Abstract:
A multi-use real estate closing card is described. A real estate closing card may be used as an advertising tool, a closing gift from real estate vendors to new home owners, and a moving announcement for the homeowner. The real estate closing card has at least two information blocks that can comprise an announcement block and an advertising block. Information may be text or visual representation, such as photographs or drawings of the home or family.

Description:
RELATED APPLICATIONS 
       [0001]    This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/179,169, filed May 18, 2009, the disclosures of which are hereby incorporated by reference herein in their entirety except for definitions defined therein. 
     
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    The invention described is directed to a multi-use closing card. More particularly, the invention is directed to a card, suitable for use in the real estate market as a closing gift, moving announcement and business marketing device. 
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0003]    Buying a home is an important event in one&#39;s life. Buyers work closely with their real estate company and/or agent and closing company (real estate vendors) to find the perfect home. A tradition in the real estate industry is for vendors to celebrate this milestone, and show their appreciation to the client for choosing them to provide their services, by giving a gift to the buyer at closing. The gifts are often of low value, are branded and have a real estate motif. 
         [0004]    Real estate vendors need to market their services and one of the best ways to do this is to show that they are able to find the perfect home for their clients. In addition, home buyers often wish to send announcements to family, friends, colleagues, coworkers and vendors, letting them know that they have purchased a new home. There is a need for a product that combines these features, offering an affordable, multi-use gift for the new home buyer. 
       BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0005]    The present disclosure describes a closing card, a product that may be used for a closing gift, a moving announcement, and a business marketing tool. The closing card allows the real estate vendor to provide a gift of moving announcements that the buyer can send to family and friends, which also acts as an advertising or marketing device for the vendor. As will become apparent upon reading the Detailed Description below, the present invention provides a solution to the needs identified above and offers other advantages over the prior art. 
         [0006]    One embodiment of a closing card device offers a multi-use product that can be used as a closing gift from the real estate vendor to the home buyer. The closing card comprises a paper product (coated or uncoated, virgin paper or recycled) or a plastic product, with at least two blocks of information and/or graphics, for a visual presentation that conveys a moving announcement for a home buyer and a marketing tool for real estate vendors. In another embodiment, the closing card comprises a laminated paper material with at least two blocks of information and/or graphics for a visual presentation that conveys a moving announcement for a home buyer and a marketing tool for real estate vendors. In yet another embodiment, the closing card comprises a thin plastic material with at least two blocks of information and/or graphics for a visual presentation that conveys a moving announcement for a home buyer and a marketing tool for real estate vendors. 
         [0007]    The closing card can also take on a number of other embodiments, several of which are described below. In general, the card comprises at least a first side, and optionally, a second side of a flat surface bearing visual representations of at least one announcement block and one advertising block. Variations include closing cards of various sizes with or without a fold and cards with a perforated business card attachment that may be removed and kept for future reference or passed along to friends. 
         [0008]    Additional advantages and features of the invention will be set forth in part in the description which follows, and in part, will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon examination of the following or may be learned by practice of the invention. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0009]    These as well as other objects and advantages of this invention will be more completely understood and appreciated by referring to the following more detailed description of the exemplary embodiments of the invention in conjunction with the accompanying drawings of which: 
           [0010]      FIG. 1  illustrates examples of a business card-size closing card 
           [0011]      FIG. 2  illustrates a double business card-size, foldable closing card 
           [0012]      FIG. 3  show the closing card features on a sticky note 
           [0013]      FIG. 4  presents an example of a post card-size closing card 
           [0014]      FIG. 5  depicts examples of vertical closing cards 
           [0015]      FIG. 6  illustrates a variation on the vertical closing card with a perforated business card 
           [0016]      FIG. 7  illustrates a note card embodiment of a closing card 
       
    
    
       [0017]    While the invention is amenable to various modifications and alternative forms, specifics thereof have been shown by way of example in the drawings and will be described in detail. It should be understood, however, that the intention is not to limit the invention to the particular embodiments described. On the contrary, the invention is to cover all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives. 
       DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0018]      FIG. 1  illustrates a business card-sized embodiment  100  of the closing card. Two examples are provided. Each card has a first side and a second side onto which the features of the invention may be placed. Particularly, an advertising block  102  providing vendor advertising or contact information  104  may be placed on one area of the card. Additional marketing information, and a photograph of the agent  107  or business logo may also be provided. An announcement block  106  may be placed on another area. The announcement block  106  may include a greeting or invitation, the new home address  108  and, in a preferred embodiment, a visual representation of the buyer&#39;s new home and/or the family  110 . Either block may be as elaborate so as to fill an entire side of a card, or may be as spare so as to contain only a few details. 
         [0019]      FIG. 2  illustrates a double business card-size closing card that may be folded in half along a mid-width fold  202 . This type of configuration features additional surfaces on which announcements or advertising may be placed. Particularly, an exemplary closing card can have the advertising block  102  and the announcement block  106  on both the inside ( 2   a ) and on the outside ( 2   b ) surfaces. 
         [0020]    The invention also lends itself well to note paper or sticky notes.  FIG. 3  illustrates examples  300  of the closing card on a sticky note. As shown, each note contains at least one advertising block  102 , which may include a visual representation of the vendor as well as contact information  104  and at least one announcement block  106 . Space is available to include visual representations of the home, the family, or the vendor may also be provided, and open space is provided for writing notes  108 . 
         [0021]      FIG. 4  illustrates a flat, two-sided post card featuring the advertising block  102  and announcement block  106 . As shown in  FIG. 4 , the announcement block  106  can contain a short message such as a greeting, an invitation to visit, and/or the date of the move. In one embodiment, the announcement block can display one or more pictures of the home and family. One side of the closing card is formatted for mailing with a return address  402  and space for the recipient&#39;s address  404  and postage  406 . 
         [0022]    Referring again to  FIG. 4 , the advertising block  102  for a closing card can provide just a short message noting the vendor and the vendor&#39;s basic contact information.  FIG. 4  further illustrates the card with more extensive announcement information, including a picture of the home or family, the announcement, moving date and new address. 
         [0023]      FIG. 5  illustrates a mailable, vertical post-card formatted similar to the post cards in  FIG. 3 , however, these examples may be either mailed as post cards or sent in a regular number 10 business size envelope. As shown in  FIG. 5 , one side is comprised of an announcement block with photograph, announcement, moving date and invitation. Alternatively, space may be provided on the announcement side  106  for a handwritten invitation. An advertising block  102  is provided on the address side of the card, along with space for return address, address and postage. 
         [0024]    A variation on the vertical post-card embodiment is shown in  FIG. 6 . One side of the card is comprised of the announcement block  106 . The other side of the card provides the address, return address and postage space. In addition, the advertising block  102  is presented as a business card  602  attached to a short end of the card; the point of attachment may be perforated  604  for easy folding and removal for use as a convenient referral object. One side of the perforated business card  606  may be blank for writing personal messages. 
         [0025]      FIG. 7  shows two sides of an embodiment of closing note cards. In the examples shown, one side, functioning as an outside cover and back  7   a  of a card when folded, can have both an advertising block  102  and an announcement block  106 . The example depicted includes pictures of the family and home  110  on the front cover, and a picture of the vendor  107  on the back cover. The inside  7   b  of the card can have an announcement block  106  with greeting or invitation and open space  702  allowing the sender to include a personal message for the recipient. 
         [0026]    Although there are several sample preferred embodiments shown, the closing card is not limited to these embodiments. It is to be understood that even though numerous characteristics and advantages of various embodiments of the present invention have been set forth in the foregoing description, together with details of the structure and function of various embodiments of the invention, these embodiments are illustrative only, and changes may be made in detail, especially in matters of structure and arrangement of parts within the principles of the present invention to the full extent indicated by the broad general meaning of the terms in which the appended claims are expressed. For example, the particular features or elements may vary depending on the particular closing card design chosen and whether its component parts are organized or designed differently while maintaining substantially the same functionality without departing from the scope and spirit of the present invention.