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5 Reasons You Need to “Just Say NO” to Bandit Signs!

Chris Feltus
3 min read
5 Reasons You Need to “Just Say NO” to Bandit Signs!

You’ve seen them on the corner of a busy intersection, in neighborhoods, stapled to telephone poles  and spammed throughout entire areas, covering everything with corrugated plastic… you know what I’m talking about, bandit signs.

I firmly believe that you have to run your business in an ethical and legal manner. These signs are part of the reason that real estate investors have a bad reputation.

Just Say NO to Bandit Signs!

Not only are they illegal in most areas, but of the several colleagues I know that use them regularly, tend to generate mixed results using them at best. Besides there are countless other legal avenues to pursue to find motivated sellers or joint venture partners for your wholesale deals.

Related: Bandit Signs: The Ugly Way to Advertise Your Real Estate Business

1. Legitimacy

When you think about it logically, not only are they a visual sore but how much rapport can you really build with a seller using bandit signs?

Think about it, they are calling you from sign they found on the side of the road that’s likely written in large tacky black marker. Now imagine if I show up at the same house as you, and the seller found me through direct mail or online marketing, I guarantee you that I will beat you out on the house. Why?

I have been building rapport with the seller for months either through direct mail or online PPC, and have done so in a professional manner. They are familiar with who I am, what I do, my brand and how I can help them.

Just think this is real estate, one of the most expensive assets a person owns, and the individuals that need to sell at a discount usually have problems in their life that are motivating them to do so.  Who do you think they are more likely to trust and sign a contract with at the end of the day?

2. The Effectiveness or Lack thereof, using Bandit Signs

I am not going to stand here and preach that bandit signs won’t work and generate leads, the truth is they will. HOWEVER,  the leads generated through this method tend to be tire kickers.

Think about it, you are a posting signs at busy intersections. You have no filtration method to “prequalify” your leads. As a result, as many of my colleagues will attest,  you will generate a lot of leads for lack of a better word, are garbage.

The last time I was out driving I saw a bandit sign advertising health insurance, does that sound legitimate to you? It shouldn’t, and using bandit signs with real estate won’t either.

Wouldn’t your rather have leads that are motivated, with equity and targeted by your farm areas? You can by driving for dollars or using direct mail marketing to achieve this.

3. For You Wholesalers…

Good relationships with buyers are forged here on Bigger Pockets, REIA meetings and by getting good deals.

I thought about posting one of my latest deals on a major REI deal syndication website, just because I was curious.  Before I hit the submit button it gave me the option “blasting it to their buyers list for only $250”.

I laughed. This is just as silly as trying to build your  cash buyers list by carpeting streets with signs. Save yourself some money and start building some lifelong relationships here on BP instead.

Truth be told, you only need a handful of buyers, not a list of 1,000. The proof is in the pudding as they say, as I have closed several joint ventures with members here on BP in the last month alone.

4. Besides its Not Legal

Related: BP Podcast 008: Learning to Be a Profitable but Ethical Landlord with Al Williamson

Bandit signs are illegal in many areas o f the US. Justifying the use of an illegal tactic to market your business is still justifying illegal activity, and really should not be tolerated.

I don’t care what gurus use them or anyone who uses them or who used them to get started they are still illegal and I stand by my opinion. Not only that, they  damage both your reputation.

In the Dallas-Fort Worth area, code enforcement is incredibly vigilant. In fact, they will set up traps for people that use bandit signs. They will set up fake house appointments, and when you show up, you are fined. People often use throw away numbers so code can’t catch them, but they are still finding other ways to deal with this issue as you can see.

5. I Have Seen the Light

If you have seen the light from this post and you need help getting some ideas on what to do next to build a solid, legal and EFFECTIVE foundation for your business let me help you get started.

Please refer to my ultimate guide on driving for dollars part 1 and part 2 and my in-depth guide to setting up a direct mail marketing campaign  and start putting your marketing dollars to work to build a successful business. Wishing you all the best, now let’s all go out and make a bandit sign bonfire.

Note By BiggerPockets: These are opinions written by the author and do not necessarily represent the opinions of BiggerPockets.