St. Joseph meets the Internet
Well... it's Labor Day... 2006 and the Patron Saint
of Laborers and I did a little extra labor today. The story for us
(Terri and Paul) starts in 1995 when we had a home for sale for Bob and
Ruth Chieruzzi... in the Elevado Hills area of Vista, California.
The market was very slow... lovely home... excellent value... but just
no serious buyers. Ruth told us about the ability St. Joseph had
to help achieve all of our goals... and we certainly welcomed the idea.
We picked up... actually Ruth picked up one of the Our
Father.com Home Sale Kits somewhere...
I'm sure it was that one though... as I remember well the figure.
We buried it ... upside down... facing the home... in the back yard...
as Ruth told us. No exaggeration... we sold the home two weeks later...
to a buyer from the USSR... by way of Chicago that we were showing small
investment apartments to. They were not even looking for a home in
San Diego County... but I mentioned the story... we took them over to the
home... they fell in love with it... and live in it to this day.
The San Diego Real Estate Market took off... for a
decade... and I sort of forgot the incident. Last week... RISMedia
ran an article... "Real
Estate Sellers Call for a Higher Agent's Help"... and I found again...
our salvation to this type of market. Not making fun of this... I
don't know how it works... but I believe... I know.... it does.
Bob and Ruth have moved away... so I went to my Garmin
GPS... searched specialty retail stores with the name "Christian" in them...
and found "The Family Christian
Store" in Carlsbad, California. I was just across the freeway...
waiting for my wife... shopping in Joanne's Fabric... so I called on the
cell phone... and was in luck... they had four "St. Joseph Home Seller
Kits" left. Enough for my current inventory and one to spare.
We got there just before closing... got the last four.
This morning I logged on to the Internet to do my due diligence and found
several sites... all linked here... that provide the statue... instructions...
prayer... bundled neatly in the complete Home Sellers Kit. I contacted
all of my clients currently on the market... got their permission ... and
blessing... to install a St. Joseph. Since it is Labor Day... and
he's the Patron Saint of Laborers... thought I'd have some fun with it
too. After all... God helps those that help themselves. Certainly
the synergy of the date (Labor Day) ... the goal (Sell the Property) ...
and labor (the five letter word for WORK) have to add something.
Four hours later... 102.1 miles and several dozen smiles... I'm creating
this. Thought it would be fun to share... So here are the properties
that we've asked St. Joseph to help us with. No order of priority...
just driving time from our home... and I will be updatine as to his contribution.
This Incredible Home is priced to sell... and in this
market! The bottom of the range... is $400,000 under what we just
sold the same floor plan for... in the same neighborhood. This is
why they call it a Buyer's market! 52 days on the market without
an offer... Monday, September 4th, 2006. Labor Day... but St. Joseph
is on the job now.
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stories... visit and JOIN
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Well on Wednesday 9/6 three days on the job... we
got a request for an appointment showing at 3:45pm on Thursday. Showing
went well. This is the first real buyer showing we've had in 55 days.
Update as of November 9th... no offers... good online
activity.
3973
Canning Avenue, Clairemont, San Diego, CA 92111
The link above will take you to a multi-page Web Site for this Property...
move your mouse cursor over the photos for a description of what you are
seeing...
This is really an incredibly good buy.... and beautifully
remodeled! We thought this would sell in a heartbeat... and it still
could. Labor Day, September 4th 2006... tons of interest... tons
of showings... excellent feedback... but... 112 days on the market... and
no offers. Wish I'd remembered St. Joseph sooner... you should never
lose faith...
If you would like to comment on this... or add success
stories... visit and JOIN
OUR BLOG
Wednesday 9/6 had a showing. Saturday 9/9 had
a sign call... he's working :-)
Saturday 9/9 2:58pm agent showing :-)
Wed 9/13 11:22am agent showing :-)
Thursday 9/14 4:11pm agent showing :-)
Friday 9/15 1:00pm agent showing :-)
Well updating to November 9th... we had two letters
of intent... and one real offer... but not sufficient to cause the seller
to decide to keep the home as a rental... as it has been for several years.
Will wait for prices to come up... which they will.
So.... I said above... that all the links I could
find would be posted on the page... after all... "we love to help".
So... don't believe it works... most people trust SNOPES
for the truth on Urban legends. And... while I'm considering this
the "Meeting of the Internet by our Patron Saint Joseph... in fact his
likeness has it's own domain name.... check it out at "St.
Joseph Statue".
"Missionary Oblates of the Mary Immaculate" has it's
own "St.
Joseph Home Sellers Kit". Abbot Church Goods... has a division
called Ourfather.com... and I know
for a fact... the statue they are selling worked for us in 1995.
As early as August 31, 2004 (would have been our 36th Wedding Anniversary)...
the lenders at Bankrate.com
documented the success of our Patron... and CatholicSupply.com....
as you might well imagine... has the largest selection of upgrades... and
options. Do you suppose a more deluxe version... gets a better offer?
And... this is not just a California thing :-) in January 1992...
the Lincoln Journal Star... in the bible belt of Nebraska... ran the article...
"Will burying
St. Joseph help house sell?" So there you have it... all except
my favorite:
Wikipedia
"The claim is made that in order to invoke Saint Joseph's
intercession for selling a house, one buries a small statue of the saint
upside down facing away from the house near the "For Sale" sign. A short
heartfelt prayer requesting Joseph's intercession is recited, for example:
Joseph of Nazareth,
I beseech thee to intercede on my behalf
to help me find a worthy buyer for my home.
I ask this in the holy name of Christ.
Amen
Once the house is sold, the statue of Joseph is dug
up again and set in a place of honor in the person's new home as a reminder
of the efficacy of Saint Joseph's intercession. This practice of burying
a statue is considered superstitious and is frowned upon by the clergy
and knowledgeable laity, but it is actively promoted by religious goods
manufacturers and retailers"
Well We'd agree that is actively promoted. We
just Pray it Works!
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stories... visit and JOIN
OUR BLOG
Very Obviously from what you've seen on the web page...
we don't care what works. We work... we love to help... and pray
that this works.... and notice... we've continued the accurate reporting
of results :-)
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