Of Saints and Real Estate

My grandparents put their house up for sale over the summer. It's huge: 5 bedrooms, 2 living rooms, formal dining area, fireplace, etc. The price is exceedingly reasonable/ somewhat low, in my opinion. And yet they've only had 2 people even stop by to look, nevermind actually make an offer.

The problem? Well besides this whack housing market, the house is located in Western NY, a region that has been hemorrhaging people since the '70s, including me.

My grandparents are awesome people. They opened their huge-ass house to their kids and grandkids when they needed some help or a place to stay at the expense of their privacy and a whole lot of money. They're in their mid-60s right now and are so freaking sick of Lake Effect snow. They just want to pack up and head down South where they can enjoy their retirement without astronomical heating bills.

The main story of the housing slump is the ridiculous number of foreclosures and all the people losing the homes they really couldn't afford in the first place thanks to wildly unscrupulous lending practices. However, there are also people like my grandparents with the exact opposite problem - they are stuck with a house they don't want and can't find a buyer.

So I've decided to put god on their side, in the form of his servant, St. Joseph. If you haven't heard the story, apparently you just bury good old St. Joe upside down next to your mailbox and then he'll work his stepdad o' the savior magic and voila! You'll sell your house!

I got my St. Joe from Home & Beyond, but you can also find them at your local Christian store or by Googling "St Joseph statue." If you think about it, you probably know someone struggling to sell their house. Be a good human and pick one up for them. Then you can take all the credit when they get deluged with offers.