Closing on a house

[ckret01]

Well as of right now we are closing on our first home this Thursday Aug 31st.
It is very exciting and nerve wracking all at the same time.
But my question is, did anyone buy anything for their realtor or take them out to eat as a way of saying thank you? Our realtor went through alot with us and we really like her and I want to either give her something (no idea what) or take her out to eat. Anyone have any suggestions? did you do the same thing?

 

[missypie]

I'm laughing out loud here. When you go to the closing, take note of whether your broker's car is nicer than yours. I'd bet that it is. Brokers make lots of money; I wouldn't give them a cent extra.

 

[Annette_VA]

No, we didn't give our realtor a gift or anything. In fact, a week or so after we moved in, *she* sent *us* a gift basket, thanking us for our business

 

[tekmom]

Technically, the realtor works for the seller, not the buyer. The agent that worked on our home purchase was nice, but we did not give her any extra. I did mail her a thank you card. She sent us a home depot gift card afterward.

 

[maddiel]

A token gift would be a lovely gesture - maybe a restaurant GC or a bottle of wine? A letter, detailing why you thought she did an outstanding job, would also be nice.

M

 

[oxfordcircus]

We received a nice thank-you gift from our realtor as well. But you're sweet to think that way.

 

[Anne MN]

Technically, the realtor works for the seller, not the buyer. The agent that worked on our home purchase was nice, but we did not give her any extra. I did mail her a thank you card. She sent us a home depot gift card afterward.

If you are the buyer, the realtor works for you BUT get's paid by the seller (sellers broker)
I know this because DH was a realtor.
DH has received small gifts, but more often than not, HE has brought homemade cookie to his clients either at closing or after as a thank you for their business. The reason behind that is referals- you tell your friends who mention that they want to buy or sell a house that "Susie Smith" was great and give them her phone #. that is where a portion of the realtors business comes from, that and repeat customers.

 

[mickeysgal]

No, its usually the realtor that buyers his/her clients a housewarming or congratulations gift. Your gift to him/her is a closed sale.

Last realtor we used drove a Mercedes convertible and went on and on about her wine cellar she has in her home with the golf course/lake view, how she in no way would schedule anything on Wednesdays as thats her "personal day" in which she practices her yoga, and Sundays are her pedicure day.

Last she needed was a token gift from me.

 

[CEDmom]

Honestly, your Realtor should be thanking you. They get a nice commission from the seller of the property you're buying. Probably the best thank you would be to let your Realtor know that you'll refer him/her to others.

 

[bettyann29]

I'm laughing out loud here. When you go to the closing, take note of whether your broker's car is nicer than yours. I'd bet that it is. Brokers make lots of money; I wouldn't give them a cent extra.

Mine had a nicer car than mine..

 

[missypie]

Let's do some math here. Let's say the house costs $200,000 and the commission is the standard 6%. Let's say that broker spent 50 hours with you (which is a HUGE amount of time.) Her commission is $12,000, or $240 per hour. Do you make $240 per hour?

Let's say she actually just spent 20 hours with you. That's $600 per hour.

Let's say she had to split the commisssion with another broker and spent 20 hours with you. That's $300 per hour.

Do you see why SHE should send YOU a gift, and not vice versa?

 

[hlbtimes2]

Our agent bought us gifts (a plant for me, candy for the kids and beer for dh) on the last house deal. The house before that she bought us dinner. Nope, you dont need to get them somethng unless they really went out of their way for you- like worked on the deal while on vacation or really went to bat when you wanted somethng and the seller didnt want to give. But for the most part, they make enough money that you dont owe them "extra".

 

[tinatark]

Yup... I was gonna remind you of the 6-8+% commission paid on a home sale!

The realtor we used to buy the house we're in now - also "sold" our other house... we didn't get a gift with either. On the house we bought his agency got $7500 - shared with the other firm. On the house we sold, he was listing and selling agent - his agency got a check for about $10k. And I made the contact and handed him the sale!

 

[ExPirateShopGirl]

I love Realtors... they (and used car salesmen) are the only ones who make attorneys look nice!!!

 

[I Love Pluto]

We had a fantastic realtor who bought us gifts, too (picture, blanket throw, and a tree trimmer).

We enjoyed him so much, he almost felt like one of the family. We gifted him with a mouse pad and coffee cup with his realtor card imprinted on them. He loved the gifts.

 

[palmtreegirl]

Congratulations on your first home!!!!!!!

 

[Am_I_There_Yet]

I'm laughing out loud here. When you go to the closing, take note of whether your broker's car is nicer than yours. I'd bet that it is. Brokers make lots of money; I wouldn't give them a cent extra.

 

[Am_I_There_Yet]

It might sound cliche, but the best gift would be referrals. That shows that we've done a great job. My business is referal-based and I wouldn't have it any other way.

I think a sincere thank you would be enough. Trust me, your agent will know that the job was appreciated!

Keep in touch with your agent! I LOVE getting photos and emails from my past clients. I have a knack for selling houses and then babies coming along nine months later. It's like a joke with my clients!

I'm glad your realtor went above and beyond for you! I love hearing those stories!

 

[Am_I_There_Yet]

Technically, the realtor works for the seller, not the buyer. The agent that worked on our home purchase was nice, but we did not give her any extra. I did mail her a thank you card. She sent us a home depot gift card afterward.

That's only true if you used the seller's agent - which I always think is a horrible idea. If you had your own agent, he/she worked for you and you alone.

The seller probably paid the commission, but you had your agent looking out for you if you had a buyer's agent.

 

[LindsayDunn228]

Uh, we didn't. 2 weeks after we closed on our house we got fliers from her offering to sell our house. Blech.