Gifts

[Kez/JWolf 6]

Hi all

We are about to close on our new Condo... is it common practice to give your broker a gift for all the hard work and effort they have put into helping you find you dream home.... I am so not sure what is the right thing to do here... any help would be good..

Kez

[LaL 418]

a gift basket? or even a thank you card stating you will certainly refer the realtor to collegues.

Edited December 10, 2006 by lal_brandow

[Hilarious Clinton 452]

It's called a 'commission'.

[LaL 418]

It's called a 'commission'.

so you would give nothing? not even a thank you note?

[sparkofcreation 0]

Our realtor didn't even find us the house; we'd met him, promised to keep in touch, then found a house we wanted and called him, so his work started at the offer. And while he seems to have everything under control, he generally smells of alcohol when we see him.

I think a thank-you card will be quite sufficient for ours (we close Dec. 29). My mortgage agent, on the other hand, I would give a huge gift to, except I consider it quite likely I'll never actually meet her (she's in Denver and we're in Albuquerque).

[edsperfect 25]

Hi all

We are about to close on our new Condo... is it common practice to give your broker a gift for all the hard work and effort they have put into helping you find you dream home.... I am so not sure what is the right thing to do here... any help would be good..

Kez

Actually, in the real estate business it is customary for the broker to give YOU agift for the business you gave him or her. A card of thanks from ou wuld be more than sufficient

[Kez/JWolf 6]

Our Realtor has been so good he has walked us thought the entire process, explaining to us exactly what was going on and what was to happen next... I know we could not have done all this without his help... he has come to our house in the evenings and at weekends so that I have not had to take time out from work....

I just cant believe that by this time next week we will own our first Home together... I am so excited... and what makes it even better is my mom and dad are coming from Scotland to spend Christmas with us and mom is going to stay until Jan 21st to help us move on Jan 11th....

Kez

[rebeccajo 14]

Kez, I didn't know about this great news!! Much congratulations!!

edsperfect is right - gift giving is normally done by the agent. And really, the good things your agent did was just him doing his job. Although as sparkofcreation pointed out, there are some out there who don't do theirs, so it's great for you to have found one who did.

That being said, I've always subscribed to the theory of making those who HAVE done a great job for me feel appreciated. If you want to give your agent a gift, then go ahead and do it. Maybe a gift card to a popular local restaurant would be an idea? Or a gas gift card? Realtors go through plenty of gasoline......

Even if the agent was 'just doing his job', thanking him lets him know you appreciate it and reinforces in him that his efforts are worth it. Besides that, if it's something you just want to do, then do it.

[chri'stina 190]

I asked the same thing when we closed on our house last Spring. Maybe the answers in the thread will help you out. BTW our agent never gave us anything!

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.ph...ic=6543&hl=

[Thingee 0]

I closed on a house last month myself. The realtor got a big thank you. Ok, he also got a hug, and a card. Best gift you can give a good realtor is to recommend them to friends...maybe ask them for a stack of business cards.

[Mags 112]

Well, I know I'm from the UK, so things may be a little different...but I sold my house last week. I wouldn't have dreamed of giving my Estate Agent/Realtor a present. IMO it was the easiest 2000 quid she has ever made. She came round and measured the house up, printed out some information sheets, set up a viewing appointment, made a couple of phone calls...and that was it.

The house sold after the first viewing and I hardly heard from her after that as it was a straightforward sale.

She was nice enough...but a present? No, she did nothing exceptional for me and she has 2 grand in her pocket now. If she wants a present she can buy one for herself!

[Ban Hammer 14,409]

Well, I know I'm from the UK, so things may be a little different...but I sold my house last week. I wouldn't have dreamed of giving my Estate Agent/Realtor a present. IMO it was the easiest 2000 quid she has ever made. She came round and measured the house up, printed out some information sheets, set up a viewing appointment, made a couple of phone calls...and that was it.

The house sold after the first viewing and I hardly heard from her after that as it was a straightforward sale.

She was nice enough...but a present? No, she did nothing exceptional for me and she has 2 grand in her pocket now. If she wants a present she can buy one for herself!

only 2 grand? that's cheap here. around here the average commission is 6% and the average house $150k, so kiss 10k goodbye!

[Kez/JWolf 6]

Thanks all for the input... I think we will pick up a cookie basket to send to him, he has 2 young boys so I think they will love the cookies and a thank you card. I am also going to add his details to the recommendations list that is held by my HR department...

Kez

[MaryandMian 1]

Congratulations Kez on your new home.

[Fandango 1,440]

A card and good word of mouth (ie a referral) is the best gift you could give!

To go one step further, write a letter detailing how great the agent was and the special touches he did to make this a pleasant experience. He could put it in his portfolio. One of my customers even took a pic of them outside their new home with a sign that said 'THANK YOU LISA!' and I have it at my office. It was a better gift than any gift basket ever!

Congrats on the condo, Kez May you make unlimited happy memories there!

Edited December 11, 2006 by LisaD