I got an e-mail from a dear client (who I absolutely love) saying this:
There’s a story on the ‘Today Show’ this morning about the lengths to which some Realtors are going to sell property. Crystals, smudge sticks, etc. Crazy times. I’m sure you have found more helpful techniques.
The Today Show points out that sellers are using Wacky Tactics to try to sell their homes in this “terrible down market” – but my question to you is:
If a client came up to you and said, “I heard smudging is going to get rid of all the negative and unwanted energy in my house and I want to try it out” – would you say “GET OUT OF TOWN!!!” or would you be open to trying it out.
I have a theory – it has nothing to do with beliefs, religion or energy; it has to do with intent and psychology. I’ve written about it before and I will not bore you with details, but here’s the jest of it (with regards to burying a St. Joseph statue):
In the case of sellers, we encounter that a lot of the time there are emotional blocks where subconsciously a seller does not really want to sell their home; whether it’s because of priceless memories that the home holds or simply because they dread having to pack and move and to find a new place. (I know this may be a bit far fetched for “the skeptics”).
The actual ritual of buying and burying the statue can help break the emotional block, and ultimately make the house more welcoming to prospective buyers.
So if you have a seller that may have not listened to your requests and advice from the beginning and now wants to bury a voodoo doll in their yard with a St. Joseph statue and Buddha for company, hang crystals, smudge their house, sing Hallelujah, stand upside down in their master bedroom while drinking Mojitos made with imported mint from The Dominican Republic – why not?
I’m not telling you to run out and perform the rituals yourself, I’m asking you to look deeper into the act of performing the ritual and you may discover a door into getting the job done.
Yes I’m crazy at times – it also helps to do your job right – but that wouldn’t be any fun, would it?
Ines is all Miami, all the time. A Miami Beach Realtor® with Majestic properties, Ines authors Miamism.com, PrimeMiamiBeach.com, and MiamismPix.com and is always on communication's leading edge. She goes out of her way to engage and be engaged, often using Mojitos to keep the mood light and give everything she does a Miami flavor. You can find her goofing off or instigating trouble at Twitter, Flickr, Facebook or LinkedIn.
Ozarksagent
December 11, 2008 at 12:40 pm
I have now heard it first here, knew about voodoo dolls, smudging, religious things like St. Judes burials, etc. but now I learn that Mojitos help sell a house! Can’t wait to try that one:) it sure can’t hurt! Great post, good humor, & good selling.
Ines
December 11, 2008 at 12:46 pm
Thanks Steve!! We all need a bit of humor, don’t we. We take ourselves too seriously.
Jonathan Dalton
December 11, 2008 at 3:01 pm
What about installing cupholders in the living room? I’ve heard that can be helpful as well …
Jim Gatos
December 11, 2008 at 7:30 pm
Although when I “Fung Swayed” a house it sold in a week after I had it on the market for a month a while ago, generally speaking, Ines, usually, ghosts leave the minute they become aware I just listed the house. I happen to be of Greek ancestry, and I believe for the most part, Ghost are petrified and run the hell away from most Greeks!
Just kidding, Ines, just kidding…
Ines
December 11, 2008 at 7:52 pm
Jim, I think a lot of people are misinterpreting my sarcastic humor to mean I don’t believe in this stuff. I actually use Feng Shui in my own house and smudged it last year during Chinese New Year.
Beliefs are beliefs and I don’t ever knock them, but I do think that if we look beyond those, we can see that doors open in many different ways.
Ines
December 11, 2008 at 7:55 pm
@papagrande – only if those cupholders come programmed with Sofia Vergara’s voice! 🙂
Julie Emery
December 11, 2008 at 8:38 pm
Honey, if I thought standing on my head naked in the living room and chanting would sell a house, I’d likely try it!
Seriously, we don’t know what we don’t know, right? Who am I to tell someone that their beliefs are silly or won’t make a difference? And, if something in some ritual moves them to a place they need to be, I say go for it!
Ines
December 11, 2008 at 8:53 pm
Julie – love it! 🙂 The Media has to even knock people’s beliefs as “desperation” – but what else is new?
Thomas Johnson
December 11, 2008 at 9:07 pm
Ines: I will preside over all of the above only if we have your mojitos while we watch the sellers.
BTW, Does a Mr. Clean Eraser remove the smudges?
Ines
December 11, 2008 at 9:15 pm
Thomas – LOL – according to the commercial, The Mr. Clean Eraser removes more than just smudges!! …and yes….any excuse to bring out those mojitos
Vicki Moore
December 14, 2008 at 3:27 pm
I completely agree. I just told a seller that: If I have to buy cookie dough and cook it in your oven to get the house to sell, I will. LOL.
Ines
December 14, 2008 at 10:11 pm
Vicki – yeah! what’s the difference between a little energy interference and freshly cooked cookies?
Mark Brian
December 15, 2008 at 7:17 pm
If it works or if it is just a coincidence-does it matter if it sells?
We had the good fortune to meet a gentleman who suggested we move a mirror at our front door and replace with flowing water. We changed it not because we believed him, but because we respected his beliefs. The fact that business took off afterwards…hmmm.
Ines Hegedus-Garcia
December 15, 2008 at 9:18 pm
Mark, there’s a saying in Spanish that I love and know I’m going to butcher it: “I don’t believe in witches, but they can definitely fly!” 😉