You are paying your realtor - no gift to the realtor. The realtor will probably send you some sort of gift because she made money off of you.
I also think it's nice if a seller leaves a drawing (rough drawing is fine) of where things are planted in the yard It's nice to know where bulbs and plants are already planted.
I refer people to a friend that's a realtor. I can tell when a client I referred buys through her because I get a box of really great cookies delivered. I wouldn't refer people to her if I didn't know what a great realtor she is, she sold our previous home for us so I have experience with her.
The old owners left us a plant with a cute note and a couple helpful labels around the house.
We didn't leave anything for our buyers but we did let them come over before we left to show them how to use the lawn sprinkler and washer/dryer and point out things around the house.
We didn't get our agent anything & he didn't get us anything.
When I bought my first home, the seller had been out of it and living several states away for a few months so we never met them, but they had the guy who was manicuring the yard for the summer stay on for us as a gift. They had already negotiated a rate and paid him for the whole summer since they didn't know when the house would sell. They left us a card wishing us well and letting us know we didn't have to mow all summer.
Our sellers left us a bunch of stuff not in the contract - custom rug in the family room, custom king sized bedding (dry cleaned) that matched the master bedroom curtains, surround speakers mounted to the wall in the basement, old tv (but works!) mounted in the basement corner, and basement bar stools. Oh, and all the rugs in the bathrooms. So not "gifts", per se, but definitely a hefty chunk of stuff. They probably just didn't want to move it/knew they weren't going to use it in their new house, but still. It was a nice surprise.
Our realtor didn't give us anything. Not even a holiday card! I mean, he has TONS of clients (is consistently one of the top 3 realtors in the area), so I can see how gifts could get crazy, but at least send a card dude!
cider (for me) and a very nice card that said good luck and congrats and hope you make beautiful memories in this house. We saw all this on the kitchen counter while we went to collect the keys. Is this common? We have no contact with her, so I don't know how we can reciprocate but this is just too damn sweet, right?
ETA : While we are on this topic, what should I get our agent? She said she'll come by about a month after we move in.
That's nice of the seller, you don't need to reciprocate. She likely made money on the sale of the house so she's happy. And the best thing to get your agent is referrals. It will mean more than any tangible gift you give her. Congrats on the house!
When we bought our house, we were invited by the couple to the home a week before we were to move in. They lived there for 35 years and raised 4 kids in the house. The husband walked my H through all his "guy stuff" like sprinkler timers, Malibu lights, house generator, attic etc. The wife and I stood in the driveway and she went house to house about who lived where and which couples she thought we'd have fun with etc. It was the COOLEST thing ever for both of us.
That's super sweet. Our sellers baked us cookies to eat during the inspection and then had the house professionally cleaned as a housewarming gift. O realtor got us a bottle of cheap wine and we got her nothing.
When we bought our house, we were invited by the couple to the home a week before we were to move in. They lived there for 35 years and raised 4 kids in the house. The husband walked my H through all his "guy stuff" like sprinkler timers, Malibu lights, house generator, attic etc. The wife and I stood in the driveway and she went house to house about who lived where and which couples she thought we'd have fun with etc. It was the COOLEST thing ever for both of us.
PS: congrats on your new home!
This was ours too, but she was a widow. They were the first owners of the house, raised three kids here and she was so sad to leave. She invited us over, gave me all the manuals for everything in the house, drawings from the landscapers to show what the plants were, and showed us everything she wasn't taking and told us to tell her what we wanted. We ended up giving her some money for some things- but she gave us a ton of furniture, riding mower. She's very sweet and didn't move far and weve since seen her at neighborhood parties since she's still friendly with several other families
When we bought our house the sellers left us a present . . . squirrels in the attic. Fuckers. (They knew they were there and purposely avoided dealing with the.).
Our seller asked to stay a few extra days to finish up moving out - in return, he walked us around the house the Sunday prior to his move out and showed us all the shut off valves, where the sprinkler system was, etc etc. It was really nice of him. Full disclosure, he was a Federal Agent. We figured it was ok to check out the house with him. I still need to check the drop ceiling in the basement for guns/ammo.