Questions to Ask in a Real Estate Interview
For newly licensed agents, and agents thinking about a move, who are interviewing with a residential brokerage and its managing broker. You are choosing them as much as they are choosing you, so the list follows the decision: splits, caps and fees first, then training, leads, the support behind you, the office itself and what it costs to leave. The note under each question says what a reassuring or a worrying answer sounds like, and because fees, licensing and contract rules differ by place and by company, treat every figure as something to ask about where you are.
The questions
Each question, and why to ask it
Splits and fees
What is the commission split for a new agent, and what comes off before it is applied?
Why ask it
The percentage means little until you know whether a franchise or royalty fee, a transaction fee or anything else is taken off the top first. Ask the broker to run one sale at a typical local price all the way down to the amount that would reach you. A broker who can do that on a notepad in two minutes probably has nothing tucked away in the plan.
Is there a cap, and what happens to my split once I reach it?
Why ask it
A cap is the most the brokerage takes from your commissions in a year, after which you keep all or nearly all of each one. Ask the amount, whether per-sale fees carry on past it, whether the year resets on your start date or a calendar date, and how many agents in this office reached it last year. If almost nobody caps, compare the plans on the split and ignore the cap.
Which fees are due each month even when I have no closings?
Why ask it
Desk, technology and insurance charges keep arriving in the months you earn nothing. Add them up over six months, because a first commission can be a long time coming and the bills will not wait for it. For a first year, a lower split with no monthly fee can turn out to be the cheaper plan.
What would it cost me to get started here before my first sale?
Why ask it
Ask for it as a list: onboarding fee, signs, business cards, lockbox access, association and listing service dues, any required course. Who pays for which varies from one brokerage to the next, and the dues depend on where you are licensed, so get this office's actual figures. Set the total beside your savings before you compare anything else.
Is there a fee on each transaction, and who usually pays it: me or my client?
Why ask it
Some brokerages charge a flat amount per closing for file review or compliance, and some bill an administrative fee to the buyer or seller. Have the broker show you where it sits on a closing statement. If the client is charged, ask what agents say when one objects, because that conversation will be yours.
Is this commission only, or is there a salary, a draw or a stipend while I get started?
Why ask it
Many residential brokerages pay nothing until a sale closes, a few pay a salary, and some offer newcomers a draw or a short stipend. If money is advanced, find out whether it comes back out of later commissions and whether you would owe it on leaving. Whether you would be an employee or an independent contractor decides who handles tax and benefits, and that is set up differently from place to place, so have the broker explain this office's arrangement.
Do you offer more than one commission plan, and can I switch as my production grows?
Why ask it
Many brokerages run a plan with a lower split and more help beside one with a higher split and fewer services. A newer agent usually wants the help first, so pin down the way up: what triggers a move, whether you can request it or must wait for a review date, and whether moving back is allowed.
How soon after a closing does the brokerage pay me, and by what method?
Why ask it
Some offices pay at the closing table or the next business day by direct deposit. Others wait for funds to clear and run payments once a week. The gap matters most in your first year, when one check may have to cover two months of bills, so also ask who you would call if a payment ran late.
How often has the fee schedule changed in the last few years, and how much notice did agents get?
Why ask it
The history is worth more than a promise about the future. If the broker can say what changed, when and why, you have seen how the next change will be handled. Afterwards, look in the agreement for the clause that says how much notice the company has to give.
Is there revenue share, stock or profit sharing, and what did an agent who recruits nobody earn from it last year?
Why ask it
Some brokerage models pay agents for bringing in other agents or award shares for hitting targets. Asking about the agent who recruits nobody matters because in these plans the payout generally grows with the number of people you bring in. If the pitch spends longer on recruiting than on selling homes, weigh that when you picture your week there.
What does an agent closing about ten sales a year here keep after every brokerage charge?
Why ask it
This turns the whole plan into one figure you can set beside another office's. Use a count that is realistic for your first full year and the same sale price at every brokerage you visit. The order you get often differs from the order by headline split, which is the point of doing the sum.
Is anything in the split or the fees open to discussion for someone at my stage?
Why ask it
Save it for the end of the money talk and ask it plainly. An agent moving with a record of sales has more to bargain with than a new licensee, but a waived onboarding fee or a few months without desk fees is sometimes on offer to either. Whatever is agreed goes into the written agreement, with a date.
Training
What training does a brand-new agent get in the first 90 days, and who teaches it?
Why ask it
A strong answer has a schedule, topics and a named trainer: the local contract forms, pricing a home, running a first meeting with a buyer. If it is a library of recorded videos and a login, ask how many new agents finish it. Asking to see this month's calendar settles most of it.
Is there a mentor program, and what does the mentor take from my first deals?
Why ask it
Mentoring is often paid for with a share of your commission on the first few closings. Get three things: how many deals, what share, and what the mentor has to do to earn it, such as coming to your first listing appointment or reading your offers before they go out. Then ask what happens if the match turns out to be a poor one.
How are mentors chosen, and how many new agents does each one have right now?
Why ask it
A mentor picked only for sales volume may have no hours to give, and one with six mentees cannot come to your appointments. Find out whether mentors apply and are trained or are simply top agents who were asked. Meet the likely one before you sign anything.
Who reads my first contracts before they go to the other side?
Why ask it
The first few offers and listing agreements are where a new agent's slip can cost a client money. You want a named person and a turnaround time that includes evenings, when a lot of offers get written. 'We catch anything at file review' means the check happens after everyone has signed.
How long did last year's new agents take to reach their first closing?
Why ask it
Asking about a real group of people gets you a range in place of the best case. Budget on the slow end of it. If the broker has no idea, you have learned how closely new agents are followed once onboarding is over.
Of the new agents who joined in the last two years, how many are still here and still selling?
Why ask it
Every claim about training is tested by this one count. Not every departure reflects on the office, since plenty of people decide the work is not for them, so listen for whether the broker knows where each one went. A number given readily with reasons beats a flattering one given vaguely.
Is training included in what I pay, or are there classes and coaching that cost extra?
Why ask it
Some brokerages sell coaching programs alongside the free sessions, and a new agent can feel pushed to enroll. Ask the price, whether it is optional and roughly what share of agents take it. Paid coaching can be worth having. It just needs to be in your first-year budget before you say yes to the office.
What do you offer an agent who already has a few years of sales to their name?
Why ask it
This one is for the agent who is moving: it shows whether the office teaches anything past the basics, such as winning listings at a higher price or hiring a first assistant. A new agent can ask it to see what year three looks like. Where everything is aimed at beginners, expect the experienced agents to drift away and take what they know with them.
Can I sit in on a training session or a sales meeting before I decide?
Why ask it
An hour in the room shows what a description cannot: who turns up, whether people ask questions, whether the trainer knows the local forms. A broker who is proud of the program tends to say yes on the spot. Note any hesitation, and note how the agents greet a stranger.
Leads
Does the brokerage give leads to its agents, and where do they come from?
Why ask it
Website sign-ups, portal inquiries, relocation referrals, sign calls and walk-ins all behave differently, so ask for the sources by name. Plenty of brokerages hand out none and expect you to build your own business. Either can work, but your plan for the first year depends on knowing which one you are joining.
What split or referral fee applies to a lead the company hands me?
Why ask it
Company leads commonly carry a referral fee taken before your split, or a lower split altogether. Work one sale through and see what is left. For a new agent with an empty pipeline it is usually still worth taking, so the follow-up is whether you can opt out later, once your own business fills your time.
How is it decided which agent gets a lead?
Why ask it
Rotation, fastest to respond, the broker's pick and a list you qualify for by activity each reward a different kind of agent. Find out what a newcomer has to do to get on the list and what takes someone off it. If it comes down to the broker's judgment, ask how many leads went to first-year agents last quarter.
Is there floor time or phone duty, and can a new agent sign up for it?
Why ask it
Floor time means covering the office phone and the front door and keeping the inquiries that come in during your shift. Ask how many real conversations a shift has produced lately, since in some offices the phone barely rings now. Where it still works, it is unpaid practice at talking to strangers about houses, which is most of the job.
Can I hold open houses at other agents' listings, and who keeps the buyers I meet?
Why ask it
With no listings of your own, open houses are one of the few ways to meet buyers face to face without paying for it. Check how the asking works, whether the listing agents are willing, and that an unrepresented visitor you meet is yours to follow up. An office where the busy listers share their open houses is often generous in other ways.
What worked for the most recent new agents here when they were finding their first clients?
Why ask it
You want recent examples: calls to people they knew, a neighborhood they walked, rentals, weekend open houses, short videos. Naming what each newcomer tried is a sign the broker has been paying attention. 'Just work your sphere', with nothing behind it, is the common thin answer, and the follow-up is how the office helps you keep at it.
Does the brokerage have relocation, referral or builder relationships that send business to agents?
Why ask it
Corporate relocation contracts, referrals between offices of one brand and ties to local builders can all feed agents. That business frequently goes to experienced agents or needs an extra certification, so ask what qualifies someone and how long it took the last person. For a newcomer the realistic answer is a timeline.
Does the office handle rentals, and can a new agent work rental leads?
Why ask it
A lease commission is usually smaller than a sale's but arrives sooner, so rentals can cover bills while sales are slow, and today's renter may buy later. Some brokerages do not allow them, and the rules on who may handle leasing differ by place, so ask how it works at this office. If rentals are your way in, get the split on a lease as well.
Support
Which tools does the brokerage pay for, and which would I buy myself?
Why ask it
Go down the list together: contact manager, website, e-signature, transaction software, showing scheduler, design templates. Then ask which of them the agents here open every week. Software nobody uses is still in your fees, so a short list that people rely on is the better sign.
Who pays for listing photos, yard signs and advertising when I take a listing?
Why ask it
In many offices the agent pays, so listen for what the brokerage adds: signs, a photo allowance, part of the ad spend, a designer on staff. Ask what a typical listing costs an agent here out of pocket before it sells. That figure belongs in your comparison right next to the split.
Is there a transaction coordinator or a marketing person on staff, and what do they charge?
Why ask it
Staff help may be included, billed per file or missing altogether. Ask how many agents each person serves and how long a flyer or a contract-to-close checklist takes to come back. A per-file fee looks expensive on your first sale and cheap the month you have three closings at once.
How quickly can I reach you or another broker with a contract question at night or on a weekend?
Why ask it
Offers get written and countered outside office hours, which is exactly when a new agent needs a ruling. Listen for a cell number, a usual response time and a named backup, because one broker over a very large roster cannot pick up every call. Later, ask an agent in the office whether that is how it goes.
Do you sell real estate yourself, or is running the office your whole job?
Why ask it
A broker who lists and sells has fewer hours for you and may be after the same sellers you are. One who does not sell depends on the agents' production, so helping you is the job. Neither settles it alone. Ask a selling broker how the week is divided and what happens when both of you know the same seller.
What happens when a client complains or a sale turns into a dispute?
Why ask it
Ask who steps in, whether the broker comes to the hard meeting with you, and who pays if money ends up owed. A story about a recent problem tells you more than the policy does. How regulators and insurers get involved depends on where you are licensed, so have the broker walk you through the process there.
Who pays for errors and omissions insurance, and what would I owe if a claim came up?
Why ask it
Find out how it is charged (monthly, yearly or per sale) and what share of a deductible falls on the agent. Coverage and requirements differ by place and by insurer, so ask to see the summary for this office and do not assume it matches the last one you heard about. A vague reply is a reason to ask again by email.
What does this brokerage offer its agents that the others in town do not?
Why ask it
Every broker has an answer ready, so listen for something you can check: a name sellers in certain neighborhoods already know, a referral network that sends real clients, a trainer whose new agents close sooner. 'Our culture' by itself could come from any office in town. Test whatever you hear by asking two local homeowners which brokerage names come to mind.
Can I market under my own name, and what are the rules for signs, websites and social media?
Why ask it
How the brokerage's name has to appear in advertising is set partly by regulators and partly by the company, so ask for this office's written guidelines. What you are measuring is how much of what you build stays recognizably yours: the logo, the web address, the social accounts. That matters most on the day you leave.
Is there desk space and a room for meeting clients, and does either cost extra?
Why ask it
Many agents work from home and use the office to print, sign and meet. Find out what is free, what is rented and whether a shared desk would do. If you work better with people around, walk through at ten on a weekday morning and count who is there.
If I move here from another brokerage, what help is there with the switch itself?
Why ask it
The move has its own chores: listings to transfer where that is allowed, new signs and cards, a website and profiles to redo, and a note to every past client. Some brokerages cover those costs or lend a staff member for the first week, and some leave all of it to you. Check as well whether the start date can be timed around the sales you already have under contract.
The office
How many agents work from this office, and how many of them closed a sale in the last year?
Why ask it
Compare the two figures. A roster far longer than the list of people who sold something suggests an office that earns more from headcount and fees than from sales. Then ask what a typical second-year agent closed, because the top producer's total tells you nothing about your own first years.
What price range and which neighborhoods does most of this office's business come from?
Why ask it
You learn from the deals around you. If you expect to work with first-time buyers and the office mostly lists expensive homes, the scripts, the mentors and the referrals will all fit you badly. Hold the answer up against where you live and who you already know.
What do the agents who do well here in their first two years have in common?
Why ask it
Whatever habits the broker lists are the real expectations: hours on the phone, an open house every weekend, turning up to training. Ask next what the ones who struggled left out. If the answer is only 'hard work', the broker may not be watching closely enough to help you.
Are there minimum production standards or required activities, and what follows if I miss them?
Why ask it
Some brokerages want a number of closings a year or attendance at meetings and call nights. Others ask nothing as long as the fees are paid. Standards are a good sign when help comes with them, so ask what happened to the last agent who fell short: a plan, a conversation or a letter.
How does the office treat part-time agents?
Why ask it
Skip it if you are going full time from the start. If you are keeping another job for now, say so here. Some brokers welcome that with a plan for the changeover and some quietly offer less help, and you want to know which before you join. Ask whether anyone in the office began part time and how long the switch took.
What happens at the regular sales meeting, and how many agents come?
Why ask it
Attendance is the verdict of the people who know. A meeting where agents trade what their buyers are looking for and talk through a deal that went sideways is worth an hour of your week. One made of announcements and vendor pitches is not, and the agents will have stopped coming.
Do agents here help one another, or does everyone keep to their own business?
Why ask it
Ask for an instance: who covered a showing for a colleague last month, who lets newer agents see their listing presentation. Agents compete for the same clients, so cooperation has to be something the office encourages on purpose. The best check is an agent in the hallway, away from the broker.
Are there teams inside the office, and would you suggest that a new agent join one?
Why ask it
A team is a different deal from the one on this page: usually leads and structure in exchange for a much smaller share of each commission. The broker's candid view of which teams train people well is worth having. If every new agent gets steered to a team, ask what the brokerage itself does for someone working solo.
Who owns this brokerage, and is a sale, a merger or an office move on the horizon?
Why ask it
A change of owner can bring a new fee schedule, a new brand on your signs or a different managing broker within months of your joining. An owner who works in the building and one who holds the franchise from another city run very different offices. If something is in the works, the follow-up is what the agents have been told and when.
Can I talk to two agents here: one in their first year and one who has stayed a long time?
Why ask it
The newer one can tell you whether the training matched the pitch. The veteran can tell you why other brokerages' offers have not tempted them. Put the same question to both: what would you change about this office?
Why do agents leave this office, and where do they go?
Why ask it
Every office loses people. Agents leaving for a higher split elsewhere points to support that thins out once someone is producing, and agents leaving the business points to a hard first year. Notice the tone as well. A broker who speaks fairly about those who went is likely to handle your exit the same way.
Leaving
If I leave, what happens to my active listings and my pending sales?
Why ask it
Whether a listing can follow you is usually the brokerage's call, and how that works depends on the agreement and on where you are licensed, so ask what this broker has done in the past. For pending sales, get the split you would receive on anything that closes after you have gone. 'We always work it out' is a request for trust at the moment you will have the least say.
Are there fees for leaving, or anything I would have to pay back?
Why ask it
Listen for exit fees, repayment of onboarding costs or a signing bonus, an unpaid cap balance, charges for signs that are not returned. Most of these are small. A bonus that has to be returned if you go within a set period can be large, so have the broker point to the clause and read the dates in it.
Can I take my client list with me, and can I export it from the brokerage's system?
Why ask it
These are two questions: what the agreement permits and what the software will do. Go through the groups one at a time, people you brought with you, people you met through company leads, and clients from sales closed here. Where the agreement allows it, keep your own copy of your contacts from the first day.
Does the agreement limit contacting clients or recruiting other agents after I go?
Why ask it
Read the clause yourself and do not rely on a summary. Whether a restriction like this holds up depends on where you are, so if it would get in the way of your plans, pay a local attorney for an hour before signing. Asking why the clause is there is fair, and the reply usually describes a departure that went badly.
How much notice do you ask for if I move on, and how quickly is my license released?
Why ask it
The steps for moving a license are set by the regulator where you are, but how fast this office does its part is its own choice. A few days is easy to plan around. Weeks, or a release held until every fee is settled, can leave you unable to take on clients in between. Have the broker describe the last departure, from the day the agent gave notice to the day they could write an offer somewhere else.
Can I take the agreement and the full fee schedule home before I decide?
Why ask it
What was said in the interview counts only as far as the document repeats it, and the terms for leaving are the ones most often missing from the conversation. Read it with your notes beside you and mark each promise you cannot find in writing. A broker who needs a signature today has given you a reason to slow down.
How to interview a real estate brokerage
Practical guidance for the conversation itself
Before the interview
Remember who is choosing
In most residential brokerage interviews the agent pays the company, through splits and fees, and not the other way round. That is why many brokerages recruit widely, and why the meeting can feel like a sales pitch. Treat it as one. You are the customer, and the questions on this page are how you find out what you would be buying. Where a brokerage pays a salary or hires selectively, the interview runs more like an ordinary job interview, and the questions under Training and The office matter most.
Book at least three
A split, a cap or a monthly fee means nothing until you have another to set beside it. Meet one large franchise office, one independent and one of the low-fee or online models if they operate where you are. Ask the same core questions at each so the answers line up.
Work out your own first year before you go
Write down how many months you can pay your bills with no commission, how many people you know who might buy or sell, and whether you are full time. Those three facts decide which answers matter. An agent with thin savings and few contacts needs training and leads more than a high split. An agent moving with steady business needs the reverse.
Pick the question that could change your mind from each group
An hour will not hold every question here. Take two or three from each group, put the one you most need answered first, and keep the rest for a second visit or an email. The ones under Leaving are easy to skip when the meeting is going well, so mark at least two of them.
In the room
Ask for the arithmetic on one sale
Splits, caps, royalties and per-sale fees are hard to compare as percentages. Choose a typical local sale price and ask each broker to work it down to the amount you would take home, first as your third sale of the year and again as your fifteenth. Keep the sheet of paper.
Ask about last year, not the plan
'We have great training' is a plan. 'Seven people started last spring and five are still selling' is a record. Nearly every question under Training, Leads and The office gets a better answer when you add 'for the agents who joined last year'.
Say what you are worried about
If your real concern is surviving six months with no income, or keeping a weekday job for a while, say it. A good managing broker has seen your situation before and will tell you what the people in it did. One who brushes it aside has shown you what asking for help would be like later.
Look around the office
Arrive early and stay a little late. Count the agents who are in, listen to how the front desk talks to them, and see whether anyone greets you. An empty office is not always a bad sign, since many agents work from home, but it changes how much you will learn by being near other people.
Ask how it works here
Licensing steps, insurance requirements, advertising rules and what an agreement may restrict all differ from place to place and from company to company. When an answer touches any of them, ask the broker how it works in this state or province and at this brokerage, and check anything that matters with the licensing authority or a local attorney.
Comparing brokerages afterwards
Put the numbers in one table
The same evening, write each office's answers in columns: what you keep on one sale, the monthly fees, start-up costs, the cap, who pays for marketing. Work out the total for a slow first year of three or four sales and for a good one of ten or twelve. The cheapest office often changes between the two.
Price the help as well as the split
A lower split with a mentor who reads your contracts can leave a new agent with more income than a high split and silence, because the help is what produces the sales. Ask yourself what you would pay an outsider for the training and the broker's time, and count that in.
Check the claims with agents
Call the agents the broker introduced, and find one more through a friend or an open house. Ask each whether the leads, the training and the broker's phone work as described. Two matching accounts from people with nothing to sell you are worth more than the brochure.
Read before you sign
Take the agreement and the fee schedule home. Tick off each thing you were told against the page, and email the broker about anything that is missing. A promise the broker will not put in writing should be left out of your decision.
Mistakes to avoid
Choosing on the split alone
The biggest share of nothing is nothing. In a first year the number of sales you close depends heavily on training, leads and someone picking up the phone, so weigh those before the percentage.
Signing at the first meeting
Recruiting is a large part of a managing broker's job and many are very good at it. Liking the person is useful information, but it should not replace a second interview somewhere else.
Forgetting the fixed costs
Monthly fees, dues and insurance are owed whether or not you sell. New agents who compare only commission plans can find themselves several months in and behind on money they never wrote down.
Not asking how you would leave
It feels rude to raise the exit before you have started. Brokers hear the question all the time, and the ones with fair terms answer it easily. Many agents change brokerages at some point, and the terms are much easier to ask about now than on the way out.