Frequently Asked Questions

Vetted Agent is free for home sellers and buyers. Our fee is paid by the agent we recommend, at closing, out of their commission. You pay the same agent commission you would pay working with any real estate agent in Northern Virginia.

No. The agent commission is paid at closing whether you find the agent yourself or we find them for you. Our service adds vetting to the process, not cost.

When you close a transaction with an agent we recommend, that agent pays us a referral fee out of their commission. You pay nothing additional. Agents cannot pay to be listed or recommended — they earn recommendations based on performance data.

A 30-minute call where we map your timeline, price expectations, submarket, and what a successful outcome looks like. No obligation, no sales pressure, no upfront cost.

Northern Virginia, including Arlington, Alexandria, Fairfax County, Loudoun County, and Prince William County. We focus on submarkets we can evaluate rigorously rather than covering a broad geography superficially.

Both. The evaluation criteria shift. Buyer-side agents are evaluated on negotiation history, offer strategy, and submarket-specific inventory knowledge rather than seller-side performance metrics. The process is the same.

Yes. These are our core submarkets. Our methodology accounts for submarket-level differences. An agent who performs in McLean isn’t automatically strong in Manassas, and we evaluate accordingly.

No. Vetted Agent is an independent advisory service. We don’t hold listings or represent buyers and sellers in transactions, and we’re brokerage neutral. The agent you ultimately work with is licensed and responsible for the transaction.

We evaluate agents on closed transaction volume in your specific submarket, days on market relative to area averages, list-to-sale price ratios, communication patterns in past transactions, and strategy articulation during direct interviews. The methodology is adapted from institutional commercial real estate vendor evaluation.

MLS transaction data filtered by submarket, time period, and property type; list-to-sale ratios; days on market benchmarks; and qualitative data from direct agent interviews covering pricing methodology, transaction communication, and offer management.

Typically 3–7 days from the discovery call to the recommendation report, depending on submarket complexity and how tight your timeline is.

Online matching services list agents who paid for placement. We evaluate agents on performance data, including transaction history, submarket-specific outcomes, and negotiation track record, and agents cannot pay for priority. The recommendation is based on fit, not fees.

We’ll evaluate them using the same criteria we’d apply to any agent. If they’re the right fit, we’ll tell you, and you proceed without us. If the data suggests a better option exists, we’ll show you why.

If the agent we recommend isn’t the right fit, we’ll match you with another candidate from your evaluation pool and continue support. If the second match also doesn’t work, we credit our referral fee.

Tell us. We’ll either coach the existing relationship or transition you to another vetted candidate from your original pool. Our success metric is your outcome, not which agent closes the deal.

Yes. Agents know they’re being evaluated and that they’re part of a referral relationship. That transparency is part of what keeps them accountable.

You and the agent. We remain available for guidance, but the working relationship is direct. We’re not a middleman at the transaction level.

Founder of Vetted Agent. Previously at JLL, a Fortune 500 commercial real estate firm, working on vendor selection, owner’s representation, and capital project procurement. Licensed Virginia real estate salesperson (#0225250751).

Yes. Jacob Lind DBA Vetted Agent — Virginia Salesperson License #0225250751, operating out of 14291 Park Meadow Dr STE 500, Chantilly, VA 20151.