When choosing an estate agent to sell your home, you should take a few factors into account.

Entering into a partnership with a real estate agent with the purpose of selling your home for a fair market price is like any relationship – if you see any of these five red flags, you should consider hiring someone else.

1. The Agent Suggests the Highest Possible Price

When selling your home, choose at least three agents from your local real estate agent directory and interview them.

The agents should come prepared with listing presentations that will compare your home to other similar homes in your area to determine the selling price for yours and give you an idea of how long it will take to sell. Because the agents will all be looking at the same data, the selling price they arrive at should be very similar.

When a home is priced too high when it gets listed, it will typically take longer to sell and eventually go for a lower price. If your home is priced unreasonably high for the market, it will not attract buyers.

2. The Agent Only Works Part-Time

Whether you are a seller or a buyer, your real estate agent should be actively watching the market. If you’re also looking for a home to buy, your agent should be able to show you new listings as soon as they come onto the market.

If you’re selling your house, you want an agent who is reachable, responsive, and available to show your home to buyers and be there for show days.

3. The Agent is a Relative

Hiring a relative to sell your house is never a good idea unless they are actively selling other homes in your area, are aware of local property trends, and work full-time as an agent.

Hiring a relative who is not a specialist in your neighborhood means that they probably won’t do the job as well as another estate agent in the area. This can cause tension in your relationship, jeopardize the sale of your home, and even breed resentment if things don’t go as planned.

4. The Agent Isn’t Familiar with the Area

In areas where there are discrepancies in property price from one block (or even one street) to another, it’s vital to find an estate agent who understands your neighborhood’s property landscape.

Agents who work exclusively in one neighborhood (and preferably live in the area) are more likely to know buyers looking for a house with the same specifications as yours and will also be in touch with sellers who haven’t listed their homes on the market yet.

5. The Agent is Willing to Lower Their Commission

Traditionally, an agent’s commission is between 5 and 7 percent of the house’s selling price, which is then split between the selling and buying estate agents. If an agent is willing to take a lower commission, it could mean that fewer agents will collaborate to sell it.

However, negotiating a slightly lower commission if one agent both lists and sells your home is perfectly fine. In fact, some real estate companies rebate some of the commission to the seller or buyer – but don’t choose an estate agent based solely on how low their commission is.