This is the last of what I think we all hope will be my two-part (so far) rant about religious superstition. I wasn't intending for there to be a second part, after yesterday's rant, but it was forced upon me by lunacy, that I just can't ignore.
Here's a question. Which of the following statements is an actual superstitious practice, accepted by reasonably intelligent people, who can bath and feed themselves and hold regular jobs?
1. Clothes worn inside out will bring good luck.
2. A statute of St. Joseph buried upside down in your yard, accompanied by a prayer will cause your house to sell faster.
In our fair city, there are presently something like 9200 homes listed with the multiple listing service for sale. How bad is that you might ask? Well, there have never been even as many as 7000 homes listed prior to the current run up. In addition, the days that the average home remains for sale has increased to 60, another record.
The problem is that many people bought homes they couldn't afford, figuring that they could make a quick profit. Now they are desperate to sell. Plus, investor-types are dumping houses that they had hoped would bring them riches. Now that the market has slumped, they just want to get rid of them and are flooding the market.
So, what is the beleaguered homeowner to do? Fix up the house, cut the price, offer incentives? Sure, that all makes good sense. But what can a seller do to get that little extra push in their quest to sell? Why bury a statue of Saint Joseph, upside down in the yard, of course. Its just common sense. In fact, it makes so much sense that The Our Fair City Association of Realtors, is selling the statues for $5.75. Isn't there some constitutional separation of church and real estate? If not, its time.
Anyway, this is the drill, as quoted from an article in The Arizona Daily Star, Sunday edition, by it's writer, Joseph Barrios.
To help sell houses, agents and owners are buying statues of St. Joseph, and burying them upside down in the front yard. If you do that, the belief goes, and if you recite a prayer to the patron saint of carpenters and families, you will find a buyer for your home.
For those of you who doubt the validity of this practice, I offer what passes for proof of its effectiveness, to the gullible at least.
From a veteran real estate agent, "...in a market like this, you do what you have to. Paint the outside. Install new carpet. Pay half of closing costs.
But maybe that little plastic statue will be just the something extra you need," said Agent X, a Realtor with Tierra Antigua Realty. So, St. Joe will put you over the top, just don't try to get him on board with a dump. Fix that sucker up before you try to sell. After all, old St. Joe has a rep to protect.
Another agent added an important strategic point. "I wait until they're really, really, really distressed and not moving. In a market like this, it's too tempting to use it too early," said Agent Y, with Long Realty. Is he kidding me?
Later Agent Y added, "You can't go out and sell a $200,000 home for $300,000 and expect it to sell," Trudeau said. "The ones that I did it with, they were not bad locations. They weren't backed up to a big manufacturing company with big smokestacks sticking out. They weren't bad houses, they just weren't moving." So, important point two is St. Joe isn't up for jacking-up-the price and laying it on him to fix.
How, you might wonder, does our local Catholic church feel about this practice? A spokesman for the diocese pointed out that there is a fine line between spirituality and superstition. Candles, medal, pictures, while not holy, connect the faithful to their religion. He isn't really buying the old St. Joe in the real estate biz. I guess I don't get why lighting a candle for an intention is materially different than burying a hunk of plastic in your yard. I may be a cynic, but I'm betting that if the church had a real estate sales division, this would be viewed with a more sympathetic eye.
A deacon at a local church, also called St. Joseph's, said that while he wouldn't do it (bury the statue), anything that connects people to God, is a good thing. I would add, if you can sell a house in the process, so much the better.
I have to say that I remain unconvinced. The tried and true formula for selling a house has three components, location, condition and price. St. Joe can't help with any of them, not that I am conceding the existence of Saint Anybody.
So, back to the question. Which superstition is believed by otherwise reasonable people? Of course, both are. It is just that if you go out wearing clothes inside out, people will think you are crazy. Bury a religious statue? People will say, "It's not my belief, but it may work for them." Religion gives cover to a lot of nonsense.
Crazy is crazy.
Merle.
All quotes in this post were reported by Joseph Barrios and are property of the Arizona Daily Star. Merle Sneed sincerely hopes this doesn't violate some copyright deal.
Things in this blog represented to be fact, may or may not actually be true. The writer is frequently wrong, sometimes just full of it, but always judgemental and cranky
Tag: Daily Life
Personal Finance
Humor
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