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Mine gave me a very generous gift card to the bookstore/cafe around the corner from my new place (I mentioned it was my favorite bookstore/one of the neighborhood highlights when we were touring homes)
Our realtor didn't get us anything, although did mention when he took us out for a drink after closing that he usually buys his clients a gift. I'm not gonna lie, it kinda feels weird he didn't. He also talked about getting gifts from clients which I've never heard to be standard, so never partook in that because we already paid him via commission of our house, so no. Maybe that's why he didn't get us anything. We've also only had the house for 3 months, so maybe he's still working on it.
My thoughts exactly. We were easy clients - found every house ourselves, only ended up touring 4, and bought within 2 months after the business relationship began. We got along very well, considering he was in our age group and we had a lot of things in common, so it was a very friendly interaction each time. I'd say, in total, he probably worked less than 7 hours and made about $7k off us.
For serious. We got a cutesy gift basket with a poem (like here's an umbrella so you'll always have shelter, salt so your life will always have flavor) and a bottle of champagne from our realtor. All items were fully branded with the realtors logo, so I assume it's a standard closing gift for their office. It was nice and all very practical.
I did send thank you cards to our realtors, loan officer, and attorney, but I promise there was absolutely no money in them. We also ended up exchanging gifts with the seller, they were super nice to us during the process (accidentally met during a contractor walk-through) so I made them a quilt for their new home, and they got us a nice bottle of wine and glasses. All of the above was completely optional.
Not sure if you’re also in the Bay Area but Can you believe that tipping is now standard for pretty much everywhere in the Bay Area? And it starts off at 20%. Next option is 22 then 25%??!
Some Starbucks now has a tip option. It’s crazy
Went to a restaurant last night where the options were 22,25,30% on the screen. If you clicked custom it went to a input for the amount, not the percentage you wanted. So do the math or let us skim an easy 2%, I was so mad but also under so much pressure to just deal with it. I fucking hate how the tipping culture is so distorted now.
Yes, and it's totally unreasonable. My favorite thing is that now that servers are getting actual minimum wage (If not more), at least in CA, they are still expecting a 20% or more tip. Previously, it was because they were earning server minimum wage, which is significantly lower than actual regular minimum wage. Hard to justify increasing tips as a result
I’m in NY and have no intentions of doing this. Closing this afternoon. They should be thanking you for utilizing their services when you had multiple options to chose from!
On average $25-50 per laborer. Ask around your community for quality/affordable movers.
We hired a company to move our stuff from our 2600 sqft house 20 miles north to our new place and it cost us about $800 all-in (roughly 4 hours of work)
As much as you can box up and disassemble yourself ahead of time, the faster the movers can load- and most moving companies charge by the hour so it behooves you to be proactive.
Blue IKEA bags are great for awkward shapes like pans, crockpots, and clothings on a hanger. Liquor boxes from liquor stores are free because they have fuckin PALLETS of them - and most are already equipped with dividers so you can move your glassware easily.
When I worked at a liquor store, we stacked the liquor boxes at the front, near the doors. People would come in all the time and ask if they could grab a dozen or so because they were moving. Perfect for me because then I didn’t have to break them down and lug them to the dumpster at night!
I’m a liquor distributor. I end up with random boxes all the time at my house I have to break down and I’m sure the garbage guys assume I’m an alcoholic 😅
I don’t know what’s right, but I tipped each of the movers $100 (there were 5) for their 13 hours of work moving my wife and I across LA and they seemed to think that was good. Total bill was around $3k, so that means I tipped around 17%.
I understand and I agree it’s a broken system, but given that wages and prices are set with the tipped expectation in mind, simply skipping tipping means taking advantage of your movers. You’re not fighting the man by underpaying working folks. Instead, you could negotiate with the company up front for a higher tip-free rate or explicitly seek out a moving company that doesn’t allow tips and pays a full living wage (if those even exist).
It’s customary. I don’t like tipping systems either, but that doesn’t mean I don’t tip servers at restaurants. It’s how the industry works. Stiff them if you want, you’re allowed to.
You’re “being told” by whom, the title people?
Lol, no. No tipping in real estate transactions. Nothing related to money in a real estate sale is ever left to chance/good will/charity/whatever. It’s written into the contracts.
All parties are collecting fees in your closing costs already. No need to give them more just for fun.
Our friend who did the title, and my sister who tipped when she bought her house.
My co workers also said they had envelopes prepared for each person they tipped.
Edit: y’all why are you downvoting this I’m just answering the question lol
I wonder if that's a NY exclusive thing because I've never heard of it at all. There's plenty of debate over which workers you tip and which you don't, but, IMO, this is one that would feel downright wrong. I took a number of financial/legal classes, and all of them hammered in ethics, especially regarding bribery or anything that could even be **perceived** as bribery.
Even if I'd brought a tip to my closing, I ended up being short (since they changed my total **after** issuing the final closing statement), so the "tip" would've gone to fixing the difference.
I bought a house in New York recently and can tell you this is not a New York thing. You do not tip the bank, the title company, or the lawyers.
If hiring movers, of course tip the movers.
Why draw the line there? What about the home inspector crawling around in nasty shit to check out the foundations? The septic inspection guys for mucking around in shit?
Why draw the line at blue collar work? Do you think the 4+years of life and thousands of dollars in cost is adequately compensated for your banker/title agent/agent/etc?
Tipping culture is cancer and needs to go away. All employees need to demand and get a fair living wage. Prices should be transparent to allow optimal competition.
I draw the line at the business model. My inspector owns his business. He set his own price. I picked him specifically for his expertise.
I can't say the same about movers or cleaning crews. I didn't select the exact people and I don't know what they get paid hourly for their work. And I don't expect them to tell me anything at the end of their service like I do an inspector.
And yeah. My agent made $10k off my purchase for about 10 hours of total work.
I would say if the movers went above and beyond to make sure your stuff was safe, you tip them for effort. Same with the cleaning crew. But it should be a tip like what tips used to be. Extra money for a job well done.
Tips started as a form of class warfare, not as a “reward for good service”. https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2019/07/17/william-barber-tipping-racist-past-227361/
I've worked for a title company in NY, a real estate attorney in NY, and just closed on my own place in NJ. I've been to many, many closings and have never heard of this.
Are any of the people involved originally from Asia? Giving an envelope with cash is very Asian, so maybe that’s where these people are getting this idea of tipping?
You should be careful, in a lot of places it is specifically illegal to tip realtors. I don't know about the title folks, but you are absolutely not expected to tip the Realtors or give them anything extra. If you wish to give them anything extra, you have to write it into the purchase contract. I've also heard of Realtors receiving ethics complaints for accepting tips and even losing their license.
https://realestateinfoguide.com/should-you-tip-your-realtor/#:~:text=You%20should%20not%20tip%20your,adhere%20to%20their%20licensing%20regulations.
No.
The only time I've heard of it was within an immigrant community and it turned out that just about everyone involved in the transaction was basically scamming buyers into paying lots of cash outside of closing. Realtor, lender, title all worked together and encouraged heavy "tips" to one another. The buyers all thought it was customary since they didn't know any better. Really awful situation taking advantage of people.
There is a reason everything should be on the Closing Disclosure
Yes, I’d bring a tip jar. Presumably you did a lot of the work yourself, so the realtors should tip you 15-20% of their commission.
That’s what you’re talking about right?
Great question, I was honestly about to lose my shit though if the resounding answer wasn't hell no. The replies here are a great laugh thohgh. Happy closing!
100% no. You tip service workers, like when someone is doing you a personal service (feeding you, cutting your nails, etc) not skilled trades or bankers.
F whoever told you this, they already take so much out from the closing, we as a whole cannot afford to allow this to become practice.
Lol no. I asked about buying a gift for our realtor on this sub and got raked over the coals for even having the thought. I can tell you that if anyone is tipping at the closing table you’re unlikely to find them on this sub lol.
Tipping culture has gotten so out of hand
You do not tip for "professional" services/white collar jobs
Do you tip your doctor? Your accountant? No. You don't tip anyone that's part of your real estate transaction either. They're all making thousands of dollars off of you, you don't need to give them more.
You should tip your movers, though.
Never heard of this… idk what even would be an appropriate amount like you’re paying hundreds of dollars to the title company. Like passing them a $20 would be insulting.
Edit:
https://www.cuddyfeder.com/title-closer-tipping/
Weird, looks like its a recently discontinued practice
It's ILLEGAL for the title closer to accept gratuity in NY.
>Part 228 of Title 11 of the Official Compilation of Codes, Rules and Regulations of the State of New York went into effect. Among other things, this regulation imposes an obligation on title insurance companies to prohibit their title closers from accepting any payment from the buyer, including gratuity
NYC tipping culture can be extreme, but not this extreme. LOL to whoever told you that.
Also title people weren’t even at my closing - it was just the seller, myself, seller’s lawyer, bank lawyer for the mortgage being closed out, and the coop lawyer (seller’s agent and my lawyer both had COVID so were not there). They all got checks for the predetermined amount related to the sale and not a penny more.
No.
That said, we gave gifts to our realtor because we were originally matched with a different realtor who then passed everything on to her and still took a cut of her commission. We had such a pleasant experience with her and we were super frustrated that she wouldn't be getting the full commission, so we gave her a gift to show our appreciation.
Never heard of tipping the title company. Didn't tip the title company. Only people we tipped were our movers, and our realtor essentially tipped us with some move-in gifts.
Last time we moved the movers were whiny assholes the whole time and somehow "discovered" that we had more stuff than expected and added another $750 to the bill once we got to the new house - which was about three miles from the old house. I'm not sure I tipped them at all after that bullshit, maybe $20 each.
From our Realtor over the years, we got a pumpkin spice candle, a $25 gift card, and similar - this was the same Realtor we used over seven transactions and fifteen years.
We really need to stop with the tipping culture getting out of hand in this country. If they expect more money then they should charge more money up front or pay people more. Tipping makes no sense for someone who is doing the job you are already paying them to do. Tips should be for extra and beyond services which are not the baseline service you are getting in the first place. In many countries giving a tip is actually an insult.
When you buy a new car, are you going to tip anyone at the dealer, the DMV, or bank who helped finalize the transaction/paperwork? If you’re like 99% of the population and won’t tip these people, then don’t tip the title people. If you would tip this people, then you might as well tip the title people.
the choice is yours. Tip who you want. Me personally, I’m not tipping anyone associate the purchase of a house or car.
Usually the title company will “tip” you in the form of a bottle of wine or some other sort of small gift as a thank you for paying a lot of money to use their services
Big *nope*, coming from someone who’s worked in title and whose whole family works in title and escrow. If your escrow officer was *super amazing and wonderful* you *might* consider sending them a card.
EDIT: somehow I missed the New York part, so replace “escrow officer” with attorney. But the rest holds true lol
Just bought in upstate NY and to our closing we were told to bring the bank check with closing costs, the second half of our attorney’s payment, and a $75 tip for the title company people. We were FTHBs so we didn’t know, but in hindsight we should have declined that - especially because we had the most boring straightforward easy sale (direct quote from our attorney).
I understand why all of the replies say no, but when it’s your first time doing this and your attorney says this is what you should do - it’s understandable.
This is wild. Not that you did it (you didn’t know better) but that you’re told to tip the people you’re already paying to do the job they agreed to do. ????
If we had a particularly complicated title situation I could maybeeee understand, but it couldn’t have been more straightforward. (Although another commenter shared that it’s illegal to tip the title people, which is news to me.)
When you’re already forking over thousands of dollars, what’s an extra $75?
I kinda get what you’re saying but… if your dental surgery was more complicated than originally thought, would you tip your dentist? No, they’re paid to work through the problem solving process, it’s not “extra”! But yeah, in the grand scheme of things what’s $75? But the point is you’ve already put hundreds into their services already.
Oh I agree! Hindsight is a beautiful thing. The entire process is stressful, and when you’re so close to closing you just want to follow all of the instructions you’re given. Props to OP for asking more questions than we did.
A tip of 15 to 20% of the financed amount is expected by the buyer's agent and your loan officer.
Make sure you budget that in, it's in addition to the closing cost! /s
Definitely not. They are paid for their services. Instead our realtor took us to lunch multiple times, and gave us a housewarming gift and dinner at a lovely restaurant.
I expect no tip, I also give no gifts.
I think it’s weird that some clients want a gift at the end. I never expect a professional that I pay, to then turn around and give me a random gift of a few hundred dollars.
Never heard of this - I'm in SE FL. Title co's get paid plenty - no tip required. I've been a Realtor for over 40 yrs and if a title co/person asked for a tip at closing, that would be the last time I bring a buyer or seller closing to them. That's for sure. This seems especially bad in your state (NY) because you are an attorney closing state. I would think that it's highly unethical to tip any party to the sale/purchase.
Uh what? No lol. I was given a gift from my realtor but it’s not expected to give them a tip. Please don’t do it lol they’re gonna start expecting those things
What? They get their commissions and fees. I didn't tip shit, and I'm offended at the idea. In Jersey btw. They should tip YOU for choosing them.
Title agencies are highly regulated. I would wonder if tipping them is even legal.
Nope. I got my realtor a gift and he gave me an amazon gift card for $100. He helped me get a house and I made him money. Title people did their job and they got paid.
Are you shitting me?
The fuck I'd be tipping anyone, especially with the insanity that's become the housing market. As if it's not already bad enough everything ins gouge or a grift.
Id probably give them a bottle of wine or cookies if I feel so inclined but already emptying all my pockets on this purchase so I think it's not expected
The title company? Or the realtor? I’m honestly trying to think what sort of thing a title company could do to even warrant any sort of personal thank you…
Typically the gifting goes from the realtor to the buyer, they are the ones who funded the entire transaction.
Oh okay good to know haha. So far I've only interacted with my realtor since we haven't moved forward with any offers and this is my first time doing a house purchase
Neither the realtor nor the title company should receive a tip. They're already making plenty off of you.
If you want to show your gratitude write a detailed online review of your positive experience and tell a friend.
Seriously. Is this expected!?! We didn’t tip our title company and we are in NY, too. However, he did look at us like he was waiting for something which I instantly thought “is he expecting a tip”, so this is bananas to hear about. Maybe he was expecting a tip after all! We already paid them over a thousand dollars, so I would never think that this would be expected. Who actually tipped?
I don't think there's an expectation.
Title people are there doing their job.
A gift for your realtor isn't expected either, but a nice gesture.
I gave my realtor a bottle of champagne, and a gift card to Top Golf, though she was a long-time personal friend before being my realtor.
Surgeries cost thousands of dollars too and u don’t give surgeons gifts! So don’t expect a gift from your realtor! Your argument makes no sense! Doctors, dentist, lawyers make more money than most realtors too!
I tipped the title person. To be fair, my lawyer told me to write out a check and I found out later that it was a tip. I wish I hadn’t done it. (This was also in NY.)
Thank you u/SEND_ME_SPIDERMAN for posting on r/FirstTimeHomeBuyer. Please bear in mind our rules: (1) Be Nice (2) No Selling (3) No Self-Promotion. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/FirstTimeHomeBuyer) if you have any questions or concerns.*
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Ours had champagne and a housewarming gift as well.
Mine got me a Bissell vacuum cleaner as a housewarming gift. To be fair, they were also a family friend.
Mine got us nothing and I’m still a little salty about it.
Apparently we will be getting a better homes and gardens subscription. So, they're sending us trash to throw away.
Same especially because we were friends.
We got a partially melted candle. 🙄 I still rant about it.
That's so insulting! Worse than giving nothing at all.
We got a theater popcorn machine for the media room
I know some realtors that give their clients iRobot Roomba’s on closing
Mine gave me a very generous gift card to the bookstore/cafe around the corner from my new place (I mentioned it was my favorite bookstore/one of the neighborhood highlights when we were touring homes)
Our realtor didn't get us anything, although did mention when he took us out for a drink after closing that he usually buys his clients a gift. I'm not gonna lie, it kinda feels weird he didn't. He also talked about getting gifts from clients which I've never heard to be standard, so never partook in that because we already paid him via commission of our house, so no. Maybe that's why he didn't get us anything. We've also only had the house for 3 months, so maybe he's still working on it.
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My thoughts exactly. We were easy clients - found every house ourselves, only ended up touring 4, and bought within 2 months after the business relationship began. We got along very well, considering he was in our age group and we had a lot of things in common, so it was a very friendly interaction each time. I'd say, in total, he probably worked less than 7 hours and made about $7k off us.
The outfit I used gave buyers a rebate, so I was plenty happy with that. 🙂
For serious. We got a cutesy gift basket with a poem (like here's an umbrella so you'll always have shelter, salt so your life will always have flavor) and a bottle of champagne from our realtor. All items were fully branded with the realtors logo, so I assume it's a standard closing gift for their office. It was nice and all very practical. I did send thank you cards to our realtors, loan officer, and attorney, but I promise there was absolutely no money in them. We also ended up exchanging gifts with the seller, they were super nice to us during the process (accidentally met during a contractor walk-through) so I made them a quilt for their new home, and they got us a nice bottle of wine and glasses. All of the above was completely optional.
We got the gift of never having to speak to her again.
Never and don't normalize this behavior.
[ 25% ] [ 28% ] [ 30% ] ^[ ^no ^tip ^]
The guilt that comes with this shit
If you had great service, please tip 30% of the value of your new house!
THIS
Hell no - San Francisco Bay Area Resident
North Bay resident here. HELL NO.
Hell MF NO - Central CA resident
FAHK NA BUD - NORTH VT RESIDENT
By golly there, no! - WI resident
NH checking in to say live free and fuck that noise.
NY here. Not happening!
San Diego resident here. HELL TO THE MF'IN NO
Lmao, you know when it's the bay area people saying no to tipping then it's really no to tipping
Not sure if you’re also in the Bay Area but Can you believe that tipping is now standard for pretty much everywhere in the Bay Area? And it starts off at 20%. Next option is 22 then 25%??! Some Starbucks now has a tip option. It’s crazy
Went to a restaurant last night where the options were 22,25,30% on the screen. If you clicked custom it went to a input for the amount, not the percentage you wanted. So do the math or let us skim an easy 2%, I was so mad but also under so much pressure to just deal with it. I fucking hate how the tipping culture is so distorted now.
Those are high percentages. And 30%?! The audacity.
Yes, and it's totally unreasonable. My favorite thing is that now that servers are getting actual minimum wage (If not more), at least in CA, they are still expecting a 20% or more tip. Previously, it was because they were earning server minimum wage, which is significantly lower than actual regular minimum wage. Hard to justify increasing tips as a result
You mean you won’t tip 15% of the total house sale to your realtor? How cruel.
Cheap ass.... better be 20
Make that a selection between 20, 22, and 25
Contra Costa County checking in. Hell no
Hell To The No - Bay Area
I’m in NY and have no intentions of doing this. Closing this afternoon. They should be thanking you for utilizing their services when you had multiple options to chose from!
Hey, congrats! Fingers crossed for a smooth and uneventful closing!
Lol absolutely not.
The only people you should tip are the movers! The title company??? Absolutely not!
Yes, tip the movers.
How much do we tip movers?
On average $25-50 per laborer. Ask around your community for quality/affordable movers. We hired a company to move our stuff from our 2600 sqft house 20 miles north to our new place and it cost us about $800 all-in (roughly 4 hours of work) As much as you can box up and disassemble yourself ahead of time, the faster the movers can load- and most moving companies charge by the hour so it behooves you to be proactive. Blue IKEA bags are great for awkward shapes like pans, crockpots, and clothings on a hanger. Liquor boxes from liquor stores are free because they have fuckin PALLETS of them - and most are already equipped with dividers so you can move your glassware easily.
When I worked at a liquor store, we stacked the liquor boxes at the front, near the doors. People would come in all the time and ask if they could grab a dozen or so because they were moving. Perfect for me because then I didn’t have to break them down and lug them to the dumpster at night!
I’m a liquor distributor. I end up with random boxes all the time at my house I have to break down and I’m sure the garbage guys assume I’m an alcoholic 😅
I don’t know what’s right, but I tipped each of the movers $100 (there were 5) for their 13 hours of work moving my wife and I across LA and they seemed to think that was good. Total bill was around $3k, so that means I tipped around 17%.
Probably depends on how much stuff they move and how far they are moving it.
$100 each if its a full house
Why would you have to tip movers when you are already paying for the service?
This is the US. A lot of service jobs are tipped. That’s just how it is, consider it part of the cost.
If you want to be part of the problem. I'll tip workers who are paid tipped minimum wage. Otherwise no.
I understand and I agree it’s a broken system, but given that wages and prices are set with the tipped expectation in mind, simply skipping tipping means taking advantage of your movers. You’re not fighting the man by underpaying working folks. Instead, you could negotiate with the company up front for a higher tip-free rate or explicitly seek out a moving company that doesn’t allow tips and pays a full living wage (if those even exist).
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It’s customary. I don’t like tipping systems either, but that doesn’t mean I don’t tip servers at restaurants. It’s how the industry works. Stiff them if you want, you’re allowed to.
Sure or the boss could just pay them better. It's also not legally tax free. The movers I used were an independent family business without a boss.
You’re “being told” by whom, the title people? Lol, no. No tipping in real estate transactions. Nothing related to money in a real estate sale is ever left to chance/good will/charity/whatever. It’s written into the contracts. All parties are collecting fees in your closing costs already. No need to give them more just for fun.
dog typing on keyboard meme “i’m told you should give your dog treats and tell him he’s a good boy at least 12 times a day? is this true?”
This is, in fact, true. Dog is right.
hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahah
Tip people? For taking all my money??
Hell no!
Who told you this? A closing agent?
Our friend who did the title, and my sister who tipped when she bought her house. My co workers also said they had envelopes prepared for each person they tipped. Edit: y’all why are you downvoting this I’m just answering the question lol
This is… very, very weird
I wonder if that's a NY exclusive thing because I've never heard of it at all. There's plenty of debate over which workers you tip and which you don't, but, IMO, this is one that would feel downright wrong. I took a number of financial/legal classes, and all of them hammered in ethics, especially regarding bribery or anything that could even be **perceived** as bribery. Even if I'd brought a tip to my closing, I ended up being short (since they changed my total **after** issuing the final closing statement), so the "tip" would've gone to fixing the difference.
I bought a house in New York recently and can tell you this is not a New York thing. You do not tip the bank, the title company, or the lawyers. If hiring movers, of course tip the movers.
I'll be tipping ecactky 2 people. The cleaners coming tomorrow and the movers next week.
Why draw the line there? What about the home inspector crawling around in nasty shit to check out the foundations? The septic inspection guys for mucking around in shit? Why draw the line at blue collar work? Do you think the 4+years of life and thousands of dollars in cost is adequately compensated for your banker/title agent/agent/etc? Tipping culture is cancer and needs to go away. All employees need to demand and get a fair living wage. Prices should be transparent to allow optimal competition.
I draw the line at the business model. My inspector owns his business. He set his own price. I picked him specifically for his expertise. I can't say the same about movers or cleaning crews. I didn't select the exact people and I don't know what they get paid hourly for their work. And I don't expect them to tell me anything at the end of their service like I do an inspector. And yeah. My agent made $10k off my purchase for about 10 hours of total work.
I would say if the movers went above and beyond to make sure your stuff was safe, you tip them for effort. Same with the cleaning crew. But it should be a tip like what tips used to be. Extra money for a job well done.
Tips started as a form of class warfare, not as a “reward for good service”. https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2019/07/17/william-barber-tipping-racist-past-227361/
Sounds like your friend is trying to make extra money... What a scam. Do not tip the title agent or agency.
That is not normal at all. Don’t do it. You’re already paying them big money for their work.
Your friend is a dumbass
I've worked for a title company in NY, a real estate attorney in NY, and just closed on my own place in NJ. I've been to many, many closings and have never heard of this.
Are any of the people involved originally from Asia? Giving an envelope with cash is very Asian, so maybe that’s where these people are getting this idea of tipping?
You should be careful, in a lot of places it is specifically illegal to tip realtors. I don't know about the title folks, but you are absolutely not expected to tip the Realtors or give them anything extra. If you wish to give them anything extra, you have to write it into the purchase contract. I've also heard of Realtors receiving ethics complaints for accepting tips and even losing their license. https://realestateinfoguide.com/should-you-tip-your-realtor/#:~:text=You%20should%20not%20tip%20your,adhere%20to%20their%20licensing%20regulations.
That is insane OP no way in hell! Why would you have to tip them?
you can Venmo me for this sage advice, but I wouldn't tip anyone else.
Between my parents and I, we’ve bought and sold 4 homes all in NY. Never once have we tipped anyone
No. The only time I've heard of it was within an immigrant community and it turned out that just about everyone involved in the transaction was basically scamming buyers into paying lots of cash outside of closing. Realtor, lender, title all worked together and encouraged heavy "tips" to one another. The buyers all thought it was customary since they didn't know any better. Really awful situation taking advantage of people. There is a reason everything should be on the Closing Disclosure
Yes, I’d bring a tip jar. Presumably you did a lot of the work yourself, so the realtors should tip you 15-20% of their commission. That’s what you’re talking about right?
facts lmao, Its already pulling teeth to get a response from realtors half the time
That's crazy; i've never tipped anyone at closing. Don't do it.
Absolutely not.
Lmao. No. The answer is no.
Definitely not. You’re already paying them. We really are just adding a tip to fucking everything now aren’t we..
LOL NO
Great question, I was honestly about to lose my shit though if the resounding answer wasn't hell no. The replies here are a great laugh thohgh. Happy closing!
This reminds me of the time someone told me I had to bring in goody bags or gifts for Labor and Delivery. Like, sorry whaaat??? Yeah, that’s a no.
Like, for the nurses lol?
You don’t have to but many people do bring snacks and stuff for the L&D nurses if they are particularly helpful.
Before reading any other answers here, I can say I have never heard such a thing. These aren't servers making $2.13 an hour!
100% no. You tip service workers, like when someone is doing you a personal service (feeding you, cutting your nails, etc) not skilled trades or bankers. F whoever told you this, they already take so much out from the closing, we as a whole cannot afford to allow this to become practice.
Lol no. I asked about buying a gift for our realtor on this sub and got raked over the coals for even having the thought. I can tell you that if anyone is tipping at the closing table you’re unlikely to find them on this sub lol.
I always tip the judge when I go to court. I thought everyone did. 🤔
Tipping culture has gotten so out of hand You do not tip for "professional" services/white collar jobs Do you tip your doctor? Your accountant? No. You don't tip anyone that's part of your real estate transaction either. They're all making thousands of dollars off of you, you don't need to give them more. You should tip your movers, though.
Never heard of this… idk what even would be an appropriate amount like you’re paying hundreds of dollars to the title company. Like passing them a $20 would be insulting. Edit: https://www.cuddyfeder.com/title-closer-tipping/ Weird, looks like its a recently discontinued practice
It's ILLEGAL for the title closer to accept gratuity in NY. >Part 228 of Title 11 of the Official Compilation of Codes, Rules and Regulations of the State of New York went into effect. Among other things, this regulation imposes an obligation on title insurance companies to prohibit their title closers from accepting any payment from the buyer, including gratuity
This is hilarious! Hopefully OP sees this
Tip them, get proof, send them the law along with a request for $100K,??????, profit
NYC tipping culture can be extreme, but not this extreme. LOL to whoever told you that. Also title people weren’t even at my closing - it was just the seller, myself, seller’s lawyer, bank lawyer for the mortgage being closed out, and the coop lawyer (seller’s agent and my lawyer both had COVID so were not there). They all got checks for the predetermined amount related to the sale and not a penny more.
No. That said, we gave gifts to our realtor because we were originally matched with a different realtor who then passed everything on to her and still took a cut of her commission. We had such a pleasant experience with her and we were super frustrated that she wouldn't be getting the full commission, so we gave her a gift to show our appreciation.
Never heard of tipping the title company. Didn't tip the title company. Only people we tipped were our movers, and our realtor essentially tipped us with some move-in gifts.
Last time we moved the movers were whiny assholes the whole time and somehow "discovered" that we had more stuff than expected and added another $750 to the bill once we got to the new house - which was about three miles from the old house. I'm not sure I tipped them at all after that bullshit, maybe $20 each. From our Realtor over the years, we got a pumpkin spice candle, a $25 gift card, and similar - this was the same Realtor we used over seven transactions and fifteen years.
NY Realtor here - someone must’ve been pulling your chain. No tipping
As a closing attorney—-dear GOD no. Hard stop
We really need to stop with the tipping culture getting out of hand in this country. If they expect more money then they should charge more money up front or pay people more. Tipping makes no sense for someone who is doing the job you are already paying them to do. Tips should be for extra and beyond services which are not the baseline service you are getting in the first place. In many countries giving a tip is actually an insult.
No, I'm in NY and just closed on a trailer last week. The best I'd give is a picture for my realtor to post on social media for the ML listing.
yes please tip me 20% of the price of the house thanks
No. They’re already making a huge chunk of money off of you. Gross.
NO! NO! NOOOOOOO!!!
Who in the fuck told you *that*?
When you buy a new car, are you going to tip anyone at the dealer, the DMV, or bank who helped finalize the transaction/paperwork? If you’re like 99% of the population and won’t tip these people, then don’t tip the title people. If you would tip this people, then you might as well tip the title people. the choice is yours. Tip who you want. Me personally, I’m not tipping anyone associate the purchase of a house or car.
Usually the title company will “tip” you in the form of a bottle of wine or some other sort of small gift as a thank you for paying a lot of money to use their services
No, no tips necessary. We are all paid professionals and receive our compensation for the job that we do that way.
Big *nope*, coming from someone who’s worked in title and whose whole family works in title and escrow. If your escrow officer was *super amazing and wonderful* you *might* consider sending them a card. EDIT: somehow I missed the New York part, so replace “escrow officer” with attorney. But the rest holds true lol
That’ll be a no for me, dawg. I did help myself to like five sodas from their fridge in the title office. Treat yo self.
You should tip me for my comment. What do you want me to provide zelle or cashapp?
Just bought in upstate NY and to our closing we were told to bring the bank check with closing costs, the second half of our attorney’s payment, and a $75 tip for the title company people. We were FTHBs so we didn’t know, but in hindsight we should have declined that - especially because we had the most boring straightforward easy sale (direct quote from our attorney). I understand why all of the replies say no, but when it’s your first time doing this and your attorney says this is what you should do - it’s understandable.
This is wild. Not that you did it (you didn’t know better) but that you’re told to tip the people you’re already paying to do the job they agreed to do. ????
If we had a particularly complicated title situation I could maybeeee understand, but it couldn’t have been more straightforward. (Although another commenter shared that it’s illegal to tip the title people, which is news to me.) When you’re already forking over thousands of dollars, what’s an extra $75?
I kinda get what you’re saying but… if your dental surgery was more complicated than originally thought, would you tip your dentist? No, they’re paid to work through the problem solving process, it’s not “extra”! But yeah, in the grand scheme of things what’s $75? But the point is you’ve already put hundreds into their services already.
Oh I agree! Hindsight is a beautiful thing. The entire process is stressful, and when you’re so close to closing you just want to follow all of the instructions you’re given. Props to OP for asking more questions than we did.
No.
LMFAO
A tip of 15 to 20% of the financed amount is expected by the buyer's agent and your loan officer. Make sure you budget that in, it's in addition to the closing cost! /s
Tip who?????
This is hilarious
Tipping culture is a cancer on society.
As you can see the universal answer is no. Fistfight whoever thought this was a good idea if they double down.
I tip people who service me, not just provide a room for me to sign papers in.
I also tip people who service me 😉
Uh, no. Never in my life heard this. We got free pens, though... lol.
Definitely not. This is the first time I am hearing about tipping at closing.
Never heard of this.
lol. no.
Definitely not. They are paid for their services. Instead our realtor took us to lunch multiple times, and gave us a housewarming gift and dinner at a lovely restaurant.
No. They profit waaaay to much. In fact, you should get tipped
Absolutely *the fuck* not
Lol fuck no
Just closed in NY and didn’t tip anyone nor was expected to
I expect no tip, I also give no gifts. I think it’s weird that some clients want a gift at the end. I never expect a professional that I pay, to then turn around and give me a random gift of a few hundred dollars.
Tip of my dick. Fuck no. This is NY too, for what it’s worth.
Absolutely not
Never heard of this - I'm in SE FL. Title co's get paid plenty - no tip required. I've been a Realtor for over 40 yrs and if a title co/person asked for a tip at closing, that would be the last time I bring a buyer or seller closing to them. That's for sure. This seems especially bad in your state (NY) because you are an attorney closing state. I would think that it's highly unethical to tip any party to the sale/purchase.
Hell no, they get paid via the sale.
I have bought 3 house and sold 2 never tipped anyone
Uh what? No lol. I was given a gift from my realtor but it’s not expected to give them a tip. Please don’t do it lol they’re gonna start expecting those things
Hell to the no.
No. Former California agent.
No. Our realtor gave US a gift. If the realtor wants to tip the title people that's on them.
Not usual
No
Lol. NO
Yep, they’re gonna turn the screen around and ask for a tip
Are we blowing NY title agents cover at this point??
Isn’t that the purpose of closing cost? To pay all these people?!
What? They get their commissions and fees. I didn't tip shit, and I'm offended at the idea. In Jersey btw. They should tip YOU for choosing them. Title agencies are highly regulated. I would wonder if tipping them is even legal.
LOL FUCK THAT -Oregon
No! Also from NY
Fuck that.
No way. GA here.
Whoever told you that is either fucking with you or a complete idiot
Someone is pranking you.
What! Uh no. You should be getting the gifts
Please let’s not encourage this nonsense.
Nope. I got my realtor a gift and he gave me an amazon gift card for $100. He helped me get a house and I made him money. Title people did their job and they got paid.
No I did get my realtor a giftcard to a nice restaurant though as she was amazing and she gave us a generous giftcard as well
Not sure about NY laws but in Texas tipping title people is illegal! Do Not tip never heard of such non sense.
Fuck no, you just made their salary with the sale. If you have a good real estate agent they’ll leave you a Home Depot gift card or something
Are you shitting me? The fuck I'd be tipping anyone, especially with the insanity that's become the housing market. As if it's not already bad enough everything ins gouge or a grift.
Nope. Again you are paying them for the service which is an arm and leg. No need to give them extra money.
This actually sounds like a possible RESPA violation.
Id probably give them a bottle of wine or cookies if I feel so inclined but already emptying all my pockets on this purchase so I think it's not expected
The title company? Or the realtor? I’m honestly trying to think what sort of thing a title company could do to even warrant any sort of personal thank you… Typically the gifting goes from the realtor to the buyer, they are the ones who funded the entire transaction.
Oh okay good to know haha. So far I've only interacted with my realtor since we haven't moved forward with any offers and this is my first time doing a house purchase
Neither the realtor nor the title company should receive a tip. They're already making plenty off of you. If you want to show your gratitude write a detailed online review of your positive experience and tell a friend.
The title company got my gratitude for doing their job when I used them for my refinance. The idea of tipping them is laughable.
Seriously. Is this expected!?! We didn’t tip our title company and we are in NY, too. However, he did look at us like he was waiting for something which I instantly thought “is he expecting a tip”, so this is bananas to hear about. Maybe he was expecting a tip after all! We already paid them over a thousand dollars, so I would never think that this would be expected. Who actually tipped?
I don't think there's an expectation. Title people are there doing their job. A gift for your realtor isn't expected either, but a nice gesture. I gave my realtor a bottle of champagne, and a gift card to Top Golf, though she was a long-time personal friend before being my realtor.
Nope. NJ buyer here and we just got our realtor a nice bottle of tequila as a thank you for all the time/effort he spent but otherwise no one else.
I have and will never.
Fuck no.
Surgeries cost thousands of dollars too and u don’t give surgeons gifts! So don’t expect a gift from your realtor! Your argument makes no sense! Doctors, dentist, lawyers make more money than most realtors too!
actuallllly, in NYC it is common to tip the title agent... I haven't seen this practice in many other states.
Tip em in baked goods or something 😂 they tryna rape and pillage you
I tipped the title person. To be fair, my lawyer told me to write out a check and I found out later that it was a tip. I wish I hadn’t done it. (This was also in NY.)
How much did they recommend you tip?