What to Ask a Senior Real Estate Agent Before You Sign

Before you sign with a senior real estate agent, ask ten questions. Start with how many clients over 65 they have served in the last two years. The one that matters most is whether they have ever told a client not to sell. Others cover the agent’s pace and team, your family, price, pay and what happens after closing. Ask two or three agents the same ten, then compare your notes.

I’ve spent 15 years training real estate agents, including the ones who sell homes for people 65 and over. Every question asks for something specific, because a number or a story tells you more than the letters after an agent’s name.

If you’re still deciding whether to sell, start with my guide to selling your home after 65.

These ten questions are for a sale later in life. For hiring an agent at any age, read how to choose a real estate agent.

What you’ll walk away with:

• The ten questions, in order, to print and bring with you

• What a good answer sounds like for each one

• What the letters SRES (Seniors Real Estate Specialist) tell you about an agent

• What the rules say about commission, with the sources

What are the ten questions to ask a senior real estate agent before you sign?

These are the ten questions, in the order I’d ask them. They are also Chapter 15 of The Senior Partner, homeowner edition.

1. How many clients over 65 have you served in the last two years?

2. Do you hold the SRES designation? If you do, what is the most useful thing you learned from it?

3. Walk me through what the first three months of working together would look like.

4. Who is on your bench of professionals, and how did you choose them?

5. Have you ever recommended that a client over 65 not sell? Tell me about it.

6. What is your follow-up plan after closing?

7. What do you do when an adult child wants to direct the sale against the homeowner’s wishes?

8. What is your honest opinion of what my home is worth, and what would you change before listing?

9. How are you paid, and what does that cover?

10. May I speak to two clients from the last year whose situations were like mine?

You don’t have to become a real estate expert to hire well. Print the list and bring it to every interview. Listen to the answers instead of the confidence behind them, and write down what you hear. Later you will compare agents on those notes, so the most confident one doesn’t win by default.

What is a real estate agent for seniors?

A real estate agent for seniors is a licensed agent who works mostly with homeowners over 65 and their families. It is a focus the agent chooses, so the label alone tells you little. One credential to look for is the SRES designation.

A sale after decades in one home asks more of an agent, because your family is usually part of it and the decision takes longer.

That is why a good agent for this kind of sale works at your pace. They also keep you in charge when family weighs in. The ten questions test for both.

What is an SRES, and does it matter?

SRES stands for Seniors Real Estate Specialist. It is a good place to start, and only a start. The designation is for agents who work with clients over age 50. An agent earns it by completing a two-day course. To keep it, the agent stays a member of the National Association of Realtors, or NAR.

The letters tell you the agent chose to study this work. They do not tell you how many homeowners like you the agent has helped. That is why question 1 asks for a count, and question 2 asks what the agent did with the training.

How do I know if an agent has experience with homeowners over 65?

Ask how many clients over 65 the agent has served in the last two years, and expect a number. That is question 1. In my view, double digits is a good sign. If you hear “a lot” or “most of my clients,” ask again for the number.

For questions 2 through 4, listen for something specific.

Question 2 asks what the agent did with the training. A good answer names a habit. “I learned to slow down.” Or, “I ask the family how the homeowner is doing before anyone talks about price.”

Question 3 asks about pace. A good answer sounds like “We’d meet three times, bring in a CPA and probably not list for several weeks.” If the answer is “We’d list and go,” the pace is too fast for this kind of sale.

Question 4 asks about the bench. That is my word for the people an agent calls on for a sale like yours. Listen for four: an elder law attorney, a CPA, a contractor and a senior move manager. A senior move manager plans and runs the move itself. Listen for names, and for how long they have worked together. “I can find you someone” means the bench is not built yet.

What is the most important question to ask a senior real estate agent?

The most important question is whether the agent has ever recommended that a client over 65 not sell. It is question 5. Ask it the way it is written, including “Tell me about it,” because you are listening for the story.

The right answer is yes, with a story. You want to hear about a client they advised to stay put or to wait, and why. An agent is paid when a house sells. That is why you want one who has said “not yet” before, when it was the right answer.

If the agent can’t think of an example, write that down. You may need this agent to tell you “not yet” one day. Staying is a fine answer, and I’ve written about how to decide whether to sell at 65 or stay. The agent you hire should be at ease with either choice, because the choice is yours.

What should I ask an agent about follow-up and family?

Ask what the agent does after closing, and what they do when your family wants something different from you. Those are questions 6 and 7.

Question 6 asks for the follow-up plan. A good answer is a plan for 30, 60 and 90 days after closing. It includes checking on how you are settling in. If you hear “We’d stay in touch,” ask when they would call.

Question 7 asks who the agent works for when an adult child wants one thing and you want another. Listen for an answer close to “I work for the homeowner. Adult children can be informed and consulted, but my client makes the decisions.”

If the agent talks about “being diplomatic” or “balancing the family,” ask who makes the final call. The answer should be you.

How should an agent price my home?

An agent should price your home from recent sales of homes like yours, and should tell you the number plainly. Question 8 asks for that number, and for what they would change before listing.

You are testing whether the agent will give you their own number or agree with yours. A good agent shows you those sales and tells you, politely, when they see it differently. That matters because an agent who matches your guess without doing the work may list too high, and then the home sits unsold.

Are real estate commissions negotiable?

Yes. A listing agreement is the contract you sign to hire an agent. NAR’s consumer guide to listing agreements, from October 2024, says an agent’s pay is “fully negotiable and not set by law.”

For years the seller usually paid both agents. Each was paid as much as 3% of the home’s price, according to a May 2025 research note from the Federal Reserve.

NAR’s rules for agents changed on August 17, 2024. As a seller, you don’t have to offer to pay the buyer’s agent at all. If you choose to, your agent needs your written approval of the amount.

Question 9 asks how the agent is paid and what that covers. A good answer is clear and calm. It says what you would pay and what the agent does for it. It also says how a buyer’s agent would be paid. Ask how long the listing agreement lasts and how you can end it, then read it before you sign.

In my experience, the rate moves less money than the work does. Say one agent charges half a percent less than another. On a $500,000 home, that saves you $2,500. Pricing, marketing, negotiating and timing can move what you keep by $30,000 to $80,000 on that same home. That range is my own estimate, not a number from a study. So weigh what the agent will do for you before you weigh the rate.

(This is general education, not tax, legal or financial advice. Rules and contracts vary by state. An attorney can read a listing agreement with you before you sign it.)

How do I check a real estate agent’s references?

Call two of the agent’s clients from the last year, and ask each one four things. Question 10 is how you get their names.

• Did you feel respected?

• Did you feel rushed?

• Did the agent stand up for you when family pressure showed up?

• Did the agent stay in touch after closing?

Make the calls, because past clients can tell you how the agent treated them and an interview can’t.

There is one more question, for the brave. “What is the most expensive mistake you have made for a client over 65? What did you learn from it?” An agent who can name a mistake has been at this long enough to learn from one.

How many real estate agents should I interview?

Interview at least two, and three if you can, because one interview gives you nothing to compare. Most sellers skip this step. About eight in ten contact only one agent before they hire, according to NAR’s 2026 report on home buyers and sellers.

Sit down with each agent at your kitchen table and ask all ten. Don’t decide right after each meeting. Compare your notes across agents in one sitting. In my experience, you will know the right agent within an hour of comparing.

Questions people ask

How do I find a real estate agent for seniors near me?

Start with the SRES search, which lists agents in your area who hold the designation. Then ask two or three of them the ten questions before you choose.

Do senior real estate specialists charge more?

Not because of the letters. The SRES designation doesn’t set what an agent charges. What an agent is paid is between you and that agent. NAR tells sellers that agent pay is negotiable.

When should I start talking to a real estate agent?

You can start before you have decided to sell. Question 3 tests for an agent who expects several meetings before any listing. Question 5 tests for one who can tell you to wait.

What if I’m helping a parent hire an agent?

Bring your parent to every interview and ask the questions together. Listen closely to the answer to question 7. It tells you whether the agent will keep your parent in charge of the decision. There is more in how to help elderly parents sell their house.

Where the numbers come from

• Commissions are negotiable and not set by law. NAR, Consumer Guide: Listing Agreements, October 2024.

• Each agent was paid as much as 3% by the seller. Federal Reserve Board, FEDS Notes, May 2025.

• Rule changes in effect August 17, 2024. NAR, What the NAR Settlement Means for Home Buyers and Sellers, 2024.

• Paying a buyer’s agent is optional and needs the seller’s written approval. NAR, Consumer Guide: Offers of Compensation, September 2024.

• SRES is for agents with clients over age 50. Center for REALTOR Development, About SRES, read October 2026.

• SRES is earned with a two-day course and kept with NAR membership. Center for REALTOR Development, How to Earn Your SRES, read October 2026.

• 80% of all sellers contacted only one agent, in sales from July 2024 to June 2025. NAR, 2026 Home Buyers and Sellers Generational Trends, Exhibit 7-2, page 101, April 2026. NAR’s own download is free for members and sold to everyone else. Inman, a real estate news site, posted the full report.

The $30,000 to $80,000 range is my own. So is the double-digit mark in question 1.

Figures checked October 2026.