Most real estate professionals have dealt with a pesky property that just won’t sell.
It doesn’t matter if the walls are freshly painted, the roof is re-done or friendly neighbours endorse the home. For whatever reason, it stays on the market.
Have you considered tipping the fortune scales in your favour by burying a two-inch tall statue face down under a fistful of dirt?
It worked for Marie Shaw.
The Ottawa-based REALTOR® had a client suggest burying a statue of Saint Joseph on the front lawn after their house was falling flat on offers.
“We buried it just off the front deck, about six inches down, and yes, the house finally sold,” Shaw said.
This superstition has been around for centuries. Saint Joseph, better known as the foster father to Jesus, was also a carpenter and named the patron saint of real estate. The theory suggests if you bury the statue of Saint Joseph upside down, he will work harder to get out and find a more comfortable home.
“It was a big surprise to me when the house sold, yes,” Shaw admits. “And if a client wanted to try it again, I wouldn’t discourage it.”
Brenda McDonald-Rowe, another Ottawa-based Realtor, has taken her supernatural beliefs to spiritual levels.
She’s had a house exorcised.
“We had a house that smelled like smoke but the owners were not smokers. We also felt cold chills and didn’t feel comfortable going into certain parts of the house,” she said.
She contacted a clairvoyant to get to the bottom of the smell and cold drafts and, as she put it, it turned out to be the doings of a spirit who didn’t like all the surprise visits.
“All I had to do was say, ‘George, people are coming this afternoon. Please welcome them,’ and the smell would be gone. We sold the house two weeks after that.”
If you’re one to believe in ghosts or bad omens, be mindful of these other real estate superstitions.
Five Lucky Superstitions in Real Estate
Forget the old broom
New homeowners should prepare to budget for a new sweeping tool. Superstition states if you’re bringing an old broom with you into a new house, all the negative aspects of life at your old place comes with it… not to mention year-old dust bunnies caught in the bristles.
Weekend warriors not welcome
The luckiest day to move? Thursday. The unluckiest? In western culture, it is believed you can’t fully settle into a house if you move on a Friday. And if it’s Friday the 13th, well, your clients might as well renew their search.
Water features and blue paint
Ghosts can go through walls, but they can’t travel across water, so legend states. It’s seen as a good sign if you have something blue at your entranceway — or, better yet, a big, old fountain — which is believed to help keep evil spirits away.
Bake cookies
Baking cookies obviously leaves a delicious smell in the air but folklore states it brings good luck before a showing. Again, there could be a strong correlation between a fresh batch of cookies and ensuring potential buyers don’t leave with a bad taste in their mouth.
Staircase faces the front door
Those who master the art of feng shui will tell you this is a no-no for your entrance. Apparently when a staircase faces the front door, the energy of the house vanishes up or down those stairs, robbing the main floor of positive vibes.