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I always buy a nice gift for my Buyers, often it's a 1 year home warranty policy, and always deliver flowers and a gift certificate for a fine dinner to them the day after recordation.
No not at all RJ... I found that out a long time ago .. I've owned several properties over the years for myself. Always got a "gift cadr/coupon" type thing in the mail "for your new home" etc. etc. Pretty decent too, $25 to $50. I believe Home Depot was doing it for awhile as well. You wouldn't hear about it because it goes directly to the new buyer's address a few weeks after move in. They must get the recorded deed's information from the GIS system online, or have another method. True.
They have a Realtor program set up with most of the major companies. Once a closing happens they get the info from the RE company or from the RE agent once the person is entered into their list. From their they email a letter and a gift card. The one they send is either 10% off or $25 off of a purchase of $100 or more or something like that. It's not a straight up $25 gift card. I know they are with all the Cartus Brands.
QC...I didn't mean to suggest the Lowes realtor program as a substitute for a closing gift. It's just a nice little something available for realtors as a "touch".
QC...I didn't mean to suggest the Lowes realtor program as a substitute for a closing gift. It's just a nice little something available for realtors as a "touch".
Sure, no biggie. They are sort of "common" and don't show much originality. I'd rather give a home gift that has more meaning, it's really the wives that love the gifts.
Exactly right. I've tried GCs, expensive baskets, teak salad bowl sets (I know it sounds stupid but we still have some from when we got married back in '82 and my wife still remembers who gave it to us-I don't-so they have staying power) but nothing really has had a wow factor. I give gifts to both my listing customers and my buying customers and I'm not likely to go out shopping for artsy, singularly meaningful gifts but I want to find something that people will remember for years that I can give to anyone. Maybe a cruise! (JK)
How many closing gifts do you get from your surgeon when he successfully closes after removing your appendix? I sent a gift basket to my vet for saving my dog's life when she came in for a routine exam and found a lot more was wrong. Over and above deserves something extra. I used to give everyone a closing gift...not usual ones but thoughtful gifts. Artist sketches of the house they were leaving, tools buyer don't have and need...and after 26 years, I can count on both hands the number of times I received a simple thank you card. Only the special ones get a gift...after all, I did my job...they closed. The buyer bought and the seller sold. My father died, and we still had to pay the bill, but there were no flowers from the physician? Get the point. Closing gifts should not be expected.
How many closing gifts do you get from your surgeon when he successfully closes after removing your appendix? I sent a gift basket to my vet for saving my dog's life when she came in for a routine exam and found a lot more was wrong. Over and above deserves something extra. I used to give everyone a closing gift...not usual ones but thoughtful gifts. Artist sketches of the house they were leaving, tools buyer don't have and need...and after 26 years, I can count on both hands the number of times I received a simple thank you card. Only the special ones get a gift...after all, I did my job...they closed. The buyer bought and the seller sold. My father died, and we still had to pay the bill, but there were no flowers from the physician? Get the point. Closing gifts should not be expected.
No they should never be expected but if it was a job well done and you liked the people then yeah it would be nice.
Even though my DH and I never got one from our regular Realtor we will always hire her for the buy. She is like a dog with a bone...and gets the job done for us. That's why we always go back to her...even after we have to let her go on the sell, lol.
The last house she got for us, during a bidding war, we sent her flowers.
New home owners already receive a gift card directly from Lowe's in the mail. So to me, that would not be a closing gift.
I've never heard of Lowe's sending out a gift card to new homeowners. Usually though they'll get coupons from not only Lowe's but also Home Depot in the mail. Sometimes there's a local "welcome wagon" andl they'll get coupons to local businesses.
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Originally Posted by smagid
I am always wondering about this myself. In the past we have done $25 gift cards to Lowe's but we are looking for some new ideas.
It seems I'm seeing the amount $25 being mentioned quite a bit in this thread. I think my accountant once told me that was the maximum you could deduct from your taxes for a client gift. I imagine that's the reason. I'm not sure I've ever given a $25 gift. The homes around here tend to be more expensive so I think people would be insulted if I gave them a $25 gift. I usually try to tailor the gift to the client (and the amount I spend definitely has something to do with the amount they've spent). You learn a lot about a person when chatting with them on house hunting excursions. My standard gift if a person buys a house needing lots of rennovations though is a Home Depot/Lowe's gift card. I've given lots of other things as well though. Last summer I sold a condo and bought a condo with the same client for a total of about $1.4M. He was a big sports fanatic and I got him a piece of the parkay floor from the old Boston Garden signed by a big name former Celtic player and framed nicely. I had a good friend buy a condo through me recently and he's a big electronics geek so I got him a new surround sound receiver. I bought a bottle of Dom Perignon for one client who was a wine lover. One of my clients always talked about how he loves Chinese food so I got him a gift cert to a really great local Chinese restaurant. A gift certificate for a golf lesson for another client who was a golf fanatic. Get to know your client and get them something they'll like. They'll definitely remember that you went the extra mile.
My last two selling realtors each gave me a gift after closing. One was wind chime, another a bottle of single malt Scotch. That was classy on their part.
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