How to Choose the Right Real Estate Agent for Your Home Sale

I've had a lot of people ask me over the years, "How Do I Choose the Right Real Estate Agent for My Home Sale?" As a Myrtle Beach-area Realtor with 10+ years of experience, here are the questions I get asked frequently and my responses.

1. What have you learned about selling homes that you wish you knew when you first started?

The biggest thing I’ve learned is that selling a house is not the same thing as putting a house on the market.

When I first started, I probably put too much emphasis on getting the listing, getting it in the MLS, and getting people through the door. After more than 10 years in the business, I understand that the real job starts after the listing agreement is signed.

You have to know how to price the property correctly, position it against the competition, identify problems before they become deal-killers, interpret showing feedback, negotiate effectively, and recognize when the original strategy isn't working.

I've also learned that every seller and every property is different. There isn't one magic marketing plan or pricing formula that works for everyone. A good agent needs to be able to adapt.

And probably most importantly, you need an agent who will tell you the truth, even when it's not what you want to hear. Sometimes that means telling a seller their house is overpriced. Sometimes it means telling them they need to make repairs. Sometimes it means telling them to accept an offer they aren't thrilled about because it's the best offer they're likely to get.

I'd rather have an uncomfortable conversation with a client today than let them lose months and thousands of dollars because nobody was willing to be honest with them.

2. What should homeowners look for when interviewing agents?

I'd look at experience, local knowledge, communication, marketing strategy, negotiation skills, and honesty.

But I wouldn't necessarily choose the agent with the most sales, the biggest team, or the highest listing price.

One of the biggest mistakes sellers make is interviewing three agents and choosing the one who tells them their house is worth the most.

That's not necessarily the agent who will get them the most money.

I'd ask each agent:

• How did you arrive at this recommended listing price?
• What properties are we competing against?
• What is your marketing plan beyond the MLS?
• How often will you communicate with me?
• What happens if we don't get showings?
• What happens if we get showings but no offers?
• How do you handle inspections and appraisal issues?
• How do you negotiate multiple offers?
• What happens if the first contract falls apart?

The agent should have thoughtful answers—not just a sales pitch.

3. What's your philosophy on pricing?

Price is a strategy, not a wish.

I completely understand why sellers want to get the highest possible price for their home. It's usually one of the largest financial transactions they'll ever make.

But the market doesn't care what a seller needs to get out of the house or what they believe it's worth. Buyers are comparing your property against everything else available to them.

One of the worst things an agent can do is intentionally overprice a property just to win the listing.

If comparable homes are selling for $400,000 and an agent tells you, "We can definitely get $450,000," you should ask them to prove it.

Sometimes you can price slightly above the most recent comparable sales because of improvements, location, condition, or market momentum. But there needs to be a reason behind the number.

The first few weeks on the market are extremely important. If a home is overpriced, you can lose the buyers who would have been most interested in it when it first hits the market. Eventually, the listing starts accumulating days on market, buyers begin wondering what's wrong with it, and the seller ends up making price reductions anyway.

I'd rather price a home correctly from the beginning than chase the market downward for six months.

4. What do you actually do to market a listing?

Putting a property in the MLS is the starting point, not the marketing plan.

My approach is to make sure the property is presented correctly before we ever start marketing it. That means looking at condition, presentation, pricing, photography, description, and how the property compares to its competition.

Then I want the property exposed where potential buyers are actually looking.

That can include professional photography, video, social media, online advertising, email marketing, agent-to-agent exposure, open houses when appropriate, and targeted marketing depending on the property.

But there's another part of marketing that gets overlooked: positioning.

If you're selling a condo, a second home, an investment property, or a primary residence, the person most likely to buy it may be completely different.

You don't market an oceanfront investment condo the same way you market a single-family home in Carolina Forest.

After more than 10 years in the business, I've learned that good marketing isn't about doing the most things. It's about doing the right things for the property and the likely buyer.

5. What should sellers expect from their agent when it comes to communication?

Your agent shouldn't disappear after putting a lockbox on your door.

I believe sellers should know what's happening with their property throughout the process.

That means communicating showing activity, sharing relevant feedback, discussing market changes, reviewing competing listings, and having honest conversations about what we're seeing.

But communication isn't just about answering the phone.

It's about proactively communicating.

If we're getting 15 showings and no offers, that's information. If we're getting almost no showings, that's information too. If three competing homes just reduced their prices, that's something we need to discuss.

I also think sellers should know how their agent prefers to communicate. Some people want a phone call; others prefer text or email. Whatever the preference, the important thing is that the seller doesn't have to constantly chase their agent down to find out what's happening.

6. Tell me about a time your negotiation or problem-solving skills made a difference.

One thing I've learned over the years is that getting a property under contract is only half the job.

I've had transactions where everything looked great when the offer was accepted, and then something came up during inspections, appraisal, financing, title work, or another part of the transaction.

That's where experience matters.

A less experienced agent may see a problem and immediately think, "We're going to lose the deal."

An experienced agent starts asking, "What are our options?"

Can we renegotiate? Can we find another solution? Can we bring in the right professional? Can we change the timeline? Is the problem actually as serious as it initially appears?

I've learned not to panic when something unexpected happens. Real estate transactions rarely go exactly according to plan. My job is to keep the transaction moving while protecting my client's interests.

7. Tell me about a difficult listing that ultimately sold.

I've had listings that took much longer to sell than anyone wanted and deals that fell apart after everyone thought we were headed to closing.

Those are frustrating—but they're also some of the transactions where you learn the most.

I've had a property go through multiple contracts that didn't make it to closing. At that point, the easy answer would have been to blame the buyers, the market, or everyone else involved.

Instead, you have to step back and ask: What can we control?

Is the price right? Is the property being presented properly? Are we attracting the right buyers? Is there something about the property that needs to be addressed? Are there terms we could structure differently?

Eventually, persistence and adjusting the strategy paid off and the property sold.

That's one of the biggest lessons I would give a seller: don't confuse activity with progress.

A property can have showings, open houses, online views and even multiple offers and still not be moving toward a successful closing.

The goal isn't simply to get a contract.

The goal is to get you successfully to the closing table.

8. What makes the Myrtle Beach/Grand Strand market different?

The Grand Strand isn't one market.

That's something I think is incredibly important for sellers to understand.

Myrtle Beach, North Myrtle Beach, Carolina Forest, Surfside Beach, Murrells Inlet, Conway, and the surrounding areas all have different types of properties, buyers, price points, communities, and market dynamics.

And within those areas, you can have completely different markets.

An oceanfront condo is different from an inland single-family home. A second home is different from a primary residence. An investment property is different from a home being purchased by a local family.

There are also factors that buyers in this market pay particularly close attention to, including HOA fees, rental restrictions, insurance, flood considerations, property condition, amenities, rental income potential, and proximity to the beach.

That's why I believe local experience matters.

You don't just want someone who has a real estate license and can put your house in the MLS. You want someone who understands what buyers are looking for in your specific part of the Grand Strand.

9. What are the biggest red flags when interviewing an agent?

The biggest one?

An agent who tells you exactly what you want to hear.

If three agents tell you your house is worth $425,000 and one agent tells you it's worth $500,000, don't automatically assume the $500,000 agent is the best one.

Ask them to show you the evidence.

Another red flag is an agent who spends the entire presentation talking about themselves but barely asks you questions.

I want to know why you're selling, your timeline, what you're hoping to accomplish, what concerns you have, and what is important to you.

I'd also be cautious of agents who make huge promises about how quickly they'll sell your house or how much money they'll get you without explaining how they're going to do it.

And finally, pay attention to what happens before you even hire them.

If an agent is difficult to reach, late to appointments, unprepared, or doesn't follow through during the listing presentation, don't assume they'll suddenly become highly responsive once you sign the paperwork.

How an agent treats you before getting your business can be a pretty good indication of how they'll treat you after they get it.

10. If you were interviewing agents to sell your own home, what would you ask?

I'd probably ask five questions:

1. "What would you price my house at, and why?"

I want to understand the reasoning—not just hear a number.

2. "What is your actual marketing plan?"

Not "We'll put it everywhere." I want specifics.

3. "What happens if it doesn't sell?"

This tells me whether the agent has an actual strategy for adjusting when something isn't working.

4. "Tell me about a difficult transaction you've handled."

I don't want to hear about the easy ones. I want to know what they do when things go wrong.

5. "What do you think I need to know that I don't want to hear?"

That last question might be the most important.

I want an agent who is willing to tell me the truth.

After more than 10 years in real estate, I've realized that the best agent isn't necessarily the person with the flashiest presentation or the highest suggested listing price.

It's the person who understands the market, knows how to create a strategy, communicates with you, negotiates when it matters, solves problems when they arise, and has the experience to know what to do when the transaction doesn't go according to plan.

Dusty Rhodes Properties is the Best Realtor in Myrtle Beach! We do everything in our power to help you find the home of your dreams. With experience, expertise, and passion, we are the perfect partner for you in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. We love what we do and it shows. With more than 22 years of experience in the field, we know our industry like the back of our hands. There’s no challenge too big or too small, and we dedicate our utmost energy to every project we take on. We search thousands of the active and new listings from Aynor, Carolina Forest, Conway, Garden City Beach, Longs, Loris, Murrells Inlet, Myrtle Beach, North Myrtle Beach, Pawleys Island, and Surfside Beach real estate listings to find the hottest deals just for you!