Today Father’s Day is celebrated by families all around the world, but it wasn’t always like that. Mother’s Day which actually came first paved the way for Father’s Day……..
The history of Father’s Day goes back to 1908 when a church in West Virginia held a service to honor 362 men who were killed the previous year in a coal mining explosion. Nothing really came of it until the following year when a woman named Sonora Smart Dodd started her quest to establish Father’s Day as a national holiday. Dodd was one of six raised by her single father and thought fathers should be honored the same way as mothers. After a year of petitioning her local community and government, Dodd’s home state of Washington celebrated its first official Father’s Day on June 19, 1910. Over the years, the celebration of Father’s Day spread from state to state and, after a long fight, it was finally declared a national holiday in 1972 when President Nixon signed it into law.
It took more than 60 years for Father’s Day actually being recognized as a federal holiday, and a lot sure did happen in that time. In the 1920s and 1930s, there was a national movement to get rid of both Mother’s and Father’s Day and replace them with one Parent’s Day. Beyond that, some men didn’t even want a Father’s Day to begin with. Others saw it as a “Hallmark” holiday invented for the sole purpose of a commercial gimmick. Today, Father’s Day is celebrated worldwide and on different days. But in the United States, and the majority of other countries, the holiday is celebrated on the third Sunday of June.
Father’s Day is usually related to the idea of giving Dad some great power tools or gadgets he can use to build (or destroy) something. Here is a list of the most popular gifts ideas for Dad and how much consumers spend each Father’s Day just trying to pick out that perfect something.
1.Automotive accessories: $592 million
2.Personal care items: $707 million
3.Sporting goods: $710 million
4.Home improvement and gardening tools: $755 million
5.Gift cards or gift certificates: $1.8 billion
6.Clothing: $1.8 billion
7.An electronic gadget, such as a tablet or GPS: $1.7 billion
8.A special outing, such as a sporting event or dinner: $2.5 billion
Tips For Instagram?
Real estate marketing has had many dramatic changes over the years. No longer are billboards, benches, and colorful blazers the best ways to stand out. It’s a digital world and home buyers and sellers are spending more time looking at social media than ever before. Out of all the social networks, Instagram is one of the fastest growing.
Instagram plays into the smartphone addiction. With over 600 million monthly users, this photo and video platform is full of potential. However, it’s also important when marketing on Instagram that you consider the demographics. The average Instagram user is under the age of 34, so you’re not likely to attract any baby boomers. However, Instagram can be an effective way to connect with younger first-time home buyers and sellers. Here are 4 helpful tips every realtor should know when using Instagram to promote their business.
1. Engage Your Audience
Social media is unique because of its focus on direct engagement with customers. Social media lets you start a back and forth dialogue with home buyers and sellers. If you are only posting photos and videos without any interaction, you’re not using Instagram to its full potential. When people comment on your content, ask questions, be sure to respond in a friendly, conversational manner.
2. Show Behind the Scenes
With all the real estate reality shows the public is interested in how this business works. Show some photos and videos that explain the behind the scenes workings of a real estate agent. Showcase how you prep a new property for sale, the open house process, and interview some of your buyers and sellers after closing.
3. Post Short Videos
Instagram is for more than just still pictures. Record short walking tours of some of your properties. Show the neighborhood and highlight tourist spots that viewers might enjoy. Instagram also has a live video function, which is perfect for taking your social media followers on a walk through. Remember to make it fun!
4. Use Hashtags
Instagram is a perfect place to use hashtags. Something like #NewHome could be a hashtag that your audience will find relevant. By using hashtags, you are making it easier for people to find your post. It’s best to put your hashtags at the end of a caption and remember to include the keywords that you are using for your website as hashtags as well.
Instagram is not insta-success but using Instagram to market your real estate business is a great first step. Remember that it takes dedication and time to build up a following.
15 Interesting Real Estate Tidbits
Think you know everything about real estate?
There are some pretty bizarre, funny, ridiculous and interesting things that have happened in the real estate world.
Check out these 15 interesting real estate tidbits….
1. When the Eiffel Tower was constructed, the designer included a secret apartment for himself at the very top.
2. Mark Zuckerberg purchased four houses next to his home in Palo Alto and leased them back to the families that lived there. He did it to avoid the houses from being marketed as “Next door to Mark Zuckerberg.”
3. Monica’s apartment from the hit TV show Friends is estimated to be worth $3.5 million.
4. Since the Empire State Building was opened during the Great Depression, much of its space initially went unrented. As a result, many New Yorkers referred to the building as the “Empty State Building.”
5. In Tunisia, Africa, you can book an overnight stay in Luke Skywalker’s boyhood home for only $10.
6. Adolf Hitler once owned a Hollywood mansion that he never stepped foot in.
7. Mike Ilitch (owner of Little Caesars and the Detroit Tigers) quietly paid Rosa Park’s rent for more than a decade after she was robbed in her home and forced to move to a safer, but more expensive part of Detroit.
8. From 1908-1940, Sears, Roebuck and Co. sold about 70,000-75,000 mail-order houses. They arrived as a kit and came with most modern conveniences (some of them still exist today).
9. The makers of “Extreme Makeover Home Edition” had to downsize their makeovers due to families not being able to afford the utility bills.
10. In 1997, Pepsi held a contest to win a life-size replica of the Simpsons house or $75,000. The contest winner chose the cash. The house was then renovated to look like a normal home and re-sold.
11. Fans of the hit TV show “Breaking Bad” continue to drive by and throw pizzas onto the roof of the house where Walter White lived
12. The needle at the top of the Empire State Building was originally intended as an anchor for blimps.
13. The U.S. Capitol Building in Washington D.C. has 365 steps to represent each day of the year.
14. The Empire State Building makes more money from ticket sales for it observation decks than it does from renting office space.
15. The biggest pyramid on Earth is not in Egypt, but in Mexico and its hidden under a mountain.
What Top Agents Do From Start To Finish
Buying a home, especially for the first time, can come with lots of confusion and unanswered questions. You as the real estate agent are the advocate, the professional that buyers are turning to for help.
Here is a list of things a real estate agent should be doing for home buyers.
1. Getting your client pre-approved.
As a good Realtor you should have a sizable network of trusted agents, lenders and other professionals involved in the home buying and selling process. You should be able to connect your client with a trusted lender who will take your client through the pre-approval process so they can get to shopping for their home.
2. Help your client find a home – including knowledge of location, neighborhood, schools, etc.
House hunting is a tiring process at the best of times, requiring your client to make concessions so that their dreams can match up with the reality of what is available and what they can afford. One of your key jobs as a realtor is to help your client clarify what they want most and find the options that meet their specifications as much as possible. The best real estate agents will counsel their clients on location, neighborhood, schools and other factors.
3. Negotiate an offer.
One of the biggest perks of having a great real estate agent is your ability to negotiate the best price for your client’s home purchase. The best negotiators know the value of what they are attempting to buy or sell, which is what makes a respected realtor so useful.
4. Help with picking a home inspector.
Just like real estate agents, some inspectors are better than others. As a realtor should know the best home inspectors in the area and be able to help you choose one that your client can depend on to give them the low down on the true state of any home they are interested in buying.
5. Attend home inspection.
Even the best home inspectors can miss things, and even the most knowledgeable inspectors can fail to accurately convey the information they find to the buyer. You as the real estate agent should be at the home inspection to hear exactly what the home inspector finds so you can counsel your client on what needs to be brought to attention of the sellers before a purchase is made.
6. Negotiate any home inspection repair requests.
The information you get from the home inspection can provide your client with leverage in negotiations. You as their agent can request repairs based on the information from the home inspection, and you can sometimes get price, or other concessions based on the problems found in the inspection. As a realtor you are best qualified to negotiate for these things because you are most knowledgeable about how each issue affects the value of the home.
7. Communicate with seller’s agent throughout the sale.
Everyone needs to be on the same page for a home purchase to go smoothly. You as the real estate agent will be responsible for keeping everyone informed, including the seller’s agent.
8. Monitor the loan commitment.
An excellent real estate agent is always staying on top of things including monitoring the buyer’s mortgage commitment. Smart agents also make sure buyers understand they need to maintain their current credit status. Mortgage mistakes can be quite common, especially among first-time home buyers.
9. Finalize all loose ends for the closing.
You only need to make it through the closing to finally get your client into their new home. But there are a surprising number of details involved in a closing, all of which need to be wrapped up before your client officially becomes the owner of the home. Failing to take care of everything could cause the closing to fall through.
In closing, your client should have high expectations from you as their agent. They are making a huge purchase that could quite possibly the biggest of their life. Make sure when they hire you as their agent, they will like you enough to consider a friend when all is said and done.