OK, let me just say I am not trying to start a debate about bandit signs, and many of you may say the biggest thing WRONG with them is that in most areas they violate local laws/ordinances Point well taken.

But this is WHY those local ordinances exist >>> "investors" fresh out of the latest guru academy put these signs out with NO INTENTION of EVER picking them back up. In short order, these signs become GARBAGE along our roadways and - in the case of this pic below - the road maintenance crew actually WENT AROUND this sign with their mower, rather than pulling it up (not their j.o.b.).

There are many methods for marketing your REI business. If you ever use signs, follow your local laws/rules - and NEVER EVER just stick them out and leave them until they rot and fall off the stick. That's NOT the way to show people that you care about your (and their) local community.

OK, I'll step off my soap box now.

Right on, Dev!

I have been running past a fallen bandit sign for almost a week, its laying face down smack in the middle of the trail. Everyday I think about picking it up but I would have to run home more than a mile with that damn thing. Mostly I just wish that the person that put it there would come and pick it up.

Stick em up Fri pm, up Sun eve, you're good to go!

We have civilian sign police, they get a reward for each sign picked up. Cops can pick them up and toss them in the trash or in the trunk and drop them off. Sneaky, someone calls, backed up with real property ownership, they can get nailed.

Saying pick them up Sun evening may not work, these civilian types can pick them up, or anyone can pick them up, on sight, anytime.

They city really cracked down for awhile, put these folks on the streets (a tree hugger group I think) ran TV news reports about the issue, pointed out, why would you do business with people who break the law, are they licensed, bonded, insured, made them out as real fly by nighter's trashing up the city. Realtors trash them too.

I have trashed them myself, it's a reflection on everyone in the business. If they are posted on private property with consent, that's different, but not in the city right-of-way or along blvds where you could get some rubber necker trying to drive in front of me trying to get a number. It's not just RE, there are signs for diets, yoga classes, Tupperware type parties, all kinds of junk.

My opinion is that if someone is willing to break laws intentionally then where do they draw they line in the business dealings, will they do anything else illegal or off color or unethical? Usually they will, as if laws and ordinances don't apply to them. Now, if your area permits such signs then by all means use them, but police them so they don't end up giving a negative view toward your efforts. :)

Originally posted by @Brian Gibbons :
Stick em up Fri pm, up Sun eve, you're good to go!

Amen, brother! That's what we preach (after, "follow your local laws / regulations").

I have a rental property that's on the corner of two moderately busy streets and every weekend at least 2 of these signs (x/x for sale only $xxk!, we buy houses! we buy junk cars!) show up in the yard. It's a house I drive by all the time and I always make a point to pull over and pull them and yet they always grow back a week later but often with different numbers. It really makes the area look like crap when people put these signs out every 2 blocks.

So, its OK to break the law as long as you only do it over the weekend? BS. They're illegal garbage from the moment some sticks them out.

Originally posted by @Dev Horn :

Originally posted by @Brian Gibbons :
Stick em up Fri pm, up Sun eve, you're good to go!

Amen, brother! That's what we preach (after, "follow your local laws / regulations").

OK, so Dev & Brian you seem to be saying these are legal if you put them up on Friday and pull them down on Sunday. Convince me. Show me some municipal code that allows these signs on weekends. I've looked at a number of municipal codes regarding this topic. Most explicitly forbid such temporary signs. Then they add exceptions for certain kinds of signs, such as policitical and real estate signs. However, the exceptions for real estate signs are NOT broad enough to cover bandit signs. They allow "for sale" and "for rent" signs to be placed on the property. And they sometimes allow for "open house" signs to be placed on corners near the property during or shortly before the open house. I've yet to see any that allow for "we buy houses" signs anywhere at any time. Prove me wrong.

a) Is this your battle to fight? You seem very aggressive toward me given that my OP clearly demonstrates how these things can trash up communities.

b) I have always stated, in regard to bandit signs, that people should follow all local laws / ordinances. Prove me wrong on that point.

c) In cases where they CAN be used legally, we advise that you only put them out on weekends and then remove them. In some cases, investors get approval from local property owners to put them out just for the weekend. There is no law broken in scenarios such as that.

THAT is what we advise in regard to this topic. I have been consistent in that.

I posted this to help discourage people from putting these things out until they rot - how that IS in fact garbage - and I feel I am being attacked here. That's kind of bizarre, given that I feel that I contribute a lot to this community.

All right @Jon Holdman , let me rephrase...

Its a gamble to get signs up, for credit repair, for We Buy Houses, for Rent to Own houses, etc.

On public property, private property, etc.

Some people hide behind a google voice #.

These are facts of life.

Do I recc this practice? Check with your local ordinance, I say. And make your choice.

@Dev Horn my opinion is that these signs should NEVER be put out. I don't doubt there are places where they are legal. I've just never found one. I've actually read sign ordinances in several local cities, Austin, Las Vegas and some other city someone asked about recently and NONE of them allowed these signs under any circumstances. I'll agree you've always said to put them up in accordance with local laws. I just don't think these are ever allowed, so its not possible to put them up anytime, anywhere AND comply with local laws.

They're tacky and look like s**t and if I see them anywhere near my 'hood they're going in the trash.

I've seen some that someone has sliced up with a box cutter, but then thats just more litter, although I get a chuckle out of it.

I've seen some that were written in a childish scrawl on the back of a pizza box as well......awful.

Now that I got that out, back to work!

You think there might have been a RECENT CLASS where the guru teacher told them EXACTLY what to say in these signs??? Check out this one - it lasted about 3 days before blowing off the stick. Looks like it was written with a Bic pen. Guru-Garbage:

This is the extent of the guru teaching on how to find motivated sellers. Even the biggest of the gurus - DG, et al - they all teach this because they are teaching people who have NO $$ for actual marketing/advertising.

@Dev Horn Haha thats funny. It should say "I wish I bought houses"

Although maybe they spent so much money on houses they couldn't afford yellow letters?