about what this agent brings to your move, not a rehearsed slogan.
How to listen to the answers
Listen for straight answers, specific numbers, and honest caveats. An agent who quotes a price just to win the listing, promises the world, or pressures you to decide today is showing you how the whole relationship will feel. The right agent asks about your goals first, tells you what the market actually shows, and is willing to say what might not go perfectly.
There is no single right personality. Some clients want a check-in every few days, others want to be left alone until there is news. The right agent for you is the one whose style matches yours, and you only learn that by asking questions and paying attention to the answers.
How we answer these questions
We are happy to be asked any of it. Bill and Judy Nazaroff have spent more than 36 years in Central Valley real estate and helped more than 540 homes sell along the way. Our answers are simple: we price with local sales data, we market with our 100+ Point Home Marketing Plan for maximum exposure, we communicate clearly and often, and your goals come first. No pressure, no tricks, and straight answers, whether you hire us or not.
We also believe in the written side of the relationship. Whatever agreement you sign, read it the way you would any contract and ask questions until every line makes sense. In California, a written buyer-broker agreement is part of touring homes now, and understanding it before you sign is exactly the kind of detail a good agent will walk you through gladly.
Trust the fit, then check the facts
After the questions, step back and sit with how the conversation felt. Did they listen more than they talked? Did they explain things in plain language? Would you feel comfortable calling them with a hard question on a Friday afternoon? That comfort matters, because buying and selling a home involves money, timing, and a fair amount of emotion.
Do your homework as well. Look up the agent's California license (ours is DRE 00957752), check their recent sales, and read what their past clients say. When the answers, the fit, and the facts all line up, you can move forward with real confidence.
When you are ready to talk
If you are thinking about selling, buying, or just wondering what your home is worth, we would love to sit down with you, answer these questions, and ask a few of our own about your goals. Meet Bill and Judy , see the latest numbers on our market report , follow the full process in our buying guide or selling guide , tour neighborhoods in our neighborhood guides , and when you are ready, send us a note or call us at 559-272-8554. Straight answers, no pressure, and we will talk soon.
