Can't sell your home? St. Joseph to the rescue!

Can't sell your home? St. Joseph to the rescue!

These are desperate times for home sellers. It's little wonder, then, that so many of them are turning to help from above.

Way above. As in past the Pearly Gates.

If you've ever tried to sell a house, you might be familiar with the legend of St. Joseph. (If you're not Catholic? Well, just read along anyway. It's still a cute legend. ) According to a long-standing myth, homeowners who bury a statue of St. Joseph upside down on their property will greatly increase their odds of actually selling their homes.

This odd little myth has even become a bit of a big business. MSN Money recently reported on a Charlotte, N. C. -Based company that sells its own St. Joseph Home Sale kit.

This kit comes complete with a 3-and-a-half-inch statue, instructions on how to best take advantage of St. Joseph's amazing home-selling power and a prayer. (St. Joseph, by the way, does not come with his own cell phone or datebook, so your real estate agent will still have to schedule showings and appointments, whether you have a saint buried in your front yard or not. )

There are plenty of buyers ready to praise the work of this tiny St. Joseph. One buyer on the company's Web site states that she had tried to sell her house for nearly a year. Two months after burying her St. Joseph, the home sold. The kicker? Every house near her is still on the market.

Another fan said that she sold her house the day after she received her St. Joseph statue. She now has her tiny saint in a place of honor in her new home, atop the kitchen refrigerator for all her guests to see.

Of course, not everyone is ready to hire St. Joseph as their full-time real estate agent. One unhappy customer on the company Web site said that the saint has yet to deliver him an offer. His quote: "The economy overpowered St. Joseph in my case. "

Yep, this is one powerful economy. It can even KO a saint.

Tags: Statue, Company, Selling, Legend, Estate, Little, Economy, Praise, Company's, States