When and Where to put your BANDIT SIGNS ?

Wholesaling
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When and Where to put your BANDIT SIGNS ?

Kenneth Lee
Houston, TX · Member since 2010 · 67 posts · 24 votes

Do you guys use any kind of stratigy when putting out your bandit signs ? I know about putting them in the areas where your buyers buy. I was reading another thread and there are wholesalers putting out bandit signs in areas that appeal to THEM,not nesscesarly they buyers ((guess a good deal is a good deal no matter where it is)). What makes an area good for bandit signs? What makes an area bad for bandit signs? (marketing for motivated sellers).

Thanks again BP
Kenneth Lee

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Johnny P.
Real Estate Broker · Orlando, FL · Member since 2008 · 181 posts · 66 votes
15y

I'm going to have to disagree with putting them up on thursday. I prefer to put them up friday any time after 4pm, since this is when the city workers are off. You wouldn't want to put them up Thursday and have them all taken down on friday... but this still does not guarantee they will make it through the weekend.

I choose to put them up every Saturday @ 3 am so there is no traffic and I can put a bunch out. Main roads and busy shopping centers work for me.

Since you are marketing for motivated sellers and you plan to wholesale the properties you don't want to put the signs up in the upscale areas... won't be wholesaling too many expensive houses. I target areas where the homes are in the 50-90k range and BLANKET the entire area. I'm talking 100 sings and put up 4-8 signs at every intersection. Normally takes me 3-4 hours to really crush it, but its well worth it.

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  • Jane Entroliso
    Wholesaler · Tucson, AZ · Member since 2010 · 139 posts · 18 votes
    15y

    i used to put 70 signs every week. like thursday night so that people will see it specially during weekend. If your city is aloowing you to put signs. i heard people had to pay the city for having too many signs. thursday i think is the best to put them out so people taht are looking for houses will see it during the weekend

    0Reply
  • Kenneth Lee
    OP
    Houston, TX · Member since 2010 · 67 posts · 24 votes
    15y

    Thanks Jane, hey exactly WHERE would you put them? In the neighborhood you were marketing? At the local wal-mart entrances? ALL OF THE ABOVE? lol.

    Is there a place where I can put my bandit signs, and they have a longer life/stay up longer??? Whats been successful for you?

    Thanks guys

    0Reply
  • Johnny P.
    Real Estate Broker · Orlando, FL · Member since 2008 · 181 posts · 66 votes
    15y

    I'm going to have to disagree with putting them up on thursday. I prefer to put them up friday any time after 4pm, since this is when the city workers are off. You wouldn't want to put them up Thursday and have them all taken down on friday... but this still does not guarantee they will make it through the weekend.

    I choose to put them up every Saturday @ 3 am so there is no traffic and I can put a bunch out. Main roads and busy shopping centers work for me.

    Since you are marketing for motivated sellers and you plan to wholesale the properties you don't want to put the signs up in the upscale areas... won't be wholesaling too many expensive houses. I target areas where the homes are in the 50-90k range and BLANKET the entire area. I'm talking 100 sings and put up 4-8 signs at every intersection. Normally takes me 3-4 hours to really crush it, but its well worth it.

    8Reply
  • Kenneth Lee
    OP
    Houston, TX · Member since 2010 · 67 posts · 24 votes
    15y

    Heak yeah!! Thats what I'm talking about Johnny....great info, thanks for the input.

    Thats hard to top, any other ideas? strategies?

    0Reply
  • Terry Royce
    Real Estate Investor · Baltimore, MD · Member since 2008 · 619 posts · 75 votes
    15y

    Johnny, how many calls per sign are you getting?

    I've done bandit sign campaigns and usually get minimal response.

    0Reply
  • Dani Robison
    Real Estate Investor · Round Rock, TX · Member since 2010 · 14 posts · 8 votes
    15y

    Hey Kenneth,

    My team and do a lot of bandit signs too, but not nearly as many as Jane or Johnny - we do about 40 in a weekend. We also put them out around midnight on Friday's.

    We target major intersections (every corner) and shopping areas. In the shopping areas, you can usually find bushes to stick the sign in so that people exiting the shopping center see it when they leave but it's not so noticeable that they get taken down too fast. We've had a few signs in certain neighborhoods where we did the same thing and they would last for over a month.

    A few investors in our area take pride in searching out the best bandit sign spots where they are hidden well enough to be seen but not taken down.

    Good luck!!

    2Reply
  • Johnny P.
    Real Estate Broker · Orlando, FL · Member since 2008 · 181 posts · 66 votes
    15y

    Terry,

    Normally when selling a house I get anywhere from 10-60 calls depending on the price. I've found that cheaper = more calls.

    When putting up "we buy houses" bandit signs i get anywhere from 5-15 calls.

    0Reply
  • Kenneth Lee
    OP
    Houston, TX · Member since 2010 · 67 posts · 24 votes
    15y

    "A few investors in our area take pride in searching out the best bandit sign spots where they are hidden well enough to be seen but not taken down."-----Dani Robison

    Awesome!!secret bandit sign spot......thats one to remember, Thanks Dani
    :cool: :idea: thanks

    Johnny- 5-15 calls per signs X 100 signs = $$$$$$$$$$ :mrgreen: Would you do that every weekend? Any probs with city?

    How about you Dani.....how many calls per sign would you say apprx?

    0Reply
  • Dani Robison
    Real Estate Investor · Round Rock, TX · Member since 2010 · 14 posts · 8 votes
    15y

    Buyer signs are too many to count but on average we get 50-100 calls, sometimes more, over the course of the weekend and then it dies down from there. (That's from only about 20 - 25 signs).

    For sellers, it's much much less. We get about 1% return on calls - put up 30 signs, we expect to get about 3 calls, etc..

    0Reply
  • Kenneth Lee
    OP
    Houston, TX · Member since 2010 · 67 posts · 24 votes
    15y

    Thanks again Dain.

    0Reply
  • Kenneth Lee
    OP
    Houston, TX · Member since 2010 · 67 posts · 24 votes
    15y

    Dani....sorry.

    0Reply
  • Terry Royce
    Real Estate Investor · Baltimore, MD · Member since 2008 · 619 posts · 75 votes
    15y

    That's crazy.
    It's the other way around for me. I could put up 5 we buy houses signs and be lucky to get 1 call all weekend.

    If I put up 5 signs that say " Cheap Shell or House 10k"
    My phone rings off the hook.

    1Reply
  • Joe Correy
    Member since 2010 · 7 posts · 0 votes
    15y

    Wow Dani! How much info do you put on those buyer signs?

    0Reply
  • Dani Robison
    Real Estate Investor · Round Rock, TX · Member since 2010 · 14 posts · 8 votes
    15y

    Hey Terry, I'm with you - my buyer signs where I am advertising a house get TONS of calls, I can't even keep up. But my seller signs (We Buy Houses) get about a 1% return - so 10 signs, maybe 1 call.

    Joe, My buyer signs vary, I tested different variations but what has worked best is:

    ___ bedroom ____ bath (fill in the blanks)
    Owner Will Finance
    No Banks Needed
    512-xxx-xxxx (phone number)

    Also, hand written signs (black marker on yellow sign) have consistently gotten a better response than pre-printed signs.

    1Reply
  • Joe Correy
    Member since 2010 · 7 posts · 0 votes
    15y

    Thanks Dani !

    0Reply
  • Shunda Walker
    Wholesaler · Duncanville, TX · Member since 2008 · 23 posts · 1 vote
    15y

    I have a question about bandit signs...is there an ordinance saying you can only have them in certain areas or times? I think they prohibit them here in Dallas.

    0Reply
  • Joseph Ziolkowski
    Inspector · Alsip, IL · Member since 2008 · 361 posts · 75 votes
    15y

    Hi Kenneth,

    It's true about getting more calls with the buyer signs than the seller signs. I've had that same experience everytime and the other peoples' numbers were about right on for me too. For seller signs, because I want them to last, I always put them on telephone poles. I started with stakes, but they always disappeared within a few days. I will go out on a Friday night around 11 or 12, and here's what I take with me:

    1. A step ladder
    2. A hammer
    3. Those nails (about 1 1/4'' long with the plastic washers on them
    4. My signs.

    I put them up about 8 or 9 feet high. Low enough to be read, but high enough were lazy code enforcement workers can't take them down or razor blade them easily. I use yellow, corrugated plastic 18''x24'' signs with horizontal flutes (so they stand up to wind without bending). I always hand-write them, not because it works better in my area, but because I'm too cheap to have them pre-made :) What I write on them is this:

    I BUY UGLY HOUSES
    CASH OR TERMS
    OFFER IN 2 DAYS!
    708-XXX-XXXX

    Very simple and to the point.

    Buyers signs I will put out on stakes over the weekend and pick them up sunday night or monday mornings. I get a little more creative with those sometimes, just because if I'm building my buyers list I really want the phone to ring.

    Hope it helps!

    1Reply
  • Joseph Ziolkowski
    Inspector · Alsip, IL · Member since 2008 · 361 posts · 75 votes
    15y

    And in case you were wondering, two great places to get those signs at a good price are banditsigns.com and dirtcheapsigns.com. Also, check local plastic companies in your area. You might be able to get a deal there, and you won't have to pay shipping, which can be painful with large orders (signs are heavy in bulk.) I'm sure there are other great places to get them as well, but those are two of the best that I have found.

    0Reply
  • Jon C.
    Real Estate Investor · Phoenix, AZ · Member since 2008 · 74 posts · 14 votes
    15y

    So for finding sellers, is the general consensus to leave the signs up or take them down after the weekend?

    1Reply
  • Jimmy C.
    Flipper/Rehabber · Seminole, FL · Member since 2010 · 859 posts · 316 votes
    15y

    Never thought about doing that Jon C.

    I usually would put them out on Friday night, and get a couple calls on Monday about how I should never put my signs there, etc...

    I guess if I had picked them up on Sunday night, I would have had them for the next Friday. Great idea btw!

    0Reply
  • Joel OwensBusiness Member
    Moderator
    Real Estate Broker · Canton, GA · Member since 2010 · 15k+ posts · 11k+ votes
    15y

    As the internet has grown many just do online marketing now for deal making. I know I don't mess with signs anymore.

    One guy here used to do the telephone pole thing also and would attach pinwheels to each side of the sign to draw attention to it.

    To answer the other posters question about legality.No the bandit signs aren't legal because the city and counties want their money plus they say it junks up an area.

    Not putting in the city limits helps because county code enforcement is usually stretched much thinner than the city.

    I use to put at major highways on end of the exit ramps.

    I would buy the stand and the yellow signs for a total of about 1.43 together.I would drive and pick up the signs as they get you on shipping and then hand write out with black marker.

    You need a king permanent black marker so the message doesn't streak if it rains outside.

    Here is a guy that does a lot of them and tests and tracks the results.

    http://www.uglyyellowsignmastery.com/blog/

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    1Reply
  • Kenneth Lee
    OP
    Houston, TX · Member since 2010 · 67 posts · 24 votes
    15y

    I put them up about 8 or 9 feet high. Low enough to be read, but high enough were lazy code enforcement workers can't take them down or razor blade them easily. I use yellow, corrugated plastic 18''x24'' signs with horizontal flutes (so they stand up to wind without bending). I always hand-write them, not because it works better in my area, but because I'm too cheap to have them pre-made :) What I write on them is this:
    I BUY UGLY HOUSES
    CASH OR TERMS
    OFFER IN 2 DAYS!
    708-XXX-XXXX
    Very simple and to the point.

    0Reply
  • Joseph Ziolkowski
    Inspector · Alsip, IL · Member since 2008 · 361 posts · 75 votes
    15y

    If I don't have anything under contract, but just want to build my buyers list, I will actually put them in areas where I would prefer to work. That way I find buyers in those areas instead of traveling further to tailor my marketing to buyers that I already have. If I do have one under contract, I will simply put signs up in the area where the property is. Maybe a square mile or two at the busy intersections.

    0Reply
  • Steve Babiak
    Real Estate Investor · Audubon, PA · Member since 2009 · 13k+ posts · 8k+ votes
    15y

    Joseph,

    Have you ever seen this:
    http://www.signstapler.com/

    0Reply
  • Kenneth Lee
    OP
    Houston, TX · Member since 2010 · 67 posts · 24 votes
    15y
    Originally posted by Steve Babiak:
    Joseph,

    Have you ever seen this:
    http://www.signstapler.com/

    I've seen it.............but its STAPLES, one strong wind and off the pole it goes.

    I haven't tried this, but it makes a lot more sense than staples, same speed.......but with roofing nails. The guy is a genius in my book. lol......no really, he is.
    http://www.signsledge.com
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X59ZVg6wBg4

    2Reply
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