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We just bought a house right outside of Austin! It was tough, we lost several houses that we put offers on. Our realtor helped make this deal happen by offering to take a lower commission. I know that normally realtors don’t receive gifts from clients, but I’m wondering if we should give something in this situation? I was considering flowers or something, or is that weird??
Be very careful, there are very strict rules about what agents are allowed to accept outside of the broker commission. No cash allowed. Gift cards might be a gray area or off limits completely. We invited our agent to our house warming and fed him a nice dinner. He made it very clear that any other gifts were not allowed.
We just bought a house right outside of Austin! It was tough, we lost several houses that we put offers on. Our realtor helped make this deal happen by offering to take a lower commission. I know that normally realtors don’t receive gifts from clients, but I’m wondering if we should give something in this situation? I was considering flowers or something, or is that weird??
Not weird, but not useful as they'll be dead in a few days.
Given the comment by LO28SWM I suggest you check the Texas licensing laws to see what kind of gift, if any, is acceptable. The first two search results should have them all.
We just bought a house right outside of Austin! It was tough, we lost several houses that we put offers on. Our realtor helped make this deal happen by offering to take a lower commission. I know that normally realtors don’t receive gifts from clients, but I’m wondering if we should give something in this situation? I was considering flowers or something, or is that weird??
As a real estate agent, 100% and without a doubt I can tell you the best gift you can give me is a referral. Talk me up to your friends, neighbors, co-workers, etc. Become an advocate for my services and when someone you know says they're thinking about buying/selling/investing in real estate insist that they give me a call or better yet give me a call and give me their contact information so I can gently reach out to them.
At the end of the day, it's nice to feel appreciated for the work you've done and something like flowers, a bottle of wine, etc. definitely warms the heart. Hopefully, you've gotten to know your agent a bit at this point and you may have a general idea of who they are and what they like to enjoy so that you can choose an appropriate gift.
Quote:
Originally Posted by LO28SWM
Be very careful, there are very strict rules about what agents are allowed to accept outside of the broker commission. No cash allowed. Gift cards might be a gray area or off limits completely. We invited our agent to our house warming and fed him a nice dinner. He made it very clear that any other gifts were not allowed.
That's going to vary a lot by state and the agreement the agent has with their brokerage might impact it as well (i.e. if they receive an item of value like a gift card they may have to share it with their broker).
We just bought a house right outside of Austin! It was tough, we lost several houses that we put offers on. Our realtor helped make this deal happen by offering to take a lower commission. I know that normally realtors don’t receive gifts from clients, but I’m wondering if we should give something in this situation? I was considering flowers or something, or is that weird??
A small gift from the heart is always welcome! Certainly not weird at all.
Flowers. A bottle of wine. Something from a local bakery (I like cookies!) or chocolatier.
Don't let anyone dissuade you from following your heart with a small gift. It's not a gesture you will ever regret, or one the recipient will find odd.
We just bought a house right outside of Austin! It was tough, we lost several houses that we put offers on. Our realtor helped make this deal happen by offering to take a lower commission. I know that normally realtors don’t receive gifts from clients, but I’m wondering if we should give something in this situation? I was considering flowers or something, or is that weird??
A nice online review would please me. Either Zillow or Google, or both. If you wanted something material, small and thoughtful would me happy. I like to golf, so I had a client give me a box of golf balls at closing. I thought it was great. Same thing, got a 6 pack of craft beer from a few folks. Those are cool also.
Don't forget to write a review (but don't mention the reduced commission - that's private).
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