Tips at Closing???
Going over closing costs with my attorney and he tells me to bring personal checks for the gratuities to title company rep and others (like him, maybe?). Is this for real? Who am I supposed to tip at a real estate closing, how much, and why? Call me stingy, but I’m sort of thinking the…
Going over closing costs with my attorney and he tells me to bring personal checks for the gratuities to title company rep and others (like him, maybe?). Is this for real? Who am I supposed to tip at a real estate closing, how much, and why? Call me stingy, but I’m sort of thinking the many, MANY thousands of dollars in cash I’m forking over to actually pay these people for their services ought to be more than enough.
You HAVE to be kidding me. A tip? What is this a food service industry, some graft-riddled Central American country, perhaps?
Do NOT tip these jerks. It’s their job and their profession – Brooklyn, NY, Brookline, MA, Bound Brook, NJ…wherever, it doesn’t matter.
I actually work as a software service engineer in a field-based location, and given my education and my profession being knowledge-based, if one of my customers tried to tip me, I’d find it insulting. If these losers had any pride, they would so as well.
Tell the lawyer and the title clerk, you’ll tip them both $500 – but first you get to kick them in the balls.
When I closed on my house (affordable housing lottery)… my lawyer (doing pro bono work) said “and so and so got your title…bla blah blah”… I said “thank you” to the title person.
The lawyer then said “I think you should thank them more”
I said “Thank You Verrry Much!”
F them!
Everyone at the table probably made at least 2x as much as me at the time.
OP here. Done with the closing, all moved in. Yay! Thanks for all the advice, brownstoners. In the end, I tipped the title person well — she deserved it — she really did get on the phone and straighten out every last little issue that came up. Notarized everything in sight. Double- and triple-checked that all 100 million forms were signed in exactly the right places and copied and distributed everything. Answered all my silly questions and basically ring-led the circus. Sure, tipping and all these other costs are kind of a scam, but I’m so happy to have my very own little piece of Brooklyn, I could care less.
title closers get minmal pay from the title co. ( as attendance fee and for pick up of documents), so a tip by purchasers are generally customary. the S$ purchasers pays to the title co. does not go to the title closer at all.
nobody can deny that you get fleeced during the closing process. between the title and city fees, it’s a total ripoff. as soon as somebody can find a way to fight city hall (besides getting huffy and pretending that not buying is a method of protest), i will stand up to the fee bullies. i’m not smart enough to figure it out now.
i didn’t say tipping was a scam, i said title insurance is a scam. which it is.
Only SCHMUCKS ‘tip’ at closing. But then again only schmucks are foolish enough to buy in today’s overpriced (and soon to go down) real estate market. You’re ALREADY being fleeced and overcharged on many items & services in your closing costs.
To ‘tip’ them over and above that is as stupid as ‘tipping’ the guys in the firing squad that are about to shoot you down.
Only SCHMUCKS ‘tip’ at closing. But then again only schmucks are foolish enough to buy in today’s overpriced (and soon to go down) real estate market. You’re ALREADY being fleeced and overcharged on many items & services in your closing costs.
To ‘tip’ them over and above that is as stupid as ‘tipping’ the guys in the firing squad that is about to shoot you down.
Only SCHMUCKS ‘tip’ at closing. But then again only schmucks are foolish enough to buy in today’s overpriced (and soon to go down) real estate market. You’re ALREADY being fleeced and overcharged on many items & services in your closing costs.
To ‘tip’ them over and above that is as stupid as ‘tipping’ the guys in the firing squad that is about to shoot you down.