Special offer

5 Inch Tall Man Will Help U Sell Your Home, Guaranteed, As Seen On 60 Minutes

By
Real Estate Agent with RE/MAX Compass 0524642

Upside down, in the rear yard, 3' from the rear of the house, facing the house, simply placing on your property, right-side up, in the front yard, exactly 12" deep, facing away from the house, when sold remove, etc., etc. These are some of the rumors on how to use the St. Joseph satue as way to "help sell your home." According to some believers this works. In fact when I purchased my own St. Joseph statue an older man in line said.. "It works!" When I got back to the office 2 other agents laughed and said.. "oh my God, that really works, really!"

www.everydaysold.com

Call it superstition, hocus-pocus or even magic, but many people are "swearing" by the practice. Inside the box are instructions, suggested prayers and even an address to mail your success story to share with others. I did notice an interesting disclaimer:

"For this practice to be fully effective, however....sellers must, of course, first do such practical, yet all important chores, as completing all necessary fix-up, propertly staging the home and finally, adjusting the price so as to reflect true market value... then... just watch St. Joseph make it happen!"

www.yourhomeinhouston.com

See the picture of the man burying the statue?

 

Do you know anyone who has had success with this? What's your opinion? Personally I haven't tried it, but will. I'm going to do a video blog of me burying the statue and document the progress right here on Active Rain. When the seller sees me digging in his backyard I'm just going to let him know that I'm working on some "marketing strategies."

Posted by
Greg Nino
Realtor
RE/MAX Compass 
Direct & Text 7 days a wk: 832-298-8555 
 
 
Realtor since 2004
Mediator & Arbitrator for the TX Assoc. of Realtors
Member of the Professional Standards Committee for the TX Assoc. of Realtors
Arbitrator for the Comptroller's office for the State of TX for Arbitration of Property Tax Values

 Member of the RE/MAX Hall of Fame & Platinum Club

 

The information contained in this blog is believed to be reliable and while every effort is made to assure that the information is as accurate as possible, the author of this blog, and its comments disclaim any implied warranty or representation about it's accuracy, completeness or appropriateness for any particular purpose. All information is copywritten and the property of Greg Nino.  

Comments(65)

Lyn Sims and the Blog Dog
Streamwood, Elgin IL Real Estate - RE/MAX Suburban - Bartlett, IL

Well my aunt & uncle had a large home that wasn't selling. They buried St. Joseph per the instructions facing this way or that and it worked.  My aunt was thrilled about it!  She also told me that St. Joseph killed the bush that it was planted close to.  LOL.

Feb 28, 2010 05:16 AM
Georgie Hunter R(S) 58089
Hawai'i Life Real Estate Brokers - Haiku, HI
Maui Real Estate sales and lifestyle info

I had never heard of this until joining AR, and I'm really glad to say that our Realtors Assn does NOT sell these.  Actually considering how the locals embraced Christianity when it arrived, I'm surprised this didn't catch on here.

Feb 28, 2010 09:10 AM
Patrick A. Daniels

5" tall, upside down, in the rear yard, 3' from the rear of the house, facing the house?

You just described a large dead cockroach.

Feb 28, 2010 09:28 AM
Randy DeVries
Prudential Prime Properties - Northbridge, MA

What does it say about the Realtor community when we put our trust in a small piece of plastic, or worse yet ask our sellers too. Are we saying that you don't need professional assistance in selling a home.

More importantly what does it say about God, When we think we can manipulate Him through outside means.

Feb 28, 2010 09:43 AM
Karen Anne Stone
New Home Hunters of Fort Worth and Tarrant County - Fort Worth, TX
Fort Worth Real Estate

Oh Randy:  Lighten up just a tad.  This comes under a belief for some, and old wives tail, (or old husband's tale) for some, and just plain harmless silliness for others.  Not to worry, though.  The Pope won't get you for your blasphemy.

Feb 28, 2010 10:44 AM
Debe Maxwell, CRS
Savvy + Company (704) 491-3310 - Charlotte, NC
The RIGHT CHARLOTTE REALTOR!

Hi Greg!  It is so funny that you brought this up today--I just talked about this with new clients yesterday.  I am REALTOR #3 for them and they confessed that they've had a St. Joseph buried in their yard all along.  Then they said that this same one worked for them before--ON NO!  You have to have a new one and you have to bury it in the backyard facing the house!  I don't routinely solicit this practice to my clients but, since they brought it up!  The bought a new one and buried it yesterday.  We had two showings our first day back on the market (today)!  I'll let you know how it works for them.

Personally, I've sold two homes--one of which was during the horrible 80's market and it sold in a matter of days--the other sold in 5 days 3 years ago.

I AM a believer!

Feb 28, 2010 11:11 AM
Elizabeth Cooper-Golden
Huntsville Alabama Real Estate, (@ Homes Realty Group) - Huntsville, AL
Huntsville AL MLS

Greg, Funny you should ask about this!  I hate to admit that it has worked for me, twice!  (It surely couldn't be that I priced my home perfectly, and that it showed well).  I even had mine blessed by a Priest.  If I remember correctly, you bury them in the front of the home, feet facing towards heaven?  I also had a prayer that I had to say for 7 or 9 days straight.  After selling, I had to place my St. Joe statue in a place of honor in my home.  It still remains!  Not sure what happend to the first one. Oh GOD....now I"m going to worry about losing it and what will happen to me, rotfl. 

I think I may just give this a shot on a listing of mine.  It's a tough sell.  I'll let you know!

Feb 28, 2010 11:25 AM
Greg Nino
RE/MAX Compass - Houston, TX
Houston, Texas

LOL @ # 39!

Debe - obviously some divided folks here!

Feb 28, 2010 12:51 PM
Sherry Chastain
Hendersonville, Nashville, Old Hickory, Lebanon Tennessee - Hendersonville, TN
Realtor, Selling Homes, Lake Properties,Luxury Homes,Short Sales

Sometimes we do need a miracle.

Feb 28, 2010 02:15 PM
Pat & Wayne Harriman
Harriman Real Estate, LLC (203) 672-4499 - Wallingford, CT
Broker/Owners, Wallingford CT Real Estate

Well, Ed Silva says it's common here in Connecticut, and he's probably been in RE longer than we have (10 years), but we've never had a client ask us to bury one. We've sold hundreds of homes and not one of them needed divine intervention! I think it's simply the symbolism of hope that appeals to people. has anyone ever buried a St. Joseph and NOT have the house sell? You don't hear of those too often...

Feb 28, 2010 02:21 PM
Jirius Isaac
Isaac Real Estate &TriStar Mortgage - Kenmore, WA
Real Estate & loans in Kenmore, WA

Are all you guys really having a conversation about this?

Feb 28, 2010 03:55 PM
Deborah Grimaldi
Grimaldi Appraisal Services - Cranston, RI
(401) 837-9633

I had a seller who was very religious and she did bury one in the her front yard after I had listed it and that listing sold once, fell through and then sold right after in a matter of 3 months.

Feb 28, 2010 10:29 PM
Martin E. Kalisker, Esq.
Natick, MA
Real Estate Law From A Practical Perspective

I think Realtors should be very careful with this "scam".  Firstly, it is against federal and state fair housing laws to discriminate based on the protected class of religion.  If you promote this Carpenter Idol story to potential buyers or sellers, you could be in violation of the law - especially if you are making it a point that unless you believe in this nonsense, that it won't work. 

I've had a few clients tell me about these rumors over the years and my response is "I don't want to know about it."  I've also heard of one instance where the new home owner's dog pulled one of these toys out of the ground and choked to death on it.  The owners sued the former homeowners for failure to disclose a potentially dangerous situation that they caused through their negligence.  Guess who won?  May Fido rest in peace.

 

Mar 01, 2010 02:15 AM
Dan Quinn
The Eric Steart Group of Long & Foster Real Estate - Silver Spring, MD
Dan Quinn

I've always used the advise in the disclaimer and have never had any trouble selling a house:

 "For this practice to be fully effective, however....sellers must, of course, first do such practical, yet all important chores, as completing all necessary fix-up, properly staging the home and finally, adjusting the price so as to reflect true market value...

The disclaimer works!

Mar 01, 2010 03:34 AM
Francis (Frank) Brunke
Prudential Gross & Jansen Highlands Realty - Vernon, NJ

Like chicken soup for a cold............ It can't hurt

Mar 01, 2010 05:21 AM
George Burgess
RE/MAX Heritage - Pittsburgh, PA

Was in a religious store to purchase a Baptism gift and inquired about the St. Joseph statues I saw for sale. The sales clerk said they were one of their best selling items.

Mar 01, 2010 01:49 PM
George Burgess
RE/MAX Heritage - Pittsburgh, PA

Was in a religious store to purchase a Baptism gift and inquired about the St. Joseph statues I saw for sale. The sales clerk said they were one of their best selling items.

Mar 01, 2010 01:49 PM
Team Honeycutt
Allen Tate - Concord, NC

With more catholics moving to the south, we are seeing more of this. I have had 2 clients use it, both sold. Who knows?

Mar 05, 2010 04:59 AM
Tony Baumer
Old Grey Tiger Moving Consulting - Lanoka Harbor, NJ
You need an Old Grey Tiger!

I love this. A friend on mine bought one and within 3 days the house sold. He now is passing it on to another relative to help them sell their house.

Apr 19, 2010 09:24 AM
Chris Lewis
Gracious Living Realty - Front Royal, VA
I want to SELL your home, not LIST it!

I haven't ever known of anyone doing this, but if it makes people approach their sale in a more realistic way, preparing it and staging it, and listing at the right price, it can't be bad.

Nov 01, 2011 06:23 AM