How to choose a REALTOR®: 12 questions to ask.

Every person trading in real estate in Alberta must hold a licence from the Real Estate Council of Alberta (RECA) and work under a licensed brokerage. You can check any name in RECA's public licence search at reca.ca before you make a single call. Listen for a direct answer with the brokerage name; the brokerage is the party legally responsible for the agent's conduct, so you should know who it is.

Alberta brokerages operate under one of two models. In a common law brokerage, every agent at the brokerage represents you. In a designated agency brokerage, only the agent named in your agreement represents you, and other agents at the same brokerage may represent the other side of your deal. Neither is better; they are different, and the agent should be able to explain which one applies in a sentence or two.

RECA requires licensees to review this guide with you before providing services. It explains the difference between a client (who gets full representation) and a customer (who does not), what an agent owes each, and what happens if the agent ends up on both sides. An agent who produces it unprompted at the first meeting is following the rules. One who has never heard of it is a concern.

Real estate commissions in Alberta are not set by any regulator, board or association. They are negotiated between you and the brokerage and must be stated in your written agreement. Ask what is included: photography, staging advice, marketing, showings, negotiation, and whether anything costs extra. The number matters less than whether you get a clear answer.

Seller and buyer representation agreements have a term. Read it. Ask what happens if you want out early, and whether there is a holdover clause, which can entitle the brokerage to a commission on a sale that closes after the agreement ends if the buyer was introduced during it. These are normal clauses; you should simply know they exist before you sign.

Calgary has more than 200 communities, plus Airdrie, Cochrane, Okotoks and Chestermere. Nobody knows all of them equally. An honest answer names a few areas and admits the rest are learned deal by deal. That is fine. A claim to know everything everywhere is the answer to be careful with.

Text, phone, email, evenings, weekends. There is no right answer, only a match. Say how you prefer to work and see whether the agent adjusts or tells you how they work.

A market evaluation should rest on recent sold prices for similar homes nearby, not on an automated estimate or on what would win the listing. Ask to see the comparables. Then ask a harder question: what will you tell me if the home does not sell at that price in the first three weeks?

Professional photos, MLS® listing, syndication to REALTOR.ca and other portals, open houses, social media, agent networks. Ask what will be done, by whom, and on what schedule. A plan you can hold in your hand is a plan you can hold someone to.

In a competitive market you may be asked to decide quickly and to consider fewer conditions. Ask how the agent prepares clients for that moment, and what they advise about waiving a financing or inspection condition. The answer should include the risks, not only the tactics.

In Alberta this is called transaction brokerage. The agent stops representing either side fully and instead facilitates the deal impartially. It is legal, but only with the written, informed consent of both parties. Ask how the agent handles it and what changes for you if it happens.

References are not proof of anything, but the willingness to offer them is informative. So is the question the agent asks you back: most good ones will want to know what matters to you before they hand over names.