UPDATE: St. Joseph is working overtime. Two days after burying the little miracle worker I have received two offers on the property, one of which is acceptable to the sellers.

PPS, the first St. Joseph statue worked so well I bought another. This new listing was on the market for 1 week, 2 offers, one of which the sellers accepted, AND a higher than normal commission rate to encourage more co-op showings.

OK, so I have this great listing I can't sell (yet) ;-)

It's below comps for the last 3 months, great neighborhood, best school district in town, move in condition, brand new carpet, new paint, 4 bedrooms, 2,000 square feet, etc.,etc., etc. It's now reduced to $164,900

Over 50 showings to date; lots of positive feedback.......but...........no sensible offers. We did get one that was 15K below list and after 25 years of selling real estate I cannot believe we can't do better.

flyway lane

So it's time to call in the big guns; the Saint Joseph home selling statue.

st joseph statue

Here's the St. Joseph legend.

"The solemn tradition of burying St. Joseph in the earth began hundreds of years ago in Europe. During those times, an order of nuns prayed to St. Joseph (the patron saint of the family and household needs) when they needed more lands for convents. The Sisters were encouraged to bury their St. Joseph medals in the ground.

The medals evolved into statues, culminaing with the complete "Underground Real Estate Agent" Kit currently available. Today, thousands of homesellers and real estate agents nationwide continue this successful tradition; they are looking for a little divine intervention."

At this point I'm willing to try anything so I ordered a St. Joseph statue. The directions say you're supposed to bury the statue upside down near your yard sign with his little feet pointing towards the house and the property will sell quickly.

jim lee realtor

Man, after a 7 week dry spell this ground is like digging concrete. Apparently this is a tradition the Catholic Church embraces.

  • "People today bury statues, usually small, inexpensive ones, instead of medals. The size or cost of the statue doesn't matter, and has no relation to the size or cost of the property for sale.

  • Bury the statue upside down in the yard of the property you are trying to sell. I've seen a couple of versions with it upright, but upside down is by far the most common.

  • The location for the burial varies, but the most common is in the front of the property, facing the house. Some favour a particular corner, and many recommend putting it next to the "For Sale" sign.

  • This is the most important part: pray. Pray for Saint Joe to intervene for you. You can find some written prayers for this part (some of which seem to threaten Joseph if he doesn't get to work!), but prayer from the heart, prayer that discusses your personal situation, is much, much better.

  • Have faith.

  • While some traditions say you should leave the statue in the ground after the sale, others say that once the house is sold, you dig up the statue and take it with you to the new home. That seems a much better idea to me. Seems friendlier, more honourable, and is a great reminder to yourself (and the people you will unquestionably show it to) of the power of your prayer, and the closeness of our friends in heaven"

    • st joseph

    Alright, St. Joseph is now on duty, properly buried, and prayer said. I'm heading back to my office to wait for those offers to come in.

    flyway lane listing

    Jim Lee , REALTOR®, Certified Residential Specialist (CRS)

    http://JimLee.com  RE/MAX By The Bay

    150 Mirona Road, Portsmouth, NH 03801 Phone: (603) 431-1111 x3801

    Visit New Hampshire Maine Real Estate.com to search homes, get Seacoast area information, and find out how great living on the New Hampshire and southern Maine Seacoast really is.

     

    Follow RealtorJimLee on Twitter

     

    22 Comments on St. Joseph do your stuff

    20 Most Recent Comments Displayed Show All

    AUG
    14
    2007
    135,926 Points 1 Featured Post Called Shot Master

    I'm surprised how many newer agents have never heard about St Joseph helping with home selling.  I know he's been used in So Cal since the mid 80's, because I remember them then.  (You do really have to dig him up after the house sells, or the new owner will end up selling again soon!)

    Thanks for the reminder.  I think I will go get a few for my clients too!

    Vicki 

     
    3:15pm • #3
    495,702 Points 60 Featured Posts Localism Sponsor Hit Router Attended Rain Camp

    Vicki, I didn't know about the new owner selling again soon too if you don't dig them up.

    Thanks for the tip, I"m not digging mine up; in fact I may go buy a couple of gross and bury them around other neighborhoods. ;-)

    We can call it "St. Joseph Farming".

    3:23pm • #4
    1,360,746 Points 93 Featured Posts Localism Sponsor Outside Blog Called Shot Master
    		I will have to check on St. Joseph. I actually can see the base (where his tiny little feet are but I did not use a shovel just used the stake hole from the  fact sheet holder ... actually I just moved the fact sheet holder and used the old hole.) The lectures I received were about how WRONG it is to bury the statues. I got so angry at a woman Sunday morning I left in a huff without one.  When I told some agents in my office, one  gave me a lecture too. 
    5:22pm • #5
    495,702 Points 60 Featured Posts Localism Sponsor Hit Router Attended Rain Camp

    Maureen the Catholic church sells the statues so how wrong could they think it is?

    This tradition got started when nuns used St Joseph medals.

    "The tradition has been traced to Saint Teresa of Avila who prayed that Saint Joseph would intercede to obtain land for Christian converts, and encourged her Discalced Carmelite nuns to bury Saint Joseph medals as a symbol of devotion, consecrating the ground in Joseph's name."

    Tell those babes to do somehomework before they start preaching to you.
    8:09pm • #6
    AUG
    15
    2007
    1,360,746 Points 93 Featured Posts Localism Sponsor Outside Blog Called Shot Master

    I worked with someone from the diocese about five years ago, opposed to burying it. In  my experience it is harder to talk Catholics into burying it.  The lectures at the Catholic stores were to give the sellers the holy card and ask them to pray for their house to sell, to put the statue on the window sill or mantle rather than bury it. That burying a statue is superstition.

    I visited my St. Joseph statue and I could not get him back out to check which way his toes are pointed.    
    1:41am • #7
    14 Featured Posts

    Jim...Thanks for the comment.  'Great minds...'  Looks like you bought the whole kit, too...

    ps...I didn't think there where any Catholics in Tenn.

    Geno
    10:19am • #8
    495,702 Points 60 Featured Posts Localism Sponsor Hit Router Attended Rain Camp

    Hey Geno, we have lots of Catholics in Tennessee; why in Knoxville alone we have:

    1,472 Baptist Churches

    472 Presbyterian

    387 Methodist

    214 Church of God

    52 Jewish Synagogues

    AND we're now up to 5 Catholic Churches; they build a new one about 2 years ago.
    12:10pm • #9
    AUG
    16
    2007
    243,775 Points 14 Featured Posts Outside Blog
    		Isn't it funny what we are willing to resort to when the market isn't hot?  I wish you luck.  The listing sounds great and there's got to be a buyer somewhere!
    12:18am • #10
    495,702 Points 60 Featured Posts Localism Sponsor Hit Router Attended Rain Camp

    Two offers on this property received today after over 8 months of nothing.

    It's been two days since I buried the St. Joseph statue.

    Miracle? Divine Intervention? Coincidence? luck?

    Who cares; one of the offers is acceptable to my sellers and they have accepted!
    8:44pm • #11
    1,360,746 Points 93 Featured Posts Localism Sponsor Outside Blog Called Shot Master
    		Congratulations to you and the sellers.
    9:49pm • #12
    243,775 Points 14 Featured Posts Outside Blog
    		Kind of makes one wonder, doesn't it.  Regardless of how it worked for you, one of my sellers buried her statue and the following week canceled the listing!  It was listed by another and sat one the market an additional half year.  I stopped checking it after that.  I still don't know if it sold or not.
    11:26pm • #13
    AUG
    26
    2007
    158,811 Points 27 Featured Posts Outside Blog Attended Rain Camp
    		Jim, congrats on the home sale!  I'm Catholic and live in a "very Catholic area" where 1/3 the residents of the area are (at least nominally) Catholic - that is 600,000 of 1.8 million in Santa Clara County (San Jose area/Silicon Valley).

    An order of nuns I know did bury a medal of their foundress and prayed like mad when a wildfire threatened their motherhouse. The fire did not cross the spot where the medal was buried. Buring medals is actually a very old Catholic tradition, if a little known one.

    I think that Catholics are SO afraid of "being superstitious" that many really don't want to bury the statue of St. Joseph. My dad would call it "rabbit's foot Catholicism". But you were 100% right to say the MOST important part is not the statue but the prayer (praying with belief). It almost always does come to fruition that if one prays hard and works hard, the house will sell.

    I only did it once myself, when selling my dad's home in a difficult market. And yeah, it worked.

    I know someone else who buried the statue and the house didn't sell (not my client). But there was no lock box, all showings by appt only through listing agent, and I think they were chasing the market down and mentally not moving out themselves. So there was a disconnect between what they said they wanted and what they were willing to do to accomplish it.

    Anyway, congratulations! Fun story to report.
    4:58pm • #14
    AUG
    29
    2007

    Very cool Jim, nice to see an offer in this market, and thanks for your business. By the way, if any other Rain members are interested in St. Joseph, please join our pro-believer's club and receive discount pricing http://www.stjosephstatue.com/pros.htm Keep the faith everyone.

    Phil Cates 888 BURY JOE
    12:24pm • #15
    SEP
    04
    2007

    VERY INTERESTING - I always wondered about St. Joseph. 

    I might suggest that prelisting inspections can be used as effective marketing tools.  The home seller will be aware of repairs (other than cosmetic) that may increase to marketability of their property.  When the repairs are made, the receipts can be added to the report binder for documentation purposes.  A prelisting inspection may also impress a buyer to forego the home inspection contingency.

    (That's not intended to take anything away from St. Joseph).

    Want more imformation?  Call me!

     Doug
    9:16am • #16
    SEP
    14
    2007

    Hi Jim - Congratulations on your offer and for sharing your story of St. Joseph's help. You have just convinced me. I will pick up a few.
    12:22am • #17
    SEP
    15
    2007

    June, welcome aboard. The St Joseph; "The Underground Real Estate Agent" also includes a FREE Home Listing. Please look around the site and join Pro-beleivers, it's free and it is great exposure to the tens of thousands of sellers and buyers that visit www.StJosephstatue.com.

    Think SOLD!

    Phil
    2:01pm • #18
    SEP
    18
    2007
    192,784 Points 8 Featured Posts Outside Blog

    Good job Jim ..I have heard stories over the yrs. of  sales that came about with St Joseph on their side.

    I personally havent done it but come to think of it...I do have a listing that I am considering as a candidate!

    9:33pm • #19
    SEP
    21
    2007
    157,290 Points 8 Featured Posts Hit Router
    		That is awesome - congratulations on your offers! We just ordered 2 and will give it a try in Western Montana! Thanks for your post!
    10:29am • #20

    Monica-thank you for the order, today we shipped your two St. Joseph Statue kits, which includes two bronze home listing on our site. Because you used the link form "the rain" and you ordered more than one kit, I want to upgrade the bronze listings to our "Gold" Package, a $40 value at no charge.

     

    Should you know other "Rain" members interested in this special package, all they have to do to receive the free $40 listing upgrade is click on one of our links found on the "Rain", order two or more kits, then email me at phil@StJosephStateu.com  with the order number, and they on the way to selling homes

     

    Thank you again and enjoy your weekend.
    6:17pm • #21
    AUG
    31
    2008

    Readers' Digest once posted a funny story about St. Joseph statues:

    "When we decided to sell our home, many friends suggested that if we 'planted' a statue of St. Joseph in our yard, it would facilitate a quick sale.  But when asked for specifics about the superstition, we got conflicting directions.  Some said it should be buried upside down, facing away from the house in the front yard.  Others said the opposite."

    "Not wanting to spoil our chances, I frequently moved the statue around the yard.  Months passed, but our house never sold.  Feeling disappointed and foolish, I tossed the statue into a bag that was picked up at curbside and trucked to the town landfill."

    "A few weeks later I was reading the local paper and noticed the headline:

    TOWN SELLS LANDFILL TO PRIVATE CONTRACTOR

    ----------
    My customers all swear by their use, and often send in repeat orders to give out statue kits to friends and neighbors.  And now our line comes in both English & Spanish!


    ----  Mark
    http://www.SaintJosephSellsHomes.com
    Mark Samwick
    2:58pm • #22

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    Jim Lee, Portsmouth NH Realtor Portsmouth, Jewel of the NH Seacoast

    Portsmouth, NH

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    Address: ATTN: Jim Lee , 150 Mirona Road, Portsmouth, NH, 03801

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