Even though it was over 20 years ago, I remember it well. Some sales are just stand-outs, aren't they?
I was a brand-new agent, and placed my very first promotional ad in our local paper. It read:
Maximum Dollar - Minimum Hassle
My phone rang and the man on the other end of the phone told me he and his wife had been trying to sell their home for over a year. It had been listed twice before. "Come on over and sell this thing," he said. "I do need maximum dollar, and I'm tired of this hassle!"
When I got a top-dollar offer for them in just two short weeks I was ready for them to kiss me and call me their hero. After, all, I got it SOLD when the other agents couldn't. Am I great, or what??!! But instead of high-fiving me and telling me what an awesome, phenomenal, genius Realtor I was, they gave all the credit to planting St. Joseph the night before!
Remember I told you I was still a rookie, so when they told me they planted St. Joseph in front of their sidewalk to help ensure that the prospective buyers would fall in love with their home and want to buy it, I pictured some ground cover or decorative landscaping they had planted to add curb appeal!
I found out that they bought a statuette of St. Joseph, and explained that since he was a carpenter, many people think of him as the patron saint of real estate.
I did a little research on the origins of burying St. Joe, and there are many theories. Some say it may be connected to a practice by German builders who used to bury statues in the foundations of houses they built and said a prayer to St. Joseph.
And as varied as the stories about how this practice got started are the many ways and places poor old St. Joseph gets buried:
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Upside down
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Right-side up
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Lying on its back and pointing toward the house
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Facing the house
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Facing the street
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Near the FOR SALE sign
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Exactly 12 inches deep
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In the back yard
Personally, I believe in the power of prayer as much as anyone. And if someone wants to bury St. Joseph face-up, face down, or standing on his head, God bless 'em.
But it reminds me of the miracle weight-loss pills that are proven to work "along with diet and exercise."
St. Joseph can work too, along with proper clean-up, fix-up, and the right price.
Jacki and Jerry Shafer are "mega agents" with The Shafer Team and Keller Williams Realty Louisville East. Jacki and Jerry specialize in home sales in Louisville and Oldham County, Kentucky.
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