Janet MatchinskyThe short version
- Interview at least two agents and ask the same 12 questions of each. The answers you want are specific, local and verifiable.
- Confirm the license yourself on the Minnesota Department of Commerce license lookup. A broker license requires three years of licensed sales experience plus additional education and an exam; a salesperson license does not.
- Since August 17, 2024, you must sign a written buyer agreement before an agent tours a home with you, and the agent's compensation is negotiated between you, not set by the seller on the MLS.
The answer
I'm Janet Matchinsky, a full-time real estate broker and the owner of Home Match Realty in Alexandria. These questions work on any agent in Minnesota; if you are hiring in the Alexandria area, my own answers, with where to check each one, are on my Alexandria real estate agent page. I'm writing this guide knowing full well that some of you will use it to interview me, and I think that's exactly how it should work. Choosing the person who will negotiate the largest transaction of your year deserves more than a Google search and a gut feeling. According to the National Association of Realtors 2025 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers, 88% of buyers and 91% of sellers used an agent, and 43% of buyers found theirs through a referral. A referral is a fine place to start. The 12 questions below are how you finish.
First, understand the three words on the business card
Salesperson. In Minnesota, a real estate salesperson completes 90 hours of pre-license education, passes an exam, and must work under a licensed broker, per the Minnesota Department of Commerce. A salesperson cannot operate independently.
Broker. A broker has held a salesperson license for at least three of the previous five years, completed 30 additional hours of broker education including fair housing training, and passed the broker exam, under Minnesota Statutes 82.59. Under Chapter 82 the broker is responsible for the acts of every salesperson working under them and for the trust account that holds your earnest money.
Broker-owner. A broker who owns the brokerage. When you hire a broker-owner, the person negotiating for you is the same person whose license and business are on the line. There is no manager to escalate to because you are already talking to her.
REALTOR® is a separate thing: a member of the National Association of Realtors who agrees to its Code of Ethics. Most active agents in our area are members through Minnesota Realtors, which also publishes the standard forms we use.
The 12 questions
1. Are you full-time, and how many transactions did you close in the last 12 months?
Part-time agents can be good people, but a home sale does not wait until 5 p.m. Showings, inspections, appraisal problems and lender calls happen on weekday mornings. Ask for a number, not an adjective. Then ask how many of those were in the town where you are buying or selling.
2. Are you a salesperson or a broker, and may I verify your license?
The Department of Commerce lookup shows license type, status, brokerage affiliation and expiration. It takes one minute. Any agent who bristles at this question has told you something.
3. Who will I actually be working with?
Teams are common. Find out whether the person in the interview will be the person at the showings, on the phone with the other agent, and at the closing table. At Home Match Realty the answer is me, every time, and I put my cell number on every page of this site for that reason.
4. How well do you know this specific market?
Alexandria is not Willmar, and a lake home on Lake Miltona is not a rambler in town. Ask what has sold near the home you care about in the last six months and what it went for. An agent who knows the market answers from memory and then pulls the data to confirm.
5. For sellers: how will you price my home, and will you show me the comparables?
A comparative market analysis should include the actual sold comparables, the adjustments, and a recommended range. Beware of the agent who names the highest number in the room to win the listing. I cover the method in How to Price Your Home in a West Central Minnesota Market.
6. For sellers: what is your marketing plan, in writing?
Photos, video, the MLS listing, social media, open houses, and direct calls to other agents. One of my clients, Robyn, wrote in her review that I "made personal phone calls to other realtors to get the word out." That is not a slogan; it is a Tuesday. Ask for the plan and ask what it costs you.
7. For buyers: will you explain the buyer representation agreement before I sign it?
Since August 17, 2024, agents working with buyers must have a written agreement before touring a home, and the MLS no longer carries offers of compensation to buyer brokers, per the NAR settlement FAQ. Minnesota Realtors updated its Buyer Representation Contract to match. The agreement must state how the agent is paid (a percentage, a flat fee, or another structure), and that amount is negotiable. You can also ask that the seller cover some or all of it as a term of your offer. A good agent walks you through every line and does not rush you.
8. How do you handle dual agency?
Minnesota requires every agent to hand you the Agency Relationships in Real Estate Transactions disclosure at the first substantive contact, under Minnesota Statutes 82.67. If the same brokerage ends up representing both sides, dual agency requires the written consent of both parties, and the agent then owes the same limited duties to each. Ask the agent how they handle it and whether they will tell you before it happens. You are allowed to say no.
9. What is your negotiation approach?
Listen for specifics: how they handle multiple offers, inspection repair requests, appraisal gaps and closing date conflicts. A reviewer named Stone wrote that I am "an awesome negotiator." What I would tell you in the interview is that negotiation is mostly preparation: knowing the comparables, the seller's timeline and the lender's limits before the first offer is written.
10. How and how often will you communicate?
Text, call, email, and how quickly. My promise on every form on this site is a personal reply from me, not an assistant or an auto-responder. Whatever the agent promises, ask a past client whether it happened.
11. May I speak with two recent clients?
Online reviews are useful. A selection of mine is on the testimonials page, and every review, including critical ones, is public where it was posted, such as my Google and Zillow profiles. But a five-minute phone call with someone who closed last spring tells you how the agent behaves when an appraisal comes in low.
12. What happens if I want to cancel?
Listing contracts and buyer agreements have terms and cancellation provisions. Ask how long the term is and what it takes to walk away. An agent confident in her service will not lock you in.
Red flags
- Guarantees a sale price or a sale date.
- Cannot name recent sales in your town.
- Pushes you to sign a long exclusive agreement in the first meeting.
- Will not put the marketing plan or the compensation in writing.
- Discourages you from getting an inspection.
- Uses a canned website with generic blog posts and no local content (I replaced mine for exactly that reason).
What the numbers say about local, full-time help
The NAR 2025 profile found the typical first-time buyer is now 40 and the typical repeat buyer is 62. Both groups told NAR the top thing they wanted from an agent was help finding the right home and negotiating terms. In an area where a "neighborhood" can mean a township and a chain of lakes, that help is local knowledge: which lakes have public access, which townships require septic inspections at sale, which roads are plowed first. Douglas County alone has more than 300 lakes, per the Douglas County lakes page. No search portal knows them the way someone who has sold on them does.
How to compare the answers
After two or three interviews the answers blur together, so score them the same day. A simple sheet works: one row per question, one column per agent, and a 1 to 3 mark for each answer, where 3 means specific and verifiable, 2 means general but plausible, and 1 means vague or evasive. Add two rows at the bottom for the things the sheet cannot capture: did the agent listen more than she talked, and did she follow up within a day with what she promised.
Then check three things outside the interview. Pull the license on the Department of Commerce site. Read the most recent ten reviews rather than the overall star rating, and look for specifics like how a problem was handled. Drive past one of the agent's current listings and look at the sign, the photos online and how long it has been on the market. An agent's active listings are her portfolio.
The agent with the highest score is usually not the one who quoted the highest price for your home or promised the fastest search. She is the one whose answers you could check, and who checked out.
Checklist
- Write your must-haves and your budget before the first interview.
- Interview at least two agents with the same 12 questions.
- Verify each license on the Department of Commerce site.
- Ask for the comparables (sellers) or the buyer agreement (buyers) in writing.
- Call two recent clients.
- Read the agency disclosure form before you sign anything.
- Confirm the term and cancellation terms of any contract.
- Pick the agent whose answers were specific, not the one who was most flattering.
Talk to Janet
Ask me all 12 of these questions; I would rather earn your business in an honest interview than any other way. Call or text (320) 219-2488, read about me and why clients recommend me, or start with the buyer's page, the seller's page, a free home value report, or homes in Alexandria and across our communities. First-time buyers should also read First-Time Home Buyer in Minnesota.
Questions people ask
What is the difference between a real estate agent and a broker in Minnesota?
A salesperson (agent) completes 90 hours of pre-license education and must work under a broker. A broker has at least three years of licensed sales experience, 30 more hours of education, passes a separate exam, and is legally responsible for the salespeople and trust accounts under them. Both requirements are on the Minnesota Department of Commerce real estate licensing page.
Do I have to sign a buyer agreement before looking at homes?
Yes, since August 17, 2024. Agents working with buyers must have a written agreement in place before touring a home, and it must state how the agent is compensated. The amount is negotiable.
Who pays the buyer's agent now?
It is negotiated. Compensation can no longer be offered through the MLS, but a buyer can ask the seller to pay some or all of it as part of the offer, or pay it directly, or a mix.
How do I verify a Minnesota real estate license?
Use the Minnesota Department of Commerce online license lookup. Search by name or license number to see license type, status, brokerage and expiration date.
Is a broker-owner better than an agent at a large brokerage?
Not automatically. The advantage is accountability: the person negotiating for you is the same person whose license and business are at stake, with no layer in between. Judge any agent by the answers to the 12 questions, not the size of the sign.