Tuesday, November 11, 2008

How To Sell Your Home In 60 Days Or Less

I DON'T FREAKIN' KNOW! Why are you looking at me??? I was asking you! No. Seriously. HOW DO YOU SELL YOUR HOME IN LESS THAN 60 DAYS?????

Okay, our house has not been on the market very long but I am really starting to get antsy here. When we first put our home on the market I was so smug. I thought surely one of the first people to see our house would buy it. It is not pricey. It is well maintained and manicured. Decorated very nicely, thankyouverymuch. It has all the modern updates that help sell a house quickly, meaning kitchen and baths. What gives?

I've even asked for divine intervention. I hate praying for silly stuff like this since I know there are so many more important things going on in the world to pray to God about. But I did it anyway. I know that God wants us to come to Him with all of our intentions no matter how big or small, and I've certainly been asking for His help and guidance. I've even asked for help from my homies. The saints.

Yes. I'm Catholic. In case the name Kathryn Mary (my sisters are Mary Joy and Anne Marie if you were curious), doesn't give it away the fact that I've had three children so close in age and will likely have more might help.

Anyway, I have a lot of favorite saints. I have always loved St. Francis, the patron saint of animals. I have a special affinity for St. Gianna who is the patron saint of babies, infertility, and difficult pregnancies. She is a newer saint who was alive in the 60's and just canonized in 2004. She was a wife, mother, and pediatrician. She just sounds amazing and obviously very easy to relate to as a mother. I've always loved the stories of St. Joan of Arc because she sounds like such a freaking toughie as I like to consider myself to be. And in selling this house I decided to ask for help from St. Jude and St. Joseph. St. Jude is the patron saint of impossible situations, and I asked for his help with a bit of sarcasm as I'm sure this situation isn't impossible, though it is beginning to feel that way. And then of course St. Joseph is the patron saint of families, fathers, and laborers (and many other things actually).

I'm sure that even if you are not Catholic most of you have heard of the ritual of burying a St. Joseph statue upside down in the yard of the home you are trying to sell. It is a pretty popular practice and I've heard of many situations in which it worked quickly. I have told St. Joseph that I am asking for his help, but that I didn't want to take his statue and bury it upside down because that just seems disrespectful. We have not sold our house yet.

So, today I wandered out to our local Christian store seeking a St. Joseph statue. I found one and brought it home. I am still refusing to bury it upside down and I am instead putting it on display on the window ledge in my kitchen. I told St. Joseph that if he really wants that statue buried upside down I'll do it, but I'd rather not. Even the literature I received with the statue said all of the burying instructions are just a myth anyway. So now we'll just wait and see.

Have any of you had success with the St. Joseph home sale practice or heard of anyone else who has? I'm just curious.

41 comments:

Lisa said...

just an idea....we did this when we sold our house FSBO in NC. Make a copy of your flyer and stuff it into the mailboxes of your closest 50-100 neighbors. We sold our house to friends of the people across the street. Their friends liked the neighborhood, word of mouth, and less than $5 in copies.

I'm not catholic, but I have heard about burrying the Saint in your yard. I like the idea of it sitting on your window a little more!

When are you closing on the new place?

Cynthia said...

Well, I'm Catholic...bury that statue!

Jessa said...

I'm not Catholic, but if it sells the house...go for it!

I was watching HGTV last night and it was a newlywed couple who had (per their beliefs) purchased a house before the wedding so that they'd have a home immediately after marrying. Anyway, according to the woman's mother the house was 'bad' and not properly feung shawed (sp?) so they were trying to sell it after only living there for five months because it was full of bad luck. They'd even closed up walls to prevent money from leaking out through the faucets.

Fire Hunt said...

I'm not catholic, but I have heard about burrying the Saint in your yard so do it.

Kat said...

Lisa- That is a great idea with the fliers! We have a bunch of fliers for a little box out by our sign so all we would have to do it make copies.
And we ARE NOT closing on the new house until we sell this house. It is a contingency. We don't want to put ourselves in danger financially should we not be able to sell this house for any reason.

Nap Warden- I just might! ;)

Bug-n-Bee- WHAT???? That sounds a little whack-a-doo!

Chrissy said...

When we bought our house, it had been on the market for a year, and about two years ago, we tried to sell it. It stayed on the market for another year, and we took it off and decided to stay (something I am VERY thankful for). The funny thing is, just the other day I was digging in the flower beds and found ole' St. Joseph right there, probably from the previous owners. He wasn't upside down, though. So he doesn't have a very good track record around here for speedy sales.

Kat said...

Firehunt- I'm still considering it. ;)

Chrissy- How do you know they didn't bury it RIGHT BEFORE you bought it? I'm just saying... ;)

Mom24 said...

I'm not Catholic (Lutheran) but I think I would go for it. Good luck.

Anonymous said...

so.

the title of your blog is equivilant to a multi-million dollar record deal.

what i mean by that is- WRITE A BOOK with THIS TITLE, and you'll never have to worry about money again.

ewe are here said...

I've never heard of such a thing!

I wish you luck in selling your house...

Anonymous said...

I'm Catholic and I agree with Nap Warden - bury the statue! And I'll say a little prayer for you too.

CC said...

I've never heard of burying St. Joseph. any idea on the origin of that tradition?

Go ahead and do it!

Then put an "X" marks the spot or a treasure map for the new owners to find it ;)

Jessa said...

Here's the link to the episode. It unfortunately doesn't have the show available to view...it was weird.

http://www.hgtv.com/hgtv/shows_hbyme/episode/0,,HGTV_23196_51356,00.html

Debbie in CA : ) said...

My secret has always been trust. "Dear Lord I trust in you . . . "

Relax and enjoy each day as it comes without grabbing a shovel or worrying. God has plans to prosper you and not harm you -- that shovel business may be dangerous. Sip some tea and smile contentedly at your RIDICULOUSLY CLEAN HOUSE ('cuz it always is when one is on the market). ; )

dawn klinge said...

I hope you sell that house soon! I can understand how frustrated you must be getting. I've never heard of burying a St. Joseph statue upside down in the yard...learn something new every day. ;)

Laura said...

My parents' house was on the market for awhile longer than they wanted - did the old upside down burial ritual and got 4 offers - one above asking....

Good luck!

tweetey30 said...

No idea. Never heard of this method of selling a house. We just bought our house two years ago late Sept of 2006. What sold me on our house was my livingroom. Its a white with red speckles and my kitchen is blue with apple borders and lots of shelves... I mean shelves like you put boooks on.... LOL...

Tammy said...

A few years back when we sold our home, I was feeling ansty too. It was on the market for 6 weeks and our new house was going to be ready in a matter of weeks. I was getting real nervous...headed over to the Catholic Book Store...SOLD OUT. I had every intention of burying it too. The next weekend we had an offer and it all worked out. Good luck..hope St. Joseph in the window will bring you all the luck you need.

Dani said...

Wow! I learn something new every day!!! I was raised catholic but currently do not practice... and I have never heard of that before and if I did... I forgot! Good luck! I hope you sell your house soon!!!

Cyndi said...

I am not Catholic but I am a Christian and I encourage you to keep bringing your prayers to God.

I have never heard of that before. Isn't there something about putting a dollar on your door frame or something?

Tonya said...

yay this market is rough that is why we aren't trying to sell right now.

lime said...

i am not catholic and had never heard of that tradition. i am still giggling myself silly over the phrase "my homies, the saints." how could anyone, saint or otherwise, deny you? you're just too cute.

i'll say a prayer that you find just the right buyer quickly.

Molly's Mom said...

I'm not saying anything, Kat. But my situation was different...our old house was in a metro area where lots of jobs were being lost. No one was looking out by us.

Keeping fingers crossed for you!

Bren said...

I buried the statue and it still took us 6 months to sell our house.

Anonymous said...

I have no clue who all of those saints are and am impressed at anyone who can keep them all straight, and I say bury the little statue dude and upside down if head first is how he rolls. Can't hurt, right? (I'm asking because I don't know these things... but it can't, can it?) Anyway, good luck, and I'm thinking good thoughts. :)

Chris said...

I have never heard of burying the St Joseph statue. That is fascinating. Of course, we've never tried to sell a house, and we bought the first one we looked at -- yes we bought a house on impulse, and paid full price, shrewd buyers that we are. You're wishing I was in the market for a house in Wisconsin aren't you?
With all those kids, you could even be a Mormon (if you doubled it), we like those big families.
Hey, I've got an award to pass on to you. Come on over and see what it's all about.

Chris said...

Oh crap, I meant to end that with: Good luck with the house.

Scrappy said...

Ugh! I do not look forward to the day that I have to sell my house.
I hope things work out for you soon. I can't wait to find out what happens with the statue. :)

imbeingheldhostage said...

I'm with Lisa, get the word out. Don't think that your realtor is only selling your house-- and you know it better than anyone. You love it, you can brag about it.

Things will pick up!

Unknown said...

You many have to bury him. I know when my brother and SIL were having trouble selling their place they did this and the house sold the next week after only 2 showings. Just sayin... ; )

Kat said...

Imbeingheldhostage- We are actually selling our house without a realtor. The word is definitely out there. Everyone in our church and school know our house in on the market. Everyone in our neighborhood. We have it listed on a very popular online site (two actually), in the newspaper. We have fliers. We've had 4 open houses in 6 weeks. Still, not many people are looking right now.
Ah well.

Sounds like most of you want me to bury the statue. I might. We'll see. ;)

Bryan said...

Oi. Good luck with that.

I go to a Catholic church. It's a good place to think about my to do list and check out milfs.

Life in the Crazy Lane said...

My house has been on the market for about 6 months now ....

Anonymous said...

i am jewish, but i have a friend who sometimes tells me she'll pray to st. jude for something or another for me, which always makes me feel worse because that means she thinks it is a lost cause.

Kelly said...

I do know of a couple of people that sold their house after burying the statue. Kind of makes you think doesn't it?? :)

And if you figure out how to sell a house, let me know. My parents just listed theirs on Saturday and are antsy to sell theirs also.

Karen MEG said...

I thought my mom was crazy, but she buried St. Joseph upside down when she was desperate, desperate ... and it worked!
Mind you, she ended up having to buy an investment condo, so the condo owner could buy the person's house who was buying OUR house...(lost you yet?) but my mom's a realtor... and she loves complexity!
I would have passed out.

Anonymous said...

I'm a St Joe success story. I buried him in a potted planter (wanted to be sure to find him) & sold my house for asking price three days later. He's my total homeboy. Also, it can't hurt to ask St Jude for help.

Nissa said...

I'm not Catholic- do you think St. Francis could still help me?? :)

I pray about selling the house; I don't think there's anything wrong with that at all, hun. I'll pray for you selling your house, too.

Not Your Aunt B said...

Bury him. I've also heard of writing a letter to your house where you thank it for what it has provided for you (loving home, safe shelter, raised the kids there, etc.) and what you want for it (a buyer who will take care of the garden, etc.) Then you bury that too. A little cuckoo? Maybe. Then again, I live in a hippy town.

And what's up with burying everything?

Anonymous said...

I've heard of it, and from what I've heard, it works. No idea why, though.

Tam said...

BURY HIM UPSIDE DOWN...seriously. MY BFF here in Savannah who is Catholic with 4 children....her hubs got a job in Florida and well HER HOUSE was only on the Market ONE MONTH...they CLOSE TOMORROW on the 14th! Today she came up from Florida and dug him UP. HE worked for her and she hated burying him but he worked...esp in this Market HERE! BURY HIM GIRL Bury HIM!

Words To Live By

Be grateful for each new day.
A new day that you have never lived before.
Twenty-four new, fresh, unexplored hours to use usefully and profitably.
We can squander, neglect, or use them.
Life will be richer or poorer by the way we use today.
Finish every day and be done with it.
You have done what you could;
some blunders and absurdities crept in;
forget them as soon as you can.
Tomorrow is a new day.
You shall begin it well and serenely and with too high a spirit to be
encumbered with your old nonsense.

-Ralph Waldo Emerson