Consolation prize for real estate agent?
October 25, 2018 8:33 PM Subscribe
So, we aren’t going to buy a house after all. But we’d rather not leave our real estate agent totally empty-handed.
We wanted to buy a house, and we made an offer on each of three different houses, but things didn’t come together. Now we are giving up and going to hunker down.
But we hate that our real estate agent has spent so much time on us and will not get a deal out of it. So we are thinking of giving her a lovely parting gift.
We are considering a gift certificate to a local spa. But we are interested in your ideas and spending guidelines. The houses we were looking at were around $170,000.
We wanted to buy a house, and we made an offer on each of three different houses, but things didn’t come together. Now we are giving up and going to hunker down.
But we hate that our real estate agent has spent so much time on us and will not get a deal out of it. So we are thinking of giving her a lovely parting gift.
We are considering a gift certificate to a local spa. But we are interested in your ideas and spending guidelines. The houses we were looking at were around $170,000.
You can give anyone anything that you feel like giving.
Good thing for an REA? Network recommendations.
posted by ovvl at 9:09 PM on October 25, 2018 [1 favorite]
Good thing for an REA? Network recommendations.
posted by ovvl at 9:09 PM on October 25, 2018 [1 favorite]
We gave our real estate agent a gift certificate to a very nice restaurant.
posted by Ideefixe at 9:29 PM on October 25, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by Ideefixe at 9:29 PM on October 25, 2018 [2 favorites]
It is very thoughtful of you to consider getting her a gift.
I would add that a sparkling online review on google, yelp, facebook et cetera would go even further to show your appreciation and to help other people find her.
posted by ashtray elvis at 3:09 AM on October 26, 2018 [4 favorites]
I would add that a sparkling online review on google, yelp, facebook et cetera would go even further to show your appreciation and to help other people find her.
posted by ashtray elvis at 3:09 AM on October 26, 2018 [4 favorites]
Part of why real estate agents get the commissions they do when there is a sale is that this is part of the job - sometimes there's a bunch of work for nothing. It balances out. It's a disappointment, to be sure, but it's something that happens fairly often.
Nthing that the thing that pleases them the most is referrals and good reviews.
posted by Candleman at 6:27 AM on October 26, 2018 [1 favorite]
Nthing that the thing that pleases them the most is referrals and good reviews.
posted by Candleman at 6:27 AM on October 26, 2018 [1 favorite]
Response by poster: We do plan to do the reviews and referrals. But does anyone have thoughts on anything else? Thanks.
posted by maurreen at 6:40 AM on October 26, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by maurreen at 6:40 AM on October 26, 2018 [1 favorite]
Do you have a budget in mind? That might be helpful to know.
Does your REA have kids, where you can donate to their team or fundraiser? Something that as a parent they would have to spend money on. Is there a charity or church or cause they are interested in? Can you offer an in-kind donation to their cause of choice?
Annual passes to a favorite museum or attraction? Tickets to a holiday show like The Nutcracker or Disney on Ice? Admission to a class like How to Use Your DSLR, or cake decorating?
We have a good friend who is an REA and if she wasn't to make a comm then she would probably like something or some experience she could share with her kids, but more than anything she wants recommendations and help getting her name in front of people. She spends a lot of money on marketing but nothing beats word of mouth.
posted by vignettist at 8:02 AM on October 26, 2018
Does your REA have kids, where you can donate to their team or fundraiser? Something that as a parent they would have to spend money on. Is there a charity or church or cause they are interested in? Can you offer an in-kind donation to their cause of choice?
Annual passes to a favorite museum or attraction? Tickets to a holiday show like The Nutcracker or Disney on Ice? Admission to a class like How to Use Your DSLR, or cake decorating?
We have a good friend who is an REA and if she wasn't to make a comm then she would probably like something or some experience she could share with her kids, but more than anything she wants recommendations and help getting her name in front of people. She spends a lot of money on marketing but nothing beats word of mouth.
posted by vignettist at 8:02 AM on October 26, 2018
You tend to bond emotionally with your RE Agent, but they are a sales person, doing their job. When they make a sale, they are very well paid. Send a thank you note, and refer them to people. The referrals are the critical piece.
posted by theora55 at 8:17 AM on October 26, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by theora55 at 8:17 AM on October 26, 2018 [2 favorites]
Best answer: Every real estate agent I’ve ever dealt with enjoys a good bottle of wine. I don’t drink so it’s actually become a bit of a ritual for the alcoholic contents of any house welcome basket — even if it was provided by the agent’s own agency — to be regifted immediately to the agent. I’ve never had any complaints.
Just because you’ve skipped the buying part doesn’t mean you should skip the wine. :-)
posted by Tell Me No Lies at 8:29 AM on October 26, 2018
Just because you’ve skipped the buying part doesn’t mean you should skip the wine. :-)
posted by Tell Me No Lies at 8:29 AM on October 26, 2018
Best answer: We gave our real-estate agent a gift card to Dunkin' Donuts along with a thank-you card (which sounds cheap, I know, but it was a big gift card and the man LOVES Dunk's coffee) and plan to refer anyone we know who needs a realtor to him.
posted by sarcasticah at 12:11 PM on October 27, 2018
posted by sarcasticah at 12:11 PM on October 27, 2018
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posted by ODiV at 9:05 PM on October 25, 2018 [18 favorites]