DO YOU GIVE YOUR BUYERS A HOUSE WARMING GIFT?...Sometimes it is just not a wise thing to do!
A PERFECT GIFT...
I am always stumped as to what to buy for a buyer who bought a house through me. Do I buy them something personal? Do I take them out to dinner? Is it incumbent upon me to buy them anything?
As I spend more and more time in this business I have found that there really is no protocol; it is totally up to what you think is right and in some cases it may be best to buy nothing...Just give them "Good Wishes" and a bottle of champagne and let them go on their way.
I used to take the time to go and pick out something very special for all my buyers..then I had something happen that made me change my mind about the whole idea.
A GRAND AFFAIR...
I had a couple whom I had worked with on and off for 2 1/2 years. At the beginning they were newly weds so I understood the ambivalence at buying right away. They each traveled a lot and even though it would have been nice to have a great place for their newly-married meet ups and long weekends, the new house idea kept being pushed to the back burner. They had a generous enough apartment in Manhattan so I just assumed they were able to use that as their primary home and a second home would just have to wait.
At the end of the 2 1/2 years it was time to see if they were really serious. I sent them some really beautiful houses to review and after many calls back and forth---they told me they were finally ready to buy. I spent another few months showing them the latest listings that suited them and we were at the end of the available houses when I took them to an ocean front listing that came to mind as a good alternative to what they had been looking at.
MAYBE IT'S THE RIGHT HOUSE...MAYBE NOT!
It was a lovely oceanfront home that was built by someone whom I knew in the 80's. The man was a very famous architect who was renowned in the Hamptons for his contemporary homes, built into the landscape with the flow of the land and it's environment dictating the roof line, material and situation on the property. I showed it to the buyers and the husband was enthralled by all the wood and stone incorporated into the contemporary design. The house was built to last through any storm that was likely to hit Long Island's South Shore and it had survived the worst of those that did. The wife liked the location and thought the house was in great condition for an older home....But she liked wood shingle style houses and had not thought about buying a modern design....and she was the one who seemed to be in control; at least that is what I thought.
There were several heated discussions between the two of them about the design and they both decided to look at other houses. So I began the search all over again and let them know that there was really nothing as nice as the modern house.
I did find them a shingle style cottage on a great street in Southampton Village on Lake Agawam; but it needed a lot of work. They felt that the house offered them what they were looking for in spite of the needed work, and they put in an offer....back and forth, back and forth and finally a deal came together and the contract was signed.
The closing would take place just before Christmas 2011 and I carefully selected a beautiful set of hand blown crystal goblets from Tiffany with a filigree of silver that flowed down the stem and pooled in these silver-footed treasures. There were 8 and I was so pleased that I had found them and couldn't wait for the closing so I could give them to the buyers.
The closing would take place in New York City, in the sellers' lawyers office on the upper East Side. I drove into the city and took the exquisitely wrapped goblets with me to the closing. The new owners were going to sleep at the new house that night and planned on driving out to the Hamptons right after the closing...I figured they could bring them to the new house that night.
NOT SUCH A GRAND AFFAIR....
After the first 2 hours of the process I suddenly got the feeling that this could go on much longer than anyone planned. There were issues surfacing that no one could have foreseen with a property line issue on an outdoor dining platform with a gazebo that the original owner had constructed in the garden, right on the property line. The complications were making it hard for the buyers to make up their minds to accept an exception due to a non-compliance issue.They were working at coming to an agreement to hold money aside in escrow until the problem could be dealt with. This would allow them to close on the house and the former owner would deal with the issue at a later date. The buyers were ready to move forward with the money put in escrow and then they could close as planned.
I needed to get back to Southampton that night and after almost 3 hours at the closing table, I decided to pull up stakes, give the buyers the new house gift and let the lawyers handle the non-compliance issues. ---I would speak to them that weekend when they were settled in the house.
The next day I got a call from the buyers: They did not close and in fact decided that the issues were too much for them to deal with and could they see the Modern house again. There had been a huge disagreement between the two of them about the shingle style house from the beginning because the husband did not want to have to do any work.
INSURMOUNTABLE DIFFICULTIES...
I was surprised that they were actually going to back out completely at this late date but when I saw them again they were not very happy with the way the issue was becoming bigger than they had ever dreamed--the DEC was going to have to be informed of the non-compliance issue because there were wetlands very near the property line and the dining platform would have to be totally removed...This could all take 6 months to unfold and then the one real attraction, the substantial dining platform and it's gazebo would be gone! This couple was not prepared to wait 6 months to get into the house. They demanded their deposit back so they could move on to another house. It was promptly returned to the buyers without any legal ramifications and now
they wanted to take another look at the Modern oceanfront house.
Well, nothing was ever said about the very expensive and beautiful goblets--No thank you note, nothing!
IRRECONCILABLE DIFFERENCES...
When I called to set up the appointment to show the modern house, the listing agent told me they had just gone to contract on the house and were going to close in 2 weeks.
When I called the buyers, I spoke to the wife; I told her that they had missed out on the modern house, that it was in contract and I heard a huge sigh of relief as she revealed to me what had just taken place between she and her husband..
She told me that they were not really going to pursue the purchase of a house again since they had just separated and will be going through a divorce very soon!...Irreconcilable differences, I guess!!!
After I pulled myself together from this off-the-wall-news, I said "Well I don't suppose you would like to return those beautiful filigreed crystal goblets to me since they were meant as a house warming gift?"
"What goblets?" she said with a surprise in her voice..."The Tiffany package I gave you at the closing--it had your house warming gift in it!" There was a long silence--then: "Well I never got anything from you for the closing!---I never saw a package and I am sure if my husband did he would have said something to me!"
NO GOOD DEED GOES UNPUNISHED....
The day was long and the argument that would have ensued became more than I could handle. I decided I would call the attorney's office to see if they would send the package back to me. Since the couple had never seen it, it must still be just under the closing table, where I left it.
No one at that office ever saw the package; it was no where to be seen!---That gorgeous turquoise shopping bag with it's matching Tiffany box and huge white bow was not seen by anyone in that office. No one had any recollection of ever having seen it!!
To this day I have never bought another gift for a buyer---Maybe one day I will get over it; maybe there will be a re-emergence of the ex-husband or the ex-wife and I can sell them something, maybe a modern house on the water?--
This time, no gift!!!
WHAT DO YOU DO? DO YOU ALWAYS BUY A GIFT FOR YOUR HOME BUYERS?
...OR MAYBE YOU HAVE A STORY LIKE MINE TO SHARE???
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