I plan to contact three or four prospective listing agents to help me sell my single family home in San Francisco's hot market this spring. I want to vet thoroughly and pick a good agent, but also want to be considerate of prospects' time. After all, I'll only be picking one agent. The other two or three will wind up wasting the time they spend dealing with me. That can't be helped.

(BTW: this post isn't an "agent wanted" solicitation. I've kept my eye on the Bay Area market for several years, already have some prospective agents picked out.)

My tentative strategy is described below. Would you working agents regard this as fair treatment from a possible customer?

(1) Phone contact. I'll explain that I want to ask questions before showing them the house or seeing CMAs, and want to send the questions by email.

(2) Email with questions. I'll do a lot of culling here. Is a 90 day exclusive-right-to-sell contract okay? Can you provide a transaction report for the last year, with list price/sell price ratios, DOM info? Will you want 6% or 5%, with a 50/50 split with the buyers' rep?

These questions may seem pretty pointed for a new contact, but I reason that the agent will only need a half hour to furnish the information.

(3) Invite the agent to visit the home, furnish CMAs and three references from the last year. I'm now using the agent's time, but also have vetted the agent with step #2, above. In his or her shoes, after all, I'd want the chance to compete for a big commission from a serious prospect.

Why do I care? Others have asked me to jump through many unnecessary hoops in years past for assignments I didn't get. I want to practice the ol' Golden Rule.

Agents, I'd love to learn what you think.

(P.S.: How about the agent who helped me buy almost five years ago? He's a great guy, and would be my first pick ... but his market focus is on the peninsula, and not S.F.)

Not necessarily; provided you at least let them examine the dwelling, they'll be that much better prepared to earn half of the Commission as either a Selling Agent or when representing a Buyer.

They'll know it better than most other Agents . . . . and they'll know you; plus they're more likely to at least think of your place when supplying a Buyer with appropriate properties to consider, and to either include it, or exclude it based on knowledge.

Thanks for pointing that out, Vermont! There won't be all that many homes in my price range for sale at the same time in mostly low inventory San Francisco. The agent who meets me and gets a grand tour of the house will indeed have a heads' up on other agents.