Question:
When giving referral gifts how much is the maximum you can spend and be allowed to claim on your taxes.....by referral gifts I mean gifts you give to people who refer a client to you. How much are we allowed to give to buyer clients who have just bought a house and we can claim on taxes?

Answer:
Per TREC regulations, you are allowed to spend a maximum of $50.00 on gifts to people who refer a client to you. To buyer clients, there is no limit as to how much you are allowed to give back to them. Keep in mind that most, if not all lenders want those amounts to be disclosed during the loan processing time so that they can make a more accurate determination as to whether the buyers are truly financially prepared to handle their mortgage payments.

Residential Real Property Affidavit (T-47)

Any time that you are reviewing a One-to-Four Family Residential Contract (Resale), one of the paragraphs you should pay particular attention to is paragraph 6C(1). If that paragraph is checked, then the seller of the property shall furnish to buyer within the noted time frame in the paragraph not only the existing survey of the property, but also a completed and notarized Residential Real Property Affidavit, Form T-47. Further, paragraph 6C(1) specifies that if the seller does not complete this requirement, the buyer can then obtain a new survey of the property and the seller HAS to pay for it.

Considering all of this, the best practice we should follow as agents is to obtain the existing survey from the seller AND have the affidavit signed and notarized immediately after the listing agreement is completed, if possible.

Doing this can help you and/or your client avoid an unexpected, and needless to say, costly expense in the transaction.