Another dismally gray day came and went, but at least we didn’t get the snowstorm that veered off to the east of us. Yes, we do need the moisture for our coming growing season, but I’d rather have the rain instead of snow.
My morning started off far earlier than normal, and only because I had a great number of out-of-office duties I had to attend to, which took up a greater part of my day, so once I had everything up to speed at office, I headed out.
The first long stop, was to get the oil changed on my car, along with it getting a good check-up on its working components. While waiting in their lounge for nearly an hour, I found myself in conversation with several other gents who were waiting for their vehicles to be serviced.
Of course since I was dressed in a less than casual mode, I was asked by one of them, what I did for a living. Thank goodness I didn’t get asked the question I’d heard many a time which was, “Aren’t you one of those attorneys I’ve seen before?” Yes, that particular question has for some reason, always caused a bristle. Oh, and by the way, I’ve also been tagged as being one of our men of the cloth. Please don’t tell me I have an outward appearance of one of our religious. I know I’m being really naughty when saying, I really don’t possess the zaftig carriages most in that profession now have.
After announcing my being a Realtor, as well as the broker-owner of Holtz Realty, all the questions and comments started rolling out of their mouths, but on the positive side, that near-hour did go flying by, because I felt like I was back in an adult education classroom from long ago, where I was teaching a very long real estate course that was a requirement before they’d be able to sit for their real estate exam.
Once I had most of their questions about what’s been happening of late in our real estate market, I took a few moments to promote my office by announcing that this year, Holtz Realty will be celebrating its 80th anniversary in business. I also mentioned that it’s the oldest real estate office in North Iowa, along with it possibly being the oldest in the State. Unfortunately, the records our Iowa Association of Realtors, isn’t that accurate, and I’m certainly not going to be calling every real estate office in our State, just to find out how long they’ve been in continuous business. Now speaking of this year’s anniversary, I’ve still not decided what type of advertising I’ll be doing, as well as possibly holding an open house at either my office, or a community center.
Every time I look at the year in which Ray Holtz opened Holtz Realty, I can’t believe how bold he was to do it while our Country was in the midst of a world war. Roger Holtz, who was one of Ray’s sons, used to tell some interesting stories about the joys and sorrows his father experienced, along with those he had after he took the business over from his dad. I believe what helped to give Roger a break, was his getting involved in the management of rentals, along with having an affiliation with the Veterans Administration whenever there was a foreclosed home they needed to get sold in our geographic area. Before I decided to join Holtz Realty, I actually sold a handful of those VA foreclosures, which was how I got to know him better.
After being poked and prodded by Roger for several years, I finally decided to leave the office I was working with, and join them. I still can’t believe I’ve been under Holtz Realty’s umbrella for nearly 29 years, along with still being in shock over the fact that I took over their brokerage some 13 years ago. As much as I didn’t want to be a managing broker, I felt compelled to grab Holtz Realty’s baton, and continue on with its journey. I believe it Ray Holtz and Roger Holtz were still alive, they’d be happy to see that I’ve continued to treat clients and customers with great respect and a level of service they’ve all deserved.
After my car had its tune-up, I headed over to another appointment with an office which took far longer, and only because there were endless questions and answers needing my attention, and in spite of my being a bit anxious about even going there, it all worked out far better than I’d expected. I believe before I walked out, we were of the mindset that we’d be working more closely with each other in the near future. Without a doubt, my fears were suddenly turned into a joyous experience.
The remainder of my day, was spent returning phone calls, along with setting up future appointments for showings, as well as getting myself prepared for tomorrow’s previewing of a possible listing. My goodness, I still can’t believe how quickly today’s hours went flying by.
While visiting with the gentlemen where I was getting my vehicle’s oil changed, we ended up on the subject of what’s happening in Ukraine, but what I found a bit troubling, was how little they’ve been paying attention to not only that war, but also that Chinese spy balloon that was shot down, as well at that devastating earthquake which recently took place in Turkey. Of course I had to fill them in enough, to where we could at least share a few thoughts about those current events.
The most troubling part of our elderly not paying attention to the news, is my having heard from the mouths of far too many seniors, their unwillingness to read or listen to it, and mostly because it stirs them up too much. Now that’s troubling, because if our general public doesn’t stay abreast of what’s actually happening, they turn into ostriches who’re burying their heads in the sand, which is definitely a bad way to view our world.
Tonight’s One Liner is: Only the prepared speakers deserve to be confident.
