What Gift from The Real Estate Did You Receive after Buying/Selling Your House?

I just purchased a house and spent just over $500k. The Real Estate the whole time was quite nice and down to earth person and I felt we got along well.

When the keys were handed over to me, he gave me a small brown bag with a ribbon wrapped around the handle. They told me it was a little gift to congratulate me on purchasing the house. Excited, the real estate agent left and I went inside the house to see what was inside the bag.

I open the bag to find a candle, the agent's branded notepad and pen, a business card and a hand written card from the real estate agent.

Nothing else was left inside by the agent and I've had no deliveries from them since.

I felt a bit let down by what I received from the agent considering the commission and the real estate climate of how many houses they're turning over at the moment. I've had friends receive bottles of champagne, fruit platters, coffee cups etc.

So tell me, what did/didn't you receive when buying/selling your house? Did I get ripped off or was I expecting too much?

Comments

  • +568

    You feel you got ripped off by a free gift from your real estate agent? This is a whole new sense of entitlement I didn't know about.

    I get an annual calendar magnet from them every year.

    • +3

      It could be a new form of Cashback or Shopback entitlement.

      Buy a house, with gifts to sweeten the deal.

      Didn’t turn out the way OP had imagined it, whilst keeping up with The Joneses “friends”.

      • +24

        It's an outrage! I'd ask to speak to the manager and demand a

        RRREEEEEEFUND!!

        • +2

          RRREEEEEEFUND!!

          if that fails, OP should buy another house from a REA that entitles buyers with better free gifts.

      • +5

        Didn’t turn out the way OP had imagined it

        A bottle of expensive champagne would have sweetened the deal for OP.

        Seriously though OP, real estate agents are salespeople just like used car salesmen. They already got your business when you signed that contract.
        You now expect them to lay out the red carpet afterwards?

      • +4

        Didn't really want the house… Just wanted a free bottle of champagne.

        • +1

          i receive one bottle, but dusty, dont dare to drink, no expiry date or best before date status on the bottle :S

    • +27

      It is not even OP's agent.
      It was the seller's/vendor's agent.
      The seller/vendor paid them through commission, not OP.

      • +4

        came to say this, regardless of price OP paid, no part of their money went to the agent, rather some of the money the seller recieved went to the agent. Sorry, you're entitled to nothing!

        Recent sold and repurchased ~$4m in property… didnt receive anything either side, didnt expect either side. geez… entitlement!

        • +1

          Well we got a house and a lovely mortgage for 30 years haha

    • +3

      OP is lucky he even got a candle. OP lucky he was even able to buy a house at $500k.

      If OP is born in 1992, explains a lot. Live and learn. 20 years from now you can pass on the same comment to someone born in 2041.

      When you buy a house over $1m, yeah, FYI, you get a whole gift basket, last one we received was about $200 in value. OH, and they gave us a gingerbread house circa $100 for christmas. Like it was such a fking nice gingerbread house we didn't even eat it.

      Just rubbing it in…..

      Then again it really depends on the agent and how nice you were to them honestly.

      Also commissions on a $500k house are normally around $8-12k, only some of it goes to the actual agent, and for $1m+ houses you're looking at $20-30k commission.

      ****Oh and btw, a decent candle could cost $30-50, way more than a $8 bottle of wine, or even a $40 basket.

      • +3

        my mate was a little concerned when his bank invited them to a Christmas party one year. He had a very large mortgage with them and it made it very real to him when he realised the bank was very happy to have him around.

        • +2

          re finance

      • What makes a decent candle? I guess maybe pure beeswax?
        I'd actually be upset if someone in my house spent $50 on a candle.

        • +1

          I believe the quality and amount of oil that contains the ester for the frangrance. There's a whole big thing about it.

          I have a christmas scented candle its literally fking amazing, I think it was like $120 or something.

          Yeah there's a real market for high end household items. I guess think about buying a bunch of flowers, they cost what, $30-50?

      • um.. arent those gifts paid/ provided by the agent's company?

    • OP: LongJohn92
      Probably born 1992. This is the sad state of future generations

  • +91

    You got something that the agent was under no obligation to give you and you 'felt let down'?

    • +21

      For the commission they get that you agree to I admit - a $50 bottle of wine wouldn't hurt.

      • +41

        The buyer (OP) didn't agree to or pay anything, it is the vendor's agent.

        • +20

          Maybe I'm old fashioned but I'd think a little congratulatory present for such a large transaction is a decent move by the other side, not to mention it creates goodwill worth much more than the little trinkets would cost.

          • +8

            @afoveht: I think most agents agree, which is why they do give house-warming gifts. But you can't really complain if you don't get one.

            • +16

              @djkelly69: It is amazing how such a small thing (not just in this example) can make a big impression on someone and be worth far more than than the money spent.
              Sure, the OP isn't in a position to complain, but the agent lost an opportunity to build some goodwill rather cheaply.

            • @djkelly69: I've never got anything, and I've had a number of places. I don't see why anyone would expect it? Maybe I give off a vibe that I'd be suspicious if someone gave me a gift, but really people are just happy enough getting the keys to their new place if they bought well, and if they didn't no amount of champagne is going to make up for it

          • -8

            @afoveht: Typical Aussie entitlement

        • As far as I was aware, how much commission an agent does/doesn’t receive is between the vendor and the agent/the agent’s employer, not between the buyer and the agent.

          What if it was a love deal/mates rates arrangement and the agent didn’t receive any commission? Would you be happy to not receive a gift then?

      • The Seller pays the commission.

        The Buyer is entitled to nothing off the Agent.

        • nope they arent.. but when your handed a bottle of 2021 vinegar pretending to be wine to celebrate with tis a touch shitful…

  • +45

    Extraordinary.

    • +7

      We live in an age of entitlement.

  • +54

    Ridiculous. Do you expect a gift from a taxi driver when you give him his fare?

    • +6

      Of course a free Uber pen…. 😀

    • +33

      I would if it was a $500,000+ taxi ride…

      • +4

        But 495000 goes to the owner of the taxi

        • +4

          Are there many 1% commission RE's around? The guys I talked to were all upwards of 2-3%

    • Free house* with each taxi fare (*conditions apply)

    • +1

      A bottle of mineral water wouldn't hurt… thanks Uber.

    • +1

      some 7/11 discount coupons

    • Depends. Is it a fake taxi?

  • +8

    A towel and a bottle of champagne and endless marketing material.

    • Lucky me then - I haven't even bought a house yet and I'm already getting endless marketing material!

  • +13

    I got a cheese platter (as in the plate, but with no cheese), with lots of expensive chocolate, some cheese knives, and flowers.

    Feel better or worse?

  • +6

    230k on our place. Gift basket with snacks, drinks etc. I believe they're around $100 from a local shop here as we got something similar for work

    • +2

      Thats pretty good

  • +13

    I got a bottle of Aldi wine and a candle. Total value about $10

    • Not sure if it’s real but I laughed a lot!!

      • +1

        If OP got this he would have yelled out
        Pharkurnell

      • +1

        Have used him to sell dads joint, then sold my place, and third time - bought my new place from him…
        total commission: Kids through school..
        total gifts: $30

  • Seriously anything they give would be a tax write off and you just paid his kids college fees hahaha

    • +3

      No, the buyer didn't pay the agent anything. The seller pays the agent by way of commission.

      • +10

        The buyer pays the cash. The commission
        is part of the price, The agent skims off their commission before handing over the remainder to the seller. If there was no sale there would be no commission.

        How do you figure the buyer doesn’t pay for that?

        • +9

          Ok - by that logic you are paying for the Tokyo Olympics.

          • @Almost Banned: Maybe technically the buyer didn’t pay anything, but it’s part of the process. The agent makes a commission from the sale and uses part of that commission for marketing. Like a thank you to the buyer, or the seller to help them gain business.

            Case in point, the marketing budget for OP wasn’t high enough. The commission was paid by the seller, but at least part of that was tacked onto the sell price.

            • +1

              @Euphemistic: If OP didnt buy this property, someone else would have (probably). So the buyer is redundant in the transaction with the agent.

              • @geoffs87: No, the buyer is essential. It’s just a variable.

              • @geoffs87:

                If OP didnt buy this property, someone else would have (probably). So the buyer is redundant in the transaction with the agent.

                THIS !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

        • +3

          The vendor pays the commission, the buyer does not pay the agent.

          • @diddy50: Everything that the agent does is paid for by the commission wether indirectly or directly. It’s how they find their business. That commission is contracted to the seller, but the money comes from the sale of the property (the buyer)

            • @Euphemistic: So we agree.
              Commission is from the vendor haha.

              • @diddy50: Yes. As I said above, technically the seller pays, but if you think that the commission does not affect the buyers final price you are not correct.

                Then again, I’ve never actually ‘paid’ an agent. The money never gets to the seller, it’s diverted at settlement along with solicitor and govt fees. Seller just gets a shock at how much is removed before they get the leftovers.

  • +15

    Ripped off as in you bought a house expecting a nice gift from the real estate agent? lol

    • +49

      OP is playing the smart game. Buying houses for free candles and pens.

  • Let's put it this way I recently purchased a property and on a quick calculation my "gift" from the agent was approximately 0.0014% of the purchase price. Do your own maths, but I reckon you did better than I did.

    • I got a $1 scratchie every 6 months in the letterbox for 2 years. (Probably because it was a cheap 1st home and he expected us to do it up and move on and he would like to sell it again.

  • +51

    I seriously lol'd that you went inside, looked around and found nothing, then expected something to be delivered. Just hilarious.

    What were you expecting would be an appropriate gift? A nude woman jumping out of a cake wearing a sash saying "congratulations on your new home"?

    • +10

      What were you expecting would be an appropriate gift? A nude woman jumping out of a cake wearing a sash saying "congratulations on your new home"?

      That’s exactly what I received. Now me and the agent have 10 kids and more on the way. Family Tax Benefit and Baby Bonus. It’s the gift that keeps on giving…

  • +1

    The Real Estate agent gave the vendor a bottle of champagne. Probably $20..

    The vendor gave it to us:)

  • +8

    Might seem to you like you got along well but I’m sure they were just in it for the sale.

  • +33

    We got a Samsung 55 inch 4k tv when we moved into our new home last November, we were completely shocked at this and tried to refuse but they didn't budge haha. I wasn't expecting anything so it was a huge surprise.

    • Was it a mil dollar house?

      • +1

        Lol no, 600k. They were amazing throughout the build and we never expected any gifts from them. This worked out very well as it saved me from buying one for the bedroom :p

        • +9

          "throughout the build"? Are you talking about a real estate agent or a builder / developer / house & land package? slight difference there - the former might be making ~2% less agency fees and expenses, the latter would be making 10% clear margin, maybe even 15%-25% if they did the land development too (i.e. $60K - 150K)

          • +2

            @MrFrugalSpend: It was the builders sorry should've clarified. We got the land from real estate and it was the builders who were amazing. I know they probably made a killing but still it was a nice gesture when no gifts are expected from them.

  • +2

    Geez.. if this isn't the feeling of entitlement, I don't know what is!

    • -5

      idk though, if someone said they left me a "gift" and

      I open the bag to find a candle, the agent's branded notepad and pen, a business card and a hand written card from the real estate agent.

      tbh nothing of value except the candle, the rest is just advertisement material…

      I'd feel scammed, not because of the value but the letdown of expectations :P

      • +2

        I've heard of tradies/builders leaving a gift before…..

        • The reverse-kanga style gifts? lol

  • +3

    Bottle of champagne and another bottle of champagne from the mortgage brokers on our 1 year loan anniversary. Previous house bottle of wine, mug (still have it) and some fancy hot chocolate powder.

    • which mortgage broker?

      • Aussie Home Loans

  • +57

    For the last house I bought, never having to deal with them ever again was the best thing they ever gave me. The woman that sold me the house was quite possibly the rudest bitch to ever have graced the face of this planet. The closest I got to anything considered a present was on settlement day when I was due to pick up the keys from them, she said "don't bother, I just left them in your new letter box." So, not seeing her face that day and knowing I would never have to deal with her again was the best present ever.

    12 or so months later, they ended up folding and went out of business backwards, owing a lot of money to a lot of people… It was the gift that just kept on giving. The only thing that could have made it better is if that estate agent was the one that went "missing" and her leg turned up on a beach somewhere around Sydney..

    • +1

      Given OPs post, could the tables have turned? Hence the reciprocation from the REA. As most of us has seen here there is usually a missing side to the story.

    • +5

      Pretty sure this comment requires a nice long follow-up.

      Strap in for story time folks.

      • +32

        Just for you, a dot point rundown;

        • She turned up the the first inspection dressed like a high class prostitute. My wife was not impressed
        • She arrived in a 5 series BMW with personal plates about how good she was at selling. (Buyers don’t like REAs in big, expensive, flash cars.)
        • At the inspection spent her whole time talking on her phone and would not answer questions
        • Made an offer a few days later and she refused to take it to the vendor, thanked me for wasting her time. (Offer was about 8% under asking price, price was already well over inflated for the area)
        • She rang back a few days later and apologised and made a counter offer of $2,500 more than mine (or about 0.5%). I declined based on it being a bit of a silly counter offer. She then got abusive and demanded that I take the offer.
        • She once again rang back a few days after that to apologise and made an offer of $5,000 more than my original offer ($2,500 more than her previous offer.) I declined and lowered my original offer by $5,000 which sent her in a rage spiral and I hung up on her mid rage spray.
        • A week later she rings back to apologise again for how she behaved and asked if I was still in the market? I said yes, and her offer was for $5,000 more than my last offer (ie: my initial offer) I accepted on the provision that it was a 28 day settlement as I needed a house ASAP.
        • She called the next day that I can take early possession if I wanted to rent the place for 4 weeks. I said ok, and she offered it to me for $1,200… per week!! (Average rental in this area at the time was about $4~500/week. I declined her offer and before I could counter, she hung up on me.
        • She pushed the settlement out to 4:30pm on the final day of the contract. It was a vacant possession and paperwork was done weeks ago, she just stalled it until the last hour of the last day…
        • When I asked about picking the keys up at settlement, she said “they are still in the letterbox where you left them.” (That was from the second inspection she didn’t even attend, about 5 weeks from settlement date. The keys had been in the letterbox where I left them that whole time.)

        Basically, if she got cancer, I would cut the cancer out to save it from her… She really was the most horrible person I have ever had the misfortune of dealing with. If there was a photo in the stereotype dictionary of “typical, filthy rat scumbag real estate agent”, there would be this woman’s photo from her promotional flyers, replete with Martin Shkreli shit eating grin and *tm punchable face.

        • +6

          She sounds hawt. You got her number?

        • +3

          Sounds like her awful tactics might have scared everyone else away and you got the house you wanted for the price you wanted.

          So overall, you won home and $ wise. That's sweet!

        • +2

          Genuine question, why did you keep picking up her calls?

          Like did you really like the home or the neighbourhood?

          For me it would've been a massive red flag and I would be thinking maybe even the seller and the property might be of dubious value.

          But she sounds like an absolute tool.

          My previous rental agency was like this. If i had to choose between Hitler and them with 1 bullet, I'd line them up. May they rest in hell.

          • +3

            @HumbleCat: I kept picking up the calls because I really wanted the house. Great area. Great location. Great size. Quiet area. Big street. Easy access. Great neighbors. Had everything and was only a few years old.

            I had just spent 8 years working in a hostile casino environment. Her carrying on the way she did was water off a duck's back for me. And anyone who knows me would know that if there is anything I enjoy in life, it's getting under the skin of arseholes. The only thing I had to do to get under her skin was to act politely and nicely.

            I think she was just used to selling houses to cashed up coal miners who just bought houses sight unseen and paid the asking price. I think she was just angry because she felt like I was forcing her to do her job and actually "sell" a house, not just send out paperwork.

          • +11

            @Haliax: A: I didn't "shame" her. If a man turned up dressed as a high class escort, I would have made the same comment. It was more to point out how her attire was totally inappropriate for the situation. She was selling a house, not a brothel.

            B: Again, the car a real estate agent drives reflects their modesty. A nice, neat, professional looking Camry would have had a much better image than "hey, look how much I rip-off my customers/client so they can pay for the lease payments on my very expensive luxury shitbox and wanky number plate."

            If I had to pick between a REA that drove a nice, but modest vehicle, compared to one that drove a very expensive one, I would pick the one that didn't look like she was trying to win a pissing competition at her clients expense. (It was repossessed after the failure of the agency. So, she cant have been that good.)

            C: I don't care for the phone to be off during an inspection, I understand she needs to take calls, but if I was paying her to sell my house and she treated clients like that, ignoring them in favor of taking what seemed to be a personal call, I would be super pissed.

            to telling you she'd "hit you with [her] BMW, if you don't sign the papers".

            Never said that, you're just making shit up.

            So how was she abusive?

            She was abrasive and impolite. She became very angry, very easily. As a buyer of a something as expensive as a house, I didn't appreciate being called "stupid" or "dumb". I am pretty sure her client didn't know she was saying these things.

            "Just accept our offer. Are you stupid or something?"
            "How dumb do you have to be. It's only $2,500 more…"
            When I refused the early occupancy rate (over double market value), before I could make a counter offer, she mumbled "idiot" and hung up on me.
            When I rang her back the next day to make a counter offer on the early occupancy, her comment to me was "No, and I thought I made it clear yesterday, you can just wait till the end of settlement now before you can move in." and she made sure it was right up to the last min on the settlement day.

            So how was she demanding?

            She was very demanding. She would make ultimatums like "If you don't come in tomorrow to sign the contract, we are done" or "You have until close of business today to consider our offer, after 5pm, it's off the table." All through settlement when her legals were stalling, she would ring me and blame me for things that her team were stalling on.

            Besides, saying you want to hurt this person

            Just making shit up. I never said "I" wanted to hurt her, just that I would take much schadenfreude from her situation, and how, to me, she has less worth than something as despicable as cancer. When her agency went under, I literally laughed for days.

            since those who suffer from a behavioural problem, should be pitied not threatened.

            Again, you are making shit up. I never threatened her. I volunteer to work with people and youth who have "real" mental issues, I made a lot of space for her an her massive ego and tolerated her shit because I knew she had some form of mental issues, but hers was just narcissistic personality disorder coupled with being a sociopath, two things I don't really have a lot of pity for.

            doesn't convince me of your side.

            Don't give a shit. I'm not here to "convince" you to "my side". It's a take it or leave it basis. It's more about looking back at a bad experience I once had and relaying that for others amusement.

            • +2

              @pegaxs:

              If I had to pick between a REA that drove a nice, but modest vehicle, compared to one that drove a very expensive one, I would pick the one that didn't look like she was trying to win a pissing competition at her clients expense. (It was repossessed after the failure of the agency. So, she cant have been that good.)

              Well the Seller didn't care.

              • +4

                @Other: We don’t know that. I never spoke to the owner and from the paperwork at contract time, the seller lived hours away, so may have had no idea.

                Eventually, her business collapsed because no one used her services. So, based on that and talking to other people in the area that contacted her when it came time to sell their house, plenty of people cared how she was portraying herself in the community and decided against using her service, hence the eventual collapse of her agency.

    • +2

      The only thing that could have made it better is if that estate agent was the one that went "missing" and her leg turned up on a beach somewhere around Sydney

      WOW, lol

  • +11

    lol we RENTED an apartment and got more.

    Cheap swiss army knife knock off
    Cleaning supplies like Spray-n-Wipe, and glass cleaner
    3 bog rolls
    White chocolate bar
    $30 Dominos voucher
    And some other stuff like that

    • I sent a long term tenant a Hamper but then I realised that it wouldn't be delivered in time before they left. So I gave them a Woolworths gift card which was instant. They ended up getting both which was good.

      But I haven't given anything to tenants who haven't stayed for long.

      • This was when we moved in like 2 months ago.

      • Really nice of you to do that!
        This is something I would do too if we had a rental. Small things like this can go a very long way.

    • +42

      There are cities outside of Melbourne and Sydney lmao.

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