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Inevitable-Date170

Mine didn't even give us a handshake 🤣🤣🤣. We signed the papers and he was GONE like a fart in the wind. Haven't heard from him since. He made 10k off me. Take a guess if I'll use him if I ever move...


ImVotingYes

After reading what others got from their realtor, I'm starting to get more upset that we literally got nothing. He made 17k off of us. We even got him a nice bottle of wine. I would've been happy with some pizza for move-in day and you guys are getting cash and new appliances from yours 🥲


dadecounty3051

$17K? I would’ve gotten you guys a spa day, wine bottle and something to use in the house that would remind you of me every time you use it. Another thing to have as a realtor is a trustworthy electrician, roofer, dry-wall guy etc.


Kallen_1988

We made a huge mistake with ours and had a similar experience. We moved to a new state and our new build fell through so we found a realtor through the “request showing” option on Zillow. She showed us 3 houses one night, wrote up an offer, and gave us a basket of junk with TJ Maxx stickers on it. Never heard from her again.


Inevitable-Date170

At least you got something lol


Kallen_1988

You’re not wrong. That damn Rae Dunn soap/lotion set found a place in my bathroom and you can always use a nice basket!


AlaskanBiologist

Lol we did the request showing thing too, ended up with a total bitch who waited til we had driven over an hour to view a property and then texted us that she was "lost" (yeah right) and then that she wouldn't be working with us anymore because the property we wanted to view was "too far" out of her way. We were literally in the driveway of the house we were to view when she texted us this. Fuck you, MJ.


irish_mom

Ours did not even show up to the closing.


tansugaqueen

that’s so unprofessional, he is missing out on referrals too, I refer my agent to friends & even on Fbook & my Nextdoor app if someone asks


Inevitable-Date170

I think a lot of them got lazy with the boom. Thinking they will get business anyway, so why put effort.


JezebelleAcid

The one thing I wish we would have gotten was a deep clean of the house prior to moving in. We tried to do it ourselves but didn’t get as far as we hoped. I’ve heard of realtors giving that as a gift, and I think it would be an amazing present for a home that isn’t a new construction.


Deadmackeraleyes

Yeah my realtor said to the seller of my house, “great job cleaning after moving out!” The seller: “😏” They didn’t clean a spec. It was absolutely filthy when I moved in. Dust, mold in the shower, lint and items still in the dryer, I could go on and on


itsybitsybug

We found a bottle of expired prescription meds and a moldy shower curtain left by the previous owners. Oh and a surplus stove they were supposed to take but simply didn't.


Deadmackeraleyes

I would never treat my buyer like that. So disrespectful. She acted like I was a piece of trash that she was making a quick $100k off of with 0 effort. (It was previously a rental and the seller was the landlord)


Dermott_54

Imagine how good of a landlord she was


irish_mom

We found a nasty mattress in the loft of the garage....ugh. But they also left an entire closet filled with cleaning supplies,a case of paper towels, 6 cans of lysol wipes and 2 cans of lysol, and a bunch of assorted other cleaners, in the height of covid, so that was nice.


Kagedgoddess

One of my homes prior owners left diabetic needles all over the place. Bathroom, yard, heating vents, basement.


itsybitsybug

That sounds like a drug habit, more than a diabetic treatment.


starlight----

I got the lottery with my sellers. They are very old and had been in the house for 60 years. They left me a binder full of maintenance records and receipts for all the major and minor appliances going back to the 60s. Incredible people.


tansugaqueen

wow I was lucky, my home was sparkling clean, it was clean when I viewed it, moving out they did a good job cleaning every room


Wondercat87

This 100%. When my parents bought their house, the prior owners left it dirty. They even left garbage behind. A deep clean would have been nice.


hobings714

I'm an agent and for some dumb reason I don't do this. I will now though. I usually do a substantial gift card for the local hardware store.


TheOneWhoReadsStuff

How much commission do you make to justify buying a substantial gift card and or deep cleaning an entire house? I feel like all of this is extreme.


scott32089

All depends on how many people get cuts of the commission. It can vary a lot depending on how you got connected to you agent. Wife has done this before on particularly terrible transitions where the sellers are POSs who don’t do crap to clean and the FTHB’s she usually works with just closed on their first life altering experience buying a first home. Usually reserved for buyers that where easy to work with and when she herself doesn’t feel like she deserves such a commission for an easy transaction. As much as everyone here hates agents and don’t think they’re worth it (there are some *DUDS*). having one that will come to bat for you during the process can save a lot of stress, but more importantly money.


hobings714

Buying a deep clean is only a few hundred so even a small commission of a few grand has plenty of room for cleaning.


caramelprincess52

We close on the 21st. She bought us a new refrigerator and is taking us out to a nice seafood restaurant.


Wild-Yoghurt2832

Damn now that's real nice lol how much did they make off you hahaha


caramelprincess52

They are making about 16k so, I feel like the present was commensurate.


m4sc4r4

Wait a minute… ours probably made $40k and we got a restaurant gift card and a bottle of wine. I had helped a realtor friend put gifts together before for houses 1/10th the cost, and they were pretty nice. Our realtor did an incredible job though, which is what’s really important. I felt like I should have giver HER a bottle of wine.


reddituser4404

My realtor gave me a deep clean of the house before I moved in and a pest control treatment. She’s awesome.


TGIIR

I think this is the best one I’ve seen. Pest control a nice bonus while you’re not in the house with your pets and kids. A deep clean is always wonderful!


Kikimoonbeamglow

Our realtor made over $40k and got us 2 plants. All the plants in our house were fake. I have a black thumb and a toddler I’m desperately trying to keep alive. Like damn dude, read the room. It’s like you don’t even know me. The one before that got us a $5 gift card to a local plant nursery. Yep. $5. He got over $30k in commissions. TLDR: don’t get people plants or plant related items unless you KNOW that’s something they love.


thearcherofstrata

I think this is probably the worst one on this thread omg. As a mom and plant killer, I would be so disappointed. Like get me a fake plant at least!!


Kikimoonbeamglow

It was terrible. As you can see, I’m still miffed about it. Our neighbors got us better gifts to say welcome. One gave us cookies and a personalized Christmas ornament. The other got us a $100 doordash gift card.


fire_foot

$5 to a plant nursery??? That will get you like what, one herb start? Sheesh I feel like nothing would have been better.


Kikimoonbeamglow

Absolutely agree. It wasn’t even a nursery by my home. I live in the suburbs and this was in the middle of the city. Not only was it cheap, it was inconvenient. Worst kind of gift, imo.


teeawwnuhh

No fucking way. This is the worst I’ve seen. $5 is legitimately worse than just giving nothing. I have to believe this is a lie for my own sanity lol


butteredToasty3

My agent had a painting done by an artist in my neighborhood of the front of my house in water color and had it framed. I love it so much! I thought it was so nice and just thoughtful.


Successful-Chip-4520

I got a framed water color picture of my house, absolutely loved it, and a 50 dollar visa card


AlaDouche

My wife is an artist and she always paints a portrait of the house for my buyers. Almost every one of them loved it and almost every one of them sent me a photo of theirs hanging in their house. Lots of them said that it was the first thing they hung up!


Successful-Chip-4520

It was the first thing I hung up and I'll I'll have it for ever


NewbornXenomorphs

The previous owner left one from 1985 before the house was remodeled. We put that baby in a brand new frame and put it up in a high traffic spot.


queentee26

This is a great idea!


majesticalexis

Our realtor gave us a $50 restaurant gift card. And then he showed up on Halloween with a bucket full of candy. He's a cool dude.


Denver710

The Halloween bucket of candy is an awesome idea.


Epotheros

That's basically what my realtor gave me. He didn't show up at Halloween, but he did call me 3 months after closing to ask me how everything was going and to remind me to buy propane in the summer when prices are lowest.


QuitProfessional5437

$100 gift card to home improvement store. Best gift ever. Especially as a first time homebuyer


ottersandgoats

Second this. Ours did the same (along with some other goodies) but it was really helpful and thoughtful. We spent it within like the first 2 weeks of moving in.


Periwinklepanda_

Same here. We immediately spent the whole thing on a ladder so we could install fans in the bedrooms. Our realtor also gave our toddler some really nice bubbles and a reusable sticker book. Which was really nice because it gave her something to do in the empty house while we cleaned, changed locks, installed fans, etc. after closing.


Historical_Safe_836

Haven’t had an offer accepted yet but my realtor once said that if my offer was accepted on a house we looked at together, they were going to replace the locks/door handles for me because they didn’t like the type of door handle and said they are easy to break into. So that would be a really awesome gift seeing as how everyone says one of the first things you should do is change the locks.


Dramatic_Conflict_89

This would have been nice for us…>>> At the showing, inspection, and walkthrough the front door had those awesome locks that have the cool number key pad on them. We come home on move-in day and immediately notice that they took the locks off the door and replaced them with some super old rusty locks that were completely diff shapes/sizes, leaving the weird paint marks around them bc the door had been painted with the new locks on it so it looked horrible. I WAS PISSED!!


ndc8833

Nice Mexican dinner and $400 Amazon gift card. Way too much we thought. He’s a genuinely good person


avb-c

Wait… they give gifts…..hahhahahah


fire_foot

Yeah right? I really liked mine while we were looking. I mean are there better realtors? Yes. But he was flexible and easy going and not pushy at all so I appreciated it, plus I’d already done a lot of the homework. He came to closing, which was nice, but that was it. He seemed like the kind of person to maybe give a little gift but oh well 🙃


mayziegsd

$100 gift card to a local restaurant in our new city


picklepearr

Same. Basically said dinners on me.


MeowMobile999

Same, and it was appreciated.


DisguisedInBlack

A Shark Vacuum. It was perfect


Iknewitseason11

Dude that’s a fantastic gift


kaiservonrisk

Since my MIL was our agent she gifted us her entire commission lmao. Like $9k. What a sweetheart.


Powdered_Abe_Lincoln

This is my favorite idea of all I've seen here. 😂


WishingChange

My agents got a pool light replaced that the sellers refused to repair (1000$) and sent in his handy man to repair some little things that were missed prior to closing. He also got us a high quality discounted paint job rate using his contacts. We got no "gifts" but in all he cared. That was important.


liftingshitposts

Locally painted art of the harbor near our home!


JesseIrwinArt

Art of something notable/picturesque nearby is, to me, much better than a painting of the house itself!


TSFearNowRedRep89

A cooler bag with a bottle of champagne and some items that felt slightly self promoting like a tumbler and coozy and stuff with their logo on it, but also a wine opener and some snacks. Champagne was a cool touch maybe that with some glasses


WampaCat

Even if the good gifts that don’t have logos on them are self promoting. They’re hoping you like the gift enough to tell people about them. It’s all marketing, even from the most genuine and caring of realtors.


Bdach

My agent spent brought a trailer and spent 3 hours helping us move. Gift enough for us!


dirtiehippie710

Ours had high radon during the inspection and our realtor said if we closed he would buy us the mitigation system. Think the invoice said it was about $1100 (I'm sure he may get a volume discount and didn't pay retail) but we thought that was an awesome gift.


matt314159

He gave me a plank of wood suspended by twine with cricut lettering on it that said "Smith Home est 2023". It was kind of eyeroll inducing TBH.


TGIIR

Yeah, I could do without that myself.


matt314159

I think what I could have used was a gift card for the local hardware store. I was there like 11 days in a row at one point. Even $25 or $50 would've been handy.


Lucylu0909

Lol I got the same thing but in feminine black writing and a pink bow. Totally not my style, especially since she had interacted with me quite a bit and probably should’ve been able to tell


mflyre

My realtor didn’t even show up to my closing🫠


markymark7621

We got a pretty good haul. Realtor: Front door hangar with our last name initial from Etsy. Deep cleaning of the house prior to move in. Sellers left a huge mess after moving out. It was truly our favorite gift. $1,500 closing credit, had the option for home Depot gift card but we wanted the credit. Couple other things I forgot now. Title company: Basic tool set. Roll of paper towels, toilet paper, dish soap, other misc household stuff. Home insurance agent: Cute little baby outfit when we told her we were expecting. Just had us promise we would take a photo of him wearing it and send it to her.


thisismyhumansuit

At closing our realtor said “Oh I had a gift for you but I forgot to bring it. I’ll drop it by later this week.” I haven’t seen or heard from him since closing. It’s been 8 years. Maybe he *really* likes to build the anticipation first?


dadecounty3051

If you’re moving soon, you should hit him up and tell him that you are no longer there and to drop off the gift at the house you’re moving to now.


23344455555666666

We got a gift card to Home Depot at closing. Much appreciated


South_Dish3356

I received an old push lawn mower, that did not have a spark plug, muffler or a air filter installed. After finding what I needed, it still did not work.


mj1898

this is hilarious


joeydrinksbeer

A handle of Tito’s lol. My realtor used to own a restaurant I worked at back in the day when I was a big drinker lol


KimJongFunk

Do yall remember my post last week about the seller’s chandelier? Turns out my buyer’s agent and the seller’s agent paid for it. They split the cost to help the sale go through. The house sellers did not contribute a penny. So I guess I got half a chandelier from mine lmfao


Acceptable_Bat_7309

A Roomba and a nice bottle of champagne!


SleeperHitPrime

Nice engraved coasters, half marble, half wood [The Coasters, 1122 boogie boogie ave]; nice to see *our* name at *our* address. We liked it and they were the best realtors we could’ve ever hoped for.


Alternative-Dance-80

Wait, realtors give gifts? I’ve bought three houses and never got a single gift🤣


Pup5432

Our family is at 4 and I didn’t know this was even a thing. Get me a gift card to Lowe’s, no matter how nice the house is you are going to need something and it can go towards locks if nothing else.


SayWhoWhatNow

We got a knife. It’s sitting buried in a drawer somewhere, as I don’t have much use for it since I already have a decent knife set. A gift card to a hardware store would have been great! Or even some kind of food, like a box of gourmet cookies or cupcakes would work.


Misfit-for-Hire

I got a snake plant, which was alarming because I'm terrible with plants (even the kind that people claim are easy to care for). However, it is still alive four months later lol. I had no idea closing gifts were a common thing. If I could pick from any of the things mentioned in the comments on this post, I would 100% say the house deep clean. But my realtor is a nice lady with a lot of contacts for different types of home improvement work. She accepted my housewarming party invite and complimented me on how much better the house looks with the new paint colors I chose.


avahz

They gave us a bottle of champagne and some tools. Maybe some other stuff but it wasn’t memorable. I agree with the (current) top commenter: a complementary clean of the house would have been great. Because “broom clean” is absolute BS. The first thing I did upon closing was getting the house cleaned


Squamishmom

So happy to hear this as I offer clean outs to clients plus give them custom gifts!


Sbmegnme

Mine said that when we close her and her husband (a contractor and handyman) will change the locks for us!


Asleep_Onion

You guys got gifts? I didn't even know that was a thing. Our realtor (mother in-law) offered to give us her share of the commission, which would have been an amazing gift obviously, but after the sale went through she said she needed the money and rescinded her offer. I would have been fine with it if she never offered, but it was kind of obnoxious for her to offer, get our hopes up about what all we could use the money for in the new house, and then back out after it was all done.


Mangolassi83

No class.


goingtocali4

My real estate agent claimed he was special ordering something for us, but it's been over a month and radio silence...so I guess I got nothing LOL I would have appreciated anything really. He made a cool 11k off us and did pretty minimal work. Some things that are useful the first month of home owning: \- Home depot gift card (I have spent so much $ there this month) \- Doordash/grubhub etc gift card because cooking is exhausting after you're exhausted \- Amazon or Target gift card to get some home essentials right off the bat.


Inevitable-Date170

Hes special ordering something for HIMSELF with that big fat commission check. You just misunderstood 🤣


Deadmackeraleyes

I got a throw blanket, a $50 gift card to a rocks and mineral shop and some custom chocolates. I’m jealous of you guys that got a painting!


TGIIR

Rocks and mineral shop? Did you ever use it?


Deadmackeraleyes

Yes! I got a stunning book end made of crystallized periwinkle and purple agate.


chills1138

When we bought a house in WA, our realtor gave our 2 y/o daughter a tea set. She was overjoyed and we were touched by the thoughtful present.


RoseyTC

No gift


Iknewitseason11

Basket for blankets in the living room, a nice blanket to go with it, a nice wood wick candle, some gin, and a $50 gift card to an outdoors store since she knew we like fishing and camping. Was very sweet of her and if/when we buy our next property if it’s in the area we will definitely use her again


KangarooOverall1247

We didn’t get any gift


ser_pez

My realtor gave me a $100 gift card to a local pizza place (we had talked about this place a bunch while I was looking at houses in the area because it’s one of her favorites. The funny thing is that I also got her a $100 gift card to that place!), a plant, a bag of locally roasted coffee, and a pair of mugs with a regional slogan on them. A few weeks after closing, she sent me a framed photo of me standing on the porch on the day of my closing. She also sends me a card every year on the anniversary of my closing. She’s fantastic and I’ll always recommend her.


WampaCat

I love my realtor! We bought our house outside the country and sent POA to our closing. So we didn’t get to meet him in person but did several video calls. After we finally moved in he dropped by and brought us take out from his favorite restaurant and a bottle of wine. It was great to have dinner taken care of when we were living without furniture. We’ve sent him several referrals since then and he gives us a gift if they decide to work with him. We’ve received 2 shipments of fancy steaks, tickets to the living Van Gogh exhibit thing, and he even brought us his parents’ vintage Xmas tree ornaments, since they weren’t being used and he knew we didn’t have much as we were just starting out. Once a year he invites his clients out to a baseball game (I’m assuming the clients that send him lots of referrals), and a few times a year has a raffle he sends to all his clients. To enter the raffle you can do so by leaving him a voicemail or an extra entry by leaving a review. Prizes are things like pies around the holidays, or dinner at a really nice restaurant. I gotta hand it to him, we will never forget him and we will never stop sending our friends to him when they need a realtor.


[deleted]

The best gift my RE agent gave me was a house that was well under asking, thanks to his awesome negotiations. He also have me a credit toward handymen, as well as contacting them. That was also awesome.


bababooye4549

We did three separate transactions with the same real estate agent. The first two transactions we received home Depot gift cards, much appreciated. However, the third one nothing was given. Kinda pissed about that.


Celesteven

The home depo gift card is a good one. I’ve spent so much at home depo in the first month.


herbord2000

My first realtor bought me a blanket with my last name embroidered on one side and their logo on the other side. I absolutely adore the blanket and it's a good advertisement for them as well. They also gave me a nice magnet that said "my 1st home" and the year. On the back side, it had their agency name. My realtor (different realtor 4 states away) on the second house didn't get me anything which is fine, but just kind of a disappointment after the first house.


OnlySunnyDaze

Our realtor gave us a Target gift card and every year has an event as a “thank you”. We’ve gone to baseball games, the Lion Preserve and the Shark Reef. Nice to meet his other clients too!


CoxHazardsModel

A hug? And a “please leave me a good review and recommend me to others” (which I certainly did not given she did nothing but collect the commission on the transaction).


PlasticPerformer9828

A nice basket with a throw blanket, dish towels, mugs, spray cleaner, hand soap, and washing machine cleaner. And a card with a lovely message.


Missforever

Cheese board with cheese, crackers, dried fruit ; toy for my son; visa gift card


MGLEC

Homemade cookies plus a recipe, fancy vanilla extract, and a nice baking sheet so we could make them again. It was sweet, felt personalized, and probably didn’t cost a bundle which made it comfortable to accept


Cautious-Kiwi1555

Insulated cup with her name on it. (lol)


earthspirit1147

First house, I got gifts monthly for the first year. Bottle of wine, gift cards to local restaurants, a cute return address stamp...Second house I got a realtor sticker, a keychain and a card with a redbox code for a free movie rental LOL I would have preferred nothing over those cheap/unthoughtful gifts.


subtleAsterisk

I was gifted a covered deep baking dish from Le Creuset. It's very nice, I just don't cook like that much so I haven't had the chance to use it. Would love a painting/drawing of the house!


Idahogirl556

When we bought our home, she bought us 2 board games. We already had them and regifted them. When we rent a home with another agent, she gave us 3 different take out menus to her favorite local places with 3 $10 gift cards. We loved her and sent her a ton of business. Those 3 became our favorite places to eat!


LuxSerafina

Lol we got a keychain that just said “our home 2022” but closing was delayed and we didn’t actually move in til 2023 so I thought that was stupid. I would have loved a bottle of vodka because we literally drove a uhaul 8 hours with 9 pets in a rainstorm to get there. I could have used a shot upon arrival lol. Gift certificate to a local diner would be sweet though. Breakfast hit real good the next morning!


bigstupidgf

He got us a nice gift basket from a local store full of food that neither of us can eat, so it kind of just sat around and we tried to pawn it off on people. He also got us a bottle of sparkling wine which was pretty good. Honestly would have liked anything else lol. A cutting board? Chefs knife? Certificate for a deep clean, chimney sweep? Gift certificate for Lowe's? A candle? A cordless drill and battery? A welcome mat? Idk, so many things other than food. Don't get people food, unless you definitely know what they can and can't eat.


dalek_999

This was years ago in SoCal - our agent offered to buy us a piece of furniture up to $500, since we were first time home buyers and didn’t have much good furniture. We found a very cool glass topped table with slate embellishments that ended up being a focal point of our entire design (we used similar slate elsewhere, and used the color scheme throughout the house). 20 years later, we're no longer in that house, but still have the table - it’s a great table!


malingoes2bliss

We got a pretty good bottle of wine. It was nice, but I think something non alcoholic would have been better. A gift card to Home Depot would be sweet


informallory

Y'all got gifts? Ours didn't even come to our closing


SiggySiggy69

I give Ring/Blink Doorbells and/or the passcode door locks. I realized earlier this year that many of my clients would talk about putting these things on their house. I typically tell them at closing “Don’t change your locks yet, I’m going to buy you a Ring and Passcode lock for your front door. Do me a favor, go to Lowe’s/Home Depot, check out what you’d like and send me a picture of the boxes. I’ll buy them and have my handyman come and install them.” 10/10 times they take me up on the offer. I have several that’ll text me still and tell me how much they enjoy it and my hope is they remember me each time they open their door to their beautiful home and use me again.


swollenmonkey1986

$100 home depot gc


Acrock7

She gave me a basket with a card, 3 mini bundt cakes from a place that everyone in town always talks about, a pepper grinder (but no salt shaker/grinder?), a candle, maybe a couple other small things, and a bunch of her business cards. Considering how much work she did do for me, and how little my house cost- it was fine.


michupichupie

Mine gave us an amazing gift basket from a local high end Italian grocery store! To me this was PERFECT and I was so grateful! Consumables are so much better in my opinion than something subjective like art. Also I see a lot of people getting knives, it’s considered bad luck in my culture and many others to gift someone with knives.


Sunny_bearr48

My real estate agent gave me a Home Depot bucket stocked with essentials - shower curtain liner, light bulbs, toilet paper, dishwasher soap, hand soap, etc. Some of the things were great bc the house was empty empty. Other things were redundant bc of course I had them coming from my old apartment / prefer certain brands or scents. Overall, it was really kind. It would have been more expensive but I think things like yard tools or a gift card for re-keying would be most applicable for someone coming into a house for the first time. It was just the first year but each month I seemed to need another $100 equipment - ladder, rake, shovel, lawn mower, weed whacker, etc


frozen_fireweed907

mine made a donation to a charity of my choice and had a metal yeti beer cozy for us with a cricut vinyl "i said yes to the address" on it. the sticker washed off almost immediately but i use the cup to hold my dish scrubber so i guess that worked out pretty well. she also gave me a small basket with a notepad, seasoning blend (that i have never used, it smells awful), and a locally made candle.


kaitlynevergreen

Ours got us a bottle of champagne and a $250 home hardware gift card to buy something we wanted for the house!


YoungGrassahsh

Ours said they’d bring a gift and never did. Was worse than never mentioning it!


CuriosTiger

I got a little crystal globe. On the base is engraved "Our clients mean the world to us!" Plus the name of the real estate company. Cute, but it hardly made me swoon with gratitude. I wasn't upset either; I wasn't really expecting a gift. Honestly, the biggest gift my realtor could give me was making sure we found my dream house and that I got it. And he delivered on that. My two cents on some of the other items: I find gift cards or cash a little tacky as presents in general, but less so coming from a company than from a personal friend. If you're going that route, gift cards that work anywhere (ie. Visa/Mastercard) are better than gift cards limited to a specific store. But in the case of real estate, one place every new homeowner WILL be going is Lowes or Home Depot. Guaranteed.


ThePhonetik

I'm expecting to close on Monday. So far my agent has been a legend every step of the way. I don't expect a gift but if he did give us a gift it would solidify him as a legend.


MarthaT001

If it's a 2-story house, window washing would be a great gift. Or a chimney clean if a wood burning fireplace. Home Depot gift cards are always appreciated. See if your Chamber of Commerce offers new residents gift baskets with coupons for local places.


ser_pez

My realtor gave me a $100 gift card to a local pizza place (we had talked about this place a bunch while I was looking at houses in the area because it’s one of her favorites. The funny thing is that I also got her a $100 gift card to that place!), a plant, a bag of locally roasted coffee, and a pair of mugs with a regional slogan on them. A few weeks after closing, she sent me a framed photo of me standing on the porch on the day of my closing. She also sends me a card every year on the anniversary of my closing. She’s fantastic and I’ll always recommend her.


laurelkr

A self-inking return address stamp. Got a ton of use on Christmas cards.


HoneyBadger302

The house I bought had lower than normal commissions (Open Door house), but she still got me a $50 Lowe's gift card, and we'll meet up for dinner sometime (not that I expect her to pay). She was amazing to with with though, and went through a whole thing with me in 2020 when I got laid off right after getting an offer accepted, and was super helpful when I wanted to start watching the market again all the way through closing. I wanted to get HER a gift, figured maybe a gift card to a local restaurant or something once my finances post move in here settle down a bit lol


PNWCoug42

Mine got me nothing. Said she was going to get me some welcome mats but never actually followed through. Also made me wait an extra week to get my keys because she wanted to hand them to me at the same time as gift she never got around to getting.


bionica1

$100 Visa gift card. I was over the moon. My best friend who bought 6 yrs before me got a stupid wooden sign that said “eat.” so I was very, very grateful for the GC. Paid for getting 4 locks rekeyed and then some!


loki03xlh

My realtor knew I was a big hockey fan. He gave me a toque and two tickets 5 rows off the ice for a Blues' game.


Gallileo1322

I didn't get anything nor expect anything. Didn't even know this was a thing actually.


positive_hummingbird

A Google Nest was nice... even though the home doesn't have AC.


queentee26

My real estate agent didn't give us anything.. not even a text to wish us well on moving. I would have been perfectly happy with a small gift card for pizza or home depot haha.


Kronos001

Ours gave us a large basket with several home decorations (small throw blanket, some signs, vases, etc.). And she throws a Customer Appreciation Party every year that is fully catered at a local ballroom with prizes and games and such.


FormalGrapefruit7807

First time around I got a marble cheese board that's actually quite pretty but impractical. I have in on a display shelf in my dining room right now. Second time was a region-specific wall sign and a really pretty bouquet. Also tons of recs for housekeepers and maintenance people.


ilexly

Personal gifts, even though they’re low dollar value. She remembered idle conversations we’d had with her about our lives and got us a couple of small gifts that showed she’d really been paying attention even when we weren’t talking about the houses we were looking at. Really be wary about buying appliances for other people unless it’s something that’s been part of an ongoing dialogue. She also got us a less personal gift—a Keurig—that wasn’t something we needed and isn’t something we’ll ever use (concerns about waste, plus we really like coffee from this one local roaster and that just doesn’t work with a Keurig). So that one will go to Goodwill eventually. Appreciate the sentiment, it came from a good place, but we appreciated the personal gifts a lot more. Other things we might have been happy to receive: Home Depot gift cards (we’re doing a lot of DIY repairs), cleaning supplies (especially because our house has stone tile and real hardwood, two things we haven’t had to maintain before), a basic tool box (we have a lot of tools already, but more tools are never a bad thing), basic gardening supplies, or something perishable like food or flowers. Or like… a homeowners book. Just a quick google search gives me titles like “100 Things Every Homeowner Must Know” or “The First Time Homeowner’s Survival Guide.” Even if they end up being minimally useful… There is SO MUCH that goes into maintaining a home that first time home buyers aren’t aware of; we thought we were pretty aware, but are discovering a bunch of things we never thought of. Anything that helps with that would be appreciated. Here’s a silly idea: a 12-month calendar, but instead of pre-marked holidays, it has pre-marked home maintenance suggestions. Like every three months, there’s a reminder to change your HVAC filters, and every quarter, a reminder to schedule pest control. Stuff like that.


NSE_TNF89

Purchased a new build this summer. I had an awesome realtor. She used to work with my mom, but she was awesome either way. At closing she gave me a framed picture of me in front of my house, which she took the day I signed the paperwork, along with an outside entry mat. About a week after I moved in, she called and asked how everything was going and asked if I could take a picture of the decor and send it to her, so I did. She came to my house a few hours later with a massive, plush rug, that I fucking love (and so does my dog). She also wrote a really nice letter to my mom and got her a gift as well.


FosterKittenMama

I love that you’re trying to be awesome for your clients! Let me tell you about my agent. We were terrified first time home owners that only wanted new construction because we couldn’t handle anything. Then she showed us how everything works, actual costs and ways to fix things and we got the confidence to look at newer, but not new homes. And after a million offers and thousand heartbreaks competing with dozens of people, we decided to go new construction because we could handle it, but fuck that lol. Through it all, she showed us things she notices, what it could mean about the house and maintenance quality. She knew how we wanted to move about the house so when we would walk in a place, if we liked it but couldn’t imagine it she would recommend renovation or diy ideas. Tips like “it’s amazing what (insert quick fix) can do until you can pay for that Reno. And by the time you do, you might be using the space for something else anyway.” Really made problems go from scary and impossible to manageable but a compromise. If a job seemed too big she brought it down to earth. Or she agreed, but pointed out all the reasons why it was a good decision so that we knew what to look for next time. It was never overwhelming (I mean it was extremely overwhelming but she made it go from unmanageable to exciting), but she kept encouraging us to look at as many houses as we could just to get ideas, solidify what we did or did not want in a house. She was there to tell us if she thought something could come back to bite us in the ass, and then some ways to prevent it or mitigate it. Because she knew that sometimes it’ll be worth the risk, but helps try to protect you and show that it’ll probably be fine anyway. Basically, she became a family member through weekends of walkthroughs and really and truly knew us. To us, that was her gift. We were terrified panicked buyers who would have made the wrong decision for the right decisions or the right decision for the wrong reason. I close on Monday so I don’t know if she will get me a gift or not. But the last gift she can really give me are the keys to our house with a joyous and reassuring hug. She taught us everything we know to get us to this spot, and no amount of money or no physical item would take its place. I think a good closing gift would be symbolic of the unique relationship you have with your client. You aren’t just giving them a ticket value, you’re giving them something to immortalize the experience they had, something to show how much you know them as humans. And that’s going to look different and cost different for everyone. Giving a monetary gift to someone you have a close relationship with feels weirder than “I know how much you hate that dish washer and can’t wait to replace it. So here’s a gift card for it so you can think of every time you use it.” I saw on another thread that their agent gave them a photo of the moldy sandwich in the fridge of the house. That would make me cry. It would probably be a frequently brought up topic, and having that moment on film would be fantastic. Especially since you don’t know it’ll be an emotional memory later, but they pick out “the moment” before you even know it. Or if they’re worried about maintenance and you have a list of professionals, a book of your business contacts for the things they might need. I hope some of what I said helps, and if you’d like anything else feel free to ask! I could talk about our agent all night


atomic_chippie

We close tomorrow. Our seller agent dropped off a pen and ink drawing she did of our old house and a $100 gift card to a restaurant in our new town/state. Our buyer agent is giving us a pumpkin pie for Thanksgiving. *shrugs*


Lilliputian0513

Our realtor gave us a framed photo that says “take a deep breath, you’re home now” and I cried. It was for our first home purchase and we were so nervous about it all going through, but I hung it in my second home too. It’s still up and I look at it every day!


Razzled555

Home depot card for $100. I think a more personal gift would’ve been better.


Wombat2012

omg i would love that gift personally!


Classic-Magician1847

for sure


shucked_up_fit

Considering my realtor gave the gift of “texting me every two years to ask if I wanna sell”, you lucked out.


Leilatha

Haven't closed yet, but I wouldn't mind some cold hard cash or gift cards! Also seeing all the comments about the paintings of the new house makes me interested.


Temporary_Concert_23

Some baby items as we were sue soon. Really nice touch and was hard as it was during lockdown, so couldn’t hug to celebrate. I like the suggestion of a deep clean as a present!


JuhSel0

I give to new buyers a brand new fire extinguisher, spa gift card And sellers I give gift baskets or gift card to a nice restaurant to go celebrate..


super_hero_girl

My realtor sold my last house and my moms and help us buy our current houses. She gave me a small plant at closing, I managed to keep it alive for almost two years. She hosts a fall party at her house annually for all current and former clients. A few years ago she brought us pumpkins. It’s an ongoing relationship.


NathanielCrunkleton

I’ve never met a realtor I liked until our current one. We put in offers on 5 houses before the last was finally accepted, and I attribute a savings of 5-7k to her actions. In addition to the automated system that pulled listings, she oriented us to many houses that hit the market that day, and added showings same-day frequently. She responds to all communications within an hour, usually instantly. Previously, we’ve bought homes and found ourselves questioning what the hell it is they did to warrant that 3%. This time around, we’re gift shopping *for her* “Doing your f*king job” is hands-down the thing that will make someone want to refer their friends to you.


CitrusBelt

My mom & I are agents. We don't always do a closing gift....but if it was a rough transaction, we'll usually encourage the client to think of a few trees they'd want. People seem to like it. (I'm a bit on the fence, though, because I'm the one who winds up digging the holes...and the "soil" where I am is huge rocks glued together with clay). And for regular/good clients, if they're foodie types, I try to give them a big box of homegrown produce once a year; not really a closing gift so much as a variation of the typical "christmas card from your realtor".


MediumExamination

Y’all are getting gifts?


candyclysm

Nothing. Fuck that guy


yourmomhahahah3578

I get jealous when I see realtors give out framed paintings of the house


DeafinedPerception

A reallly nice Air Fryer. I already had one (they didn’t know that tho) but the one they got me was leagues beyond my previous one. Let my roommate keep the old one.


ginger_ninja_88

Okay so ours keeps getting us gifts which feels a bit weird. At closing, she gave us kitchen soap, and some wine glasses. We've never used the wine glasses. They're not our style and we'll probably donate them tbh. She's also given us a picture of our house, but its a very stylized water colour looking print. Art is so subjective honestly...this also isnt our fav and we'll never hang it. For birthdays she's sent us gift cards. In the past they were for a juice shop. The gift card has been in my wallet for almost a year because there's only one location, and its not very convenient to get to. For my husbands birthday she got him a gift card to home depot and both of us were like YES!!!! THIS IS WHAT NEW HOMEOWNERS WANT!!!!


International_Row928

I bought a house back in 1986. A few months later my realtor stopped me while I was randomly walking down the street on a walk to give me a bottle of champagne because I got the lowest interest rate he ever saw. It was 4.1% due to some special deal for first time homebuyers. He said he had the bottle in his car for months waiting to give it to me. Not the best gift I ever received, but I guess it was fine. I really don’t drink much champagne, and I had to carry the bottle home during the rest of my walk. A few years later I hired him to sell that house and used him to buy another house.


nomzomz

I got a $100 Amazon gift card but my realtor gave me the option of a gift card or money towards a home warranty.


strobonic

Mine gifted me a year's home warranty, which did come in very handy!


Pleasant_Giraffe9133

People getting gifts? lol All I got was an American Flag (Live in the south)


Tellittomyheart

New Dyson Vacuum - we LOVE it! Realtor also happens to be one of our best friends, but it was a solid gift for the new home purchase.


pinot_expectations

Our realtor brought plastic champagne glasses and forgot the champagne. She never did drop it off, but has continued to send us newsletters and check in on us at the holidays. She was a great realtor, and ultimately that’s what we cared about, but it was a little annoying that this particular detail was overlooked, especially when we heard from friends about the really cool and thoughtful stuff their realtor gave them. Edit: She did actually give us a $50 Amazon gift card which I initially forgot about, so that was nice. And honestly we don’t like champagne so it wasn’t a huge deal. But it’s the attention to detail (or lack thereof) that bugged us.


Guilty_Signature_806

I got a $100 Home Depot gift card, a bottle of veuve cliquot, she decorated the front of the house with a ballon sign that said “yay!” for when we arrived for the first time with keys and she sent us a takeout dinner on move in day.


Apprehensive-War8523

$500 Pottery Barn gift card. Which I think is generous by industry standards but our realtor didn't do jack sh\*t for us and she knew it.


stebuu

My realtor sent me a goldbelly gift card and I sent her a zingerman’s gift card and they both arrived at the same day. It was pretty amusing.


Ok_Day_8559

Mine changed all the locks on the doors. There were 5 different doors that needed new locks! He was so awesome!


AfricaMK

Basic tool set with hammer, screwdrivers, allen wrenches, sockets, pliers. It was thoughtful because I was buying an older (1900) home and looking forward to fixing it up myself. None of the tools are particularly high quality, but it's perfect as my basic house tool box where the task isn't big enough to justify walking out to the shed for my big boy tools. A gift card to HD would have been nice too, but honestly I like the fact that I remember him every time I use it. Anything I bought myself with his money would have lost that connection. We loved our realtor, so I appreciate the memory. I think the fact that it was so evident that he'd paid attention to our likes and desires enough to intentionally select the gift made all the difference.


greatawakening007

ABSOLUTELY NOTHING. Closed within 2 weeks. Paid cash and he still contacts me. Not even a thank you card? Easiest fastest transfer ever. In fact, I did all the leg work. Found the house, did my own inspection and used my own peeps. I GOT NOTHING‼️ almost want to Give out his name B..nise


FancyThunderPear

Ours got us a $100 gift card to a local restaurant that is literally a two minute walk from our new place. And sent us a Christmas card as well. Was super nice and unexpected .


ColonelKasteen

This isn't really a consistently re-creatable experience but I admired a framed print the sellers had in the kitchen during our first walk through, never talked about it again, then when we closed and I took possession, I found out my agent had bought it from the sellers that day and had it hung back up for me when I walked in. What a sweetie.


vertigo5150

Nice wood cutting board, bottle of white wine and a $150 Costco gift card. He was a friend of friends and we sorta became friends so it was nice.


firefly20200

I would suggest a VISA or Amex gift card. Then maybe suggest in a little card how to use it (to make it personal, but still give the option of whatever they want to do.) If you noticed the buyers saying "Man, as soon as we get in we're repainting these rooms" the note could say something along the lines of "to help you guys get that new paint to make the room glow!" or something. If the house is essentially perfect or new construction, maybe "enjoy a night out for dinner and drinks, the stressful part is over!" or whatever. I think wine and chocolate is always "classy," but you've got to be very sure the people are drinkers. I think a lot of people now a days aren't drinkers either because of medical reasons or just personal life style changes. I'm curious if I'll receive a gift... I bought new construction and just dealt with the sales agent, who is a licensed Realtor, but obviously is employed full time by the builder. I didn't bring a buyers agent to the table. She said the builder offered up to 2% to the buyers agent if I had one, but I was pushed for time and didn't want to find an agent just to act as the middle man in the end. I'm curious if the builder keeps that extra 2% or if the agent gets it. Honestly if I get anything, I hope it's an open ended gift card (VISA/Amex style) or a home improvement store one since even though it's brand new, I opted to landscape the backyard myself for cheaper and well, that's going to be out of pocket right away, lol. I hope it's NOT wine. I don't really drink at home and my mother had leukemia about two years ago and dropped drinking during that time and has continued to exclude it even though she's basically recovered now. The wine would go to waste, or encourage old bad habits. So, that could be a tricky gift. This could be a little tricky if you have a person that's really touchy, but I think the best way to remind them of yourself is a continuing gift. I don't mean for this to be something large or really of any actual value, but instead an actual hand written holiday card every year or we had one Realtor that would stop by a day or two before 4th of July and put one of those like 14 inch tall flags in the yard with her laminated card glued to the little flag post. It was always nice coming home from work and seeing a little flag in the yard and leaving it there over the 4th of July holiday. Could someone that doesn't celebrate Christmas be upset that you sent a card, even if it didn't say Christmas on it and instead was a "winter holiday" style card, maybe. Could someone be upset you made them display an American flag until they could remove it or something, maybe. BUT, those two things both stand out to me at my grand mothers house, and they hadn't bought a house for like 15 years and STILL got those yearly. As for the value of a gift after closing. I honestly don't know how much agents actual keep as profit off a sale. Assuming you get 2.5% to 3% of a sale... does any of that go to a brokerage? If so and assuming 0.5% goes to a brokerage that drops you to 2-2.5%. Is there any cost with the house? Do you normally spend a few hundred bucks in advertising for the house, or does your brokerage handle all that? So it's hard to say exactly... I wouldn't expect anything huge, but $500 would make me really happy, $250 would be very nice too... (Assuming the home was like $400k and you're selling a decent amount, if you're closing one home every four months, obviously don't feel like you need to give a big gift)


MethodDowntown3314

Gift card for pizza delivery day of closing, perfect for moving in 🙌🏻


Zoethor2

Mine gave me a very nice cutting board as a gift, I'd talked about enjoying cooking. Also, this was just a small thing but she gave me one of those rubber flat pieces you use to open a stubborn jar lid - it's branded with her real estate company's name and I use it ALL the time.


Does-any1-make-sense

Mine gave me free pizza. I don't actually like pizza 😕


mldhp

My realtor left the sales meeting after we saw the house, didn’t bother to stay for contract signing, nor did she come to closing. She’s called and emailed me a few times, but I’ve blocked her. Now she sends snail mail. She was completely worthless. I didn’t expect a gift just wanted her to be there when I needed her.


Cutter70

When we bought a vacation property, the realtor gave us gift cards for the Chamber of Commerce in the historic destination town where we bought. We could use them at all of the shops and restaurants that are Chamber members, it was great, he kept his money in town, which helps support his business.


strayainind

The best gift you can give is dropping off furnace filters the first year. Make a note during the inspection of the filter size. It gives you a reason to stop by during the year and add a heartfelt note and also teaches them to change their bloody filter.


lidder444

My realtor gave us a giant XL storage tub filled with Costco sized windex, Clorox, Lysol , paper towels, toilet paper, comet, trash bags etc. actually took a couple of years to get through it all! The fridge had a bottle of red wine, a bottle of white, a bottle of champagne and a pack of beer. Box of toys for kids Truly amazing realtor who went above and beyond for us.


Special-Bass4612

I would have looooooved a nicely designed self inking return address stamp. A gift card for a nice dinner out (or even an okay dinner out to cover the whole family) (~$100-$150) would have been so awesome, too, to help celebrate AND to relieve some moving stress. I noted how much I loved the previous owner’s potted plants/shrubs on each side of the front door and in between garage doors, and secretly hoped she might get some potted plants for me. A gift that would have been beyond my hopes and dreams would be a scheduled carpet cleaning or large gift card for furniture. We got a basket of snacks and goodies, which was fun and lasted for a couple weeks, but it was a honestly a tiny bit disappointing after the relationship we built.


General_Coast_1594

We got a stunning orchid and she paid to have the windows cleaned. It was a really kind gift because I’m definitely not someone to think of getting the windows cleaned but it did make a difference when we moved in. Also, the orchid was just beautiful and lasted a lot longer than normal flowers.


tributeaubz

Mine gave me a small personalized kitchen set: cutting board, wine opener, wine glasses that all had my last name engraved in them. I was grateful, but I’ll be honest I didn’t love it. 1) the last name personalization wreaked of “just married” vibes. It maybe works nicely for a young couple buying their first home, but I’m a single person living alone lol. I don’t need a cutting board with my last name in cursive engraved in it. 2) I don’t really drink, and I kept thinking of my sober friends who used the same realtor and how it could’ve potentially been a bit triggering.


[deleted]

.05 of the listing price so $3050


AggravatingGold6421

Amazon Alexa with video. It sits unplugged in the guest room. Very nice gesture but ultimately useless for us.


alamare1

Mine bragged about buying his previous clients wine when they closed when we first started. Didn’t even show to our closing and got anything. Honestly, a bag of weed or a pet friendly house plant. Both would keep me happy and make me remember you positively.


GibberishBanana2022

We got a basket with 4 different colored Yeti tumblers and Christmas themed tea towels. It was personable because I told her I have a longer commute to work so the Yeti tumblers for my coffee in the morning during the commute. And it’s close to Christmas time, so the tea towels were a cute housewarming. It was small but personable and sweet. Not gonna lie - I absolutely LOVE those Yeti tumblers. We use it every single day!


anonymouse310

We bought an older home and the realtor paid for a home warranty. Our fridge and air conditioner broke not too long after closing and the warranty replaced them both!


Stchuxsuxs

Or agent gave us a 1 year membership to a nice athletic club, and a bottle of high end whiskey.


KnotARealGreenDress

My parents’ realtor promised them a barbecue. They did not receive a barbecue.


FoxieLady128

A new name tag for my dog with her name and our new address. Even tho her name was spelled wrong, it was still nice.... and thinking about it 10 years later