How Do You Thank Your Kansas City Buyer's Agent or Listing Agent with a Gift?

How Do You Thank Your Kansas City Buyer's Agent or Listing Agent with a Gift?

I just saw this question on a popular real estate forum frequently visited by homebuyers and sellers who post questions for real estate agents to answer:

“… I want to give a gift to my agent. I feel the agent handled very well
representing both parties. What is a good gift for her?
By the way, I am a home buyer.”

After being shocked, I snapped back to reality. What a thoughtful person first, and homebuyer second. Because there are other consumers possibly with the same question, I thought that I’d answer it here.

In our line of work, we put our hearts as well as brains into our clients. With it being such a huge financial transaction, and sometimes an emotional one, we may lose a lot of sleep making sure our clients are taken care of. My goal is to absorb any stress so that my clients don’t have to. We can’t leave the office and work behind at 5:00pm, so it’s nice when our clients recognize this. A heartfelt thank you is always appreciated - though it's not necessary or expected. We work hard because it's our responsibilty.

Good real estate agents are trained to be hyper alert to keying in to our clients feelings, actions and words to make sure that we don’t miss anything. While we don’t expect it, with the amount of time we are spending together, it seems reasonable that they are observing us, too. By the time we close, we know each other fairly well as we helped you manage this major life transition. So, at the end of a transaction buying a home, or selling one, I understand that you want to thank the agent that guided you through to a successful closing. The question is how? What kind of gift is appropriate? I want to share with you a few ideas that agents would most likely appreciate. Some may be too shy to ask (while only a few will). But, you can be proactive and surprise them, a gift in itself.

Two of the most special items that I have in my home (regardless of who they came from) happen to come from 2 different first time homebuyers. I am a huge Michael Jackson fan, and one of them presented me a huge beautiful poster of Michael that he also took the time to get framed. The other gave me 2 gorgeous Michael Jackson tote bags that she went online, ordered and had delivered to my office. I guess that they were listening “between the lines” when we were together. Both gifts are prominently displayed in my home. How wonderful to have appreciative clients. I know that I am so grateful that they chose me to represent them.

Here are my 4 ideas and all are FREE:
1. A very nicely written testimonial letter with the details of what made the agent so special. You can address the letter directly to the agent, or to the owner of the firm, their Broker or both - and mail/scan/fax it after signing. (Make sure your agent has a copy).
2. A video testimonial reflecting the agent's same great values as in the written testimonial. They can post this on their website, Facebook business page or email it to potential clients that are considering hiring them. You may also post it on their Facebook wall directly as a pleasant surprise.
3. Referrals to people that you know who want to buy or sell real estate (of course).
4. A glowing mention on your Facebook wall tagging them (so that it also shows up on their page, too). This serves as a 3rd party endorsement to all of your friends, in addition to publically thanking them in front of their peers.
...and if they did double duty like you mentioned, perhaps 3-4 of these may be in order. : )

Thank your professional real estate agent today! I appreciate that you asked how.

Good luck with buying your new home, or successfully getting your home sold!