Tip
 

Our agent was awesome getting our new home 1st in line. He gave us a wonderful gift. My wife gave him a gift certificate to McGrady's to shoe appreciation for getting her the home of her dreams. Your choice, my friend.

It's a nice thing to do but it isn't necessary. Do what feels right to you. When we lived in SE FL we were renting a cute little home. Every time I went to pay the rent (at a real estate office) the agents would walk up to me enthusiastically and when they realized I was only paying rent they weren't as welcoming. That is except for one agent. He took the time to make small talk for a few minutes.

When we bought our first home in FL he was the one who helped us. We bought and sold 3 houses after that and used him. When my father moved to FL he was the real estate agent who helped with his home purchase. After he helped us with our first home we had him over for dinner, with his mother (who he was a caregiver to). We were friends for years after that, until we moved away.

You should of used Trent Weldy as I still get gifts from him every 4 month. Best realtor in The Villages!

When we bought our first house here, we had a fantastic agent, after a few years we decided to get another a few years ago we bought our home that is now our permanent home. With each house, she bought us a gift and also got a gift when my cousin bought her house from her. Still have all 3 houses and she is a good friend of mine now. She does parties for her clients also. Her name is Gail Evans and she will bend over backwards to help you. She even went to someone's house for me that was selling chairs to look for me and she gave them the money for it. I was in NY at the time. And it was a few hundred dollars! She is the best.

Are you kidding, they get paid plenty by their broker! I say no, but if you feel obligated go ahead!

The Villages real estate sales are employees
 

The Villages employes over 400 people as sales agents. I don't know if they are 100% commission on sales or salary plus.

Use your own judgement if you wish to further compensate/thank your sales agent.

Even an outside true real estate broker/agent has never been gifted from us in our many house moves. Yes, we have received a gift FROM the agent......

Keep in mind that Village "realtors" are more accurately "sales agents" who have no fiduciary responsibility to you. They are free to represent whichever side of the deal is necessary to close the sale. Twice I overheard my agent urge a prospective buyer of my house to look at slightly less expensive homes in another Village, rather than work to close my sale. I would have fired her if I could. Still want to tip them?

The Villages sales people are licensed real estate agents, and they have a fiduciary responsibility to both the buyer and the seller by Florida law. But, contractually, they represent the seller, not the buyer, for negotiating the sales price and other terms of the sale.

Thanks, yes, that's a great suggestion, that's what we're going to do!

Respectfully, you are incorrect. I suggest that you read a Villages sales contract.

They got a very nice commission (buy and sell side on new construction) from your purchase. The nicest thing you could do for them is refer them to your friends and family. You can also write a nice note to their manager - must likely a guy named Tim - ask them for his name and send it to the Brownwood Sales office.

Not to beat a dead horse, but an agent cannot have fiduciary responsibilities to BOTH the seller and buyer. This is a blatant conflict of interest. Probably why they are contractually considered "Transaction Agents", where the primary objective is to close the sale. You can contract for sole representation, but it is a different contract that is less frequently used. At least that's how it was three years ago.

When I first started looking at homes in The Villages, the sales agent for The Villages told me that she did not collect commission only a paycheck. That was awhile ago, and things might have changed. If your agent went over and beyond to help you, I would say why not. If you feel really grateful to the agent, that is your decision to make.

They should buy you a ‘welcome gift’ and I think most do.

Your choice

Not true. To be a fidiciary only means that you are required to treat both the buyer and seller in a fair and equitable manner and to be ethical. That is required of all licensed agents by state law, or they can lose their license. But, the agent represents the seller, not the buyer, as their agent in the listing contract, not by state law. Being an agent of the seller is not the same thing as acting in a fiduciary manner towards both buyer and seller. For example, if a buyer asks the agent if the house has a roof leak, the agent must tell the truth as they know it. They cannot lie. But, if the buyer tells the agent that they are willing to pay more than the listed price, the agent has a duty to convey that information to the seller in order to negotiate the best price. The term "transaction agent" typically only come into play after a sales contract has been signed. But, while negotiating a price, the agent represents the seller, not the buyer, because the listing contract has only two parties, the agent and the seller. The buyer is not a party to the listing contract, and does not pay the sales commission. The seller pays the commission, and can sue the agent for improper representation.

Ours gave US a VERY NICE gift for the nice profit she made on the deal. We loved it, and wrote her a very nice personal note.

House/model, price, and possibly location, I agree.

Of course it is more than enough, but I also think (socially), if you found the person likable, not abrasive or offensive, a nice "thank you, we are enjoying our new home" is a nice (no, it's NOT necessary I agree) touch in a "civilized" society ! A person who does not agree, simple, should not write a "thank you" note !

Original question-no a tip is not necessary. However that 6%, if that is what you agreed to pay, is split several ways.

The OP is the buyer. The buyer did not agree to pay any commission. It was all paid by the seller.

Beware of the salesperson. They do not work for you, if you are the buyer, they work for the seller. If, you are driving around in their car. Someone says, I really want that house and it seems a good value compared to the others. You then make AN OFFER on the property. The seller asks THE SALES PERSON if they should accept the offer. The SALES PERSON can say I THINK THEY WILL PAY MORE. Heck they heard you say so in their car.

It is all a mater of semantics. It is like you buy a paint brush at a hardware store and saying you do not pay the store rent the store owner does. It is in the price you pay.

For sale by owner? Based on my experience, I'm sure not all. Both the buyer and the seller plan on saving the same commission.

Yes, the agent works for the seller. I am amazed at how many buyers will refer to the agent who drives them around and shows them houses as "their agent". They are NOT your agent. They work for the seller who pays the commission.

I disagree. It is not semantics. The listing contract is a legal document between the agent and the seller. Plain and simple. The buyer has no contractual relationship with the agent. And, I don't agree that the buyer saves anything by buying a FSBO. The seller "may" save the commission by doing the marketing and selling themselves.

We had the same agent helping us for 2 years. Many trips to show us the general area and different models of homes knowing that we only wanted to buy in Richmond. As it turns out, we bought first in DeLuna because our plans got moved up. He also ran several open houses when we sold that house when our Richmond lot became available. For the above and beyond, we got him a gift card to ABC.

That said, your experiences surely differ. If you feel that the realtor (yes, they are realtors - The Villages - Florida's Friendliest Active Adult 55+ Retirement Community) did more than expected, a small gift is most likely appreciated. The average realtor in this area makes about $90k a year or about $35 bucks an hour (google it for those non-believers) so if you spend hours with them touring houses that you didn't buy, that's something to take into consideration.

One sure fire way to determine if your Villages Sales Agent is a "Realtor®", is to check the NAR website and do a search by their name. Unless they are listed as a member, they are not a "Realtor®".

Correct, but an experienced Villages agent told me that, in order to be a Realtor, the broker must be a member of the NAR. The Villages is not a member, so none of the Villages agents can become a Realtor.

How many times must this dead horse be beaten?

TV sales agents ARE LICENSED REAL ESTATE AGENTS...

Being a REALTOR only means you've joined a professional association... Nothing more, nothing less...

They're newbies, give them a break. It's always the MLS vultures on here doing the beefing.

My last realtor(not here) thanked us and gave us a $500 gift card.

Haven't heard from my agent, Miss Kennedy, since the week before closing last year.

Our Villages realtor gave us a canvas carry bag.

Agree ! Ours DID give us a VERY nice gift, not that we expected anything, but in previous moves to 3 other states, I must say the agent we had at each gave us very nice gifts for giving him/her the business. One was a $100 gift card to one of the area's best restaurants, another gave us an elaborate "welcome to your new home" flower arrangement from a local florist AND a gift basket of useful things for a new resident. The other agent (in Iowa) gave us a basket with a bottle of wine, cheeses, crackers, and a selection of $5 gift cards; Starbucks, Dunkin' D, subway, about 10 different cards all together.

Nice to remember when people were genuine, a business relationship of course, but also a "human" connection. The agents who didn't have time for you when it would not mean money in their pocket, probably represent the highest percentage, the feel they are tying to make a living, no guaranteed salary (like a car sales person), so they can't waste time that might cost them and their family's income for that week/month. But, then there are those for whom everything is not about money, like the one you met, and stayed LOYAL TO ! A nice experience.

I was given a set of wine glasses in 2010

75 replies later I will attempt to bring perspective to the question at hand. Have you ever tipped your income tax preparer ?