Nashua, NH · Member since 2014 · 71 posts · 25 votes
Hello,
So I get a call this am this guy claiming to be working for the city. He is completely lying pissed I put a few signs up. Telling me the whole deal it is illegal blah blah blah. I am nice but feel like telling him where to go. Anyone have suggestions on avoiding this type of call or is it all just part of the fun.
Nashua, NH · Member since 2014 · 71 posts · 25 votes
11y
@Rick Harmon. I am already successful doing real estate. I have done good enough to leave my full time job from my real estate rentals and build a big enough cushion to give myself time to pursue real estate full time. I hear all of what you are saying I GET IT. When I developed this business plan my first round of marketing entailed bandit signs. Right or wrong for three months it is in the marketing. When that time passes I will look at leads generated, my time, aggravation, dollars spent, and deals closed. I will look at the numbers. People s opinion will not sway me either way. I will listen to them and make my own decisions. Thank you all for your opinions
Engineer · Providence, RI · Member since 2012 · 56 posts · 17 votes
11y
Hi Joseph,
I applaud your efforts. Bandit signs are like an instant trigger around here and it gives me a sensible chuckle whenever I think about it. There are signs all over used by politicians and other businesses. I am supposed to feel bad because I am breaking the law. Well I am not. I also don't feel bad when i go over the speed limit, or rip the tags off my mattresses or any other mundane illegality. I will get my morality from own personal values. I come to BP for real estate discussions and they are excellent.
To your question I would use Google voice and choose a local number. Try to choose a number that is easy to remember, (111-1111, or with word in it). Use the negative calls as practice. Try to sway them over. I doubt you will succeed but make use of every result of your marketing. I am sure you are already aware but if you aren't causing people to call you pissed off you aren't marketing enough.
Real Estate Investor · Saint Petersburg, FL · Member since 2013 · 1k+ posts · 951 votes
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Just get a homeless guy to hold your sign and dance in traffic rather than using fixed signs. You probably won't get as many annoyed calls since your signs won't be permanently trashing up the city on all the light poles.
Another question is are you getting enough of a marketing return from the signs to justify the blow back and potential fines? If so then keep doing it and deal with the annoyed phone calls. Your signs will annoy people, that's just a fact. If you're generating enough leads at a low enough cost to justify that then I guess keep doing it. Other than letting everything go through your voice mail (and potentially losing some good leads in the process) you can't weed those all out.
Nashua, NH · Member since 2014 · 71 posts · 25 votes
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Rick I get up on a ladder and post them as high as I can. Dev that is going to be my next one. Thanks for the humor. Rick thanks. Patrick point taken. I thought of my next campaign to have a few people holding signs as it worked on me for a local business.
Investor · Atlanta, GA · Member since 2013 · 3k+ posts · 3k+ votes
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Speeding is not the same - if you know what you're doing, you're not hurting anyone and there are no victims. With bandit signs you're trashing a neighborhood.
And seeing that you've asked the same question here 2 months ago with your first post on BP and you're only on post 14, you obviously only come here to try to find support for your situational ethics.
So, you think that you're improving as a person, because you come from gun manufacturing to this? Huh!
Investor · Central Valley, CA · Member since 2012 · 6k+ posts · 3k+ votes
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In the spirit of solutions......are you answering all your calls live? If so, stop doing that. I no longer answer any RE calls live. If you let the calls go to message, you'll eliminate most of the messages from bandit sign haters, and you can delete the ones that do leave a message. I've learned over the years (took about 10 years) that not answering allows me to vet the seller. I need to know if the seller can leave a message. That's the least of what they will have to do if we are going to do business together. Someone who can't leave a message typically isn't motivated enough. Or, they are motivated but are so confused/scatterbrained/crazypants that they can't get clear enough to leave a message. These are people that are not going to be able to do what's required to sell their property: viewings and access, escrow, paperwork, deed signing. I'm full service and go to extraordinary measures to help sellers get to closing. But if they can't leave a message, I already know we are on shaky ground.
BTW your bandit sign justification is just weird. Let it go. You don't need it. Putting yourself out there publicly as someone who is expedient and willing to break the law isn't a great start to being the go-to local guy.
Wholesaler / Flipper / Developer · Tacoma, WA · Member since 2014 · 10 posts · 1 vote
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Wow… I love the bandit sign topic.
The problem is that they've been used the same way for so long, I BUY HOUSES, CASH… etc, etc, etc. It's a little played out and it irritates people. I use them with great success however not to find sellers. I use them to find buyers for my deals that are already tied up. It's an excellent way to find cash buyers that can close quickly. Especially if they're hand written and say Must Sell or Desperate to Sell… ph number. That being said it's always best to get permission from a shop owner who will let you put in on their property for a week or two (convenience store owner etc).
As far as a solution to your main question go to Vumber.com and get a few virtual phone numbers (you can pick multiple local numbers) which is worth the few bucks a month. Set up your recorded message and receive them in an email format as they come in. Chose to respond to whomever you like on your timeframe. Good luck
Real Estate Investor · Murrieta, CA · Member since 2015 · 14 posts · 3 votes
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It's funny how angry everyone is about this topic. As to your original question I think it's been answered. I pull those signs down (in the neighborhood I live in anyway) because they are ugly and so trashy and majorly disrespectful to the community. I don't see how that level of disrespect and disregard to a community as a whole works in anyone's favor... Even if you're getting good leads it's just not right. The real estate business we are in already has a level of shadiness to it. If you have to break laws and say %#&@ you to those in the neighborhoods who are playing by the rules (albeit sometimes really dumb rules), then maybe your business model is not sustainable. We need to raise the bar for this line of work... Not lower it.
Specialist · Jacksonville Beach, FL · Member since 2008 · 39 posts · 41 votes
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Hmmm I see that this is a controversial topic. Which is why they work so well.
I will answer the question about how to avoid the pissed off people. that's to set up a Google Voice number that is specific to ONLY your bandit signs. This line doesn't get answered. Instead, you have someone record a voice over greeting (so that it's not your voice) that gives the caller specific instructions on what to do next.
1. Leave their name, phone number, property address they want to sell and a good time when you can call them back.
This simple technique screens out a little bit of everyone that doesn't need to be calling int he first place. (Code Enforcement and Non Motivated Sellers).
Double check to make sure that the address is legit and only call back those that followed instructions.
I have an entire Bandit Sign Scandal story on my website that you guys might want to check out. I've been through the ringer with bandit signs and the city - but you know what? We cant make everyone happy, no matter what we do, so might as well do what makes us happy.
Omaha, NE · Member since 2014 · 201 posts · 85 votes
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Please stop littering our cities with these trashy slimy signs!!!!
I also invest in real estate and dont need to make my city look trashy to do so. have some respect for the city you live in! you can get the same effect legally and in a non trashy way as well. makes the rest of us look bad.... so you can understand where all the negativity is coming from
Lake Mary, FL · Member since 2014 · 118 posts · 54 votes
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Google voice. I have had county officials call and yell at me and I have had them actually call to buy the house. You will learn the areas that you can't put them out in do to all the complaints. The way I look at it people would rather stare at a house falling over and an eyesore in there neighborhood instead of some yellow signs every now and then. The purpose of those signs is to fix that house so it is not an eyesore in your neighborhood and make a little money while doing it.
Investor · New Orleans, LA · Member since 2014 · 1k+ posts · 944 votes
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The bandit signs are often in my area, but they don't stay long. I don't know who takes them down.
Oddly enough, another bandit sign I see all the time is for "$250 Queen Top Mattresses". It is either a "Cash for Houses" type of sign or the mattress sign.
Another popular marketing tactic in my area...though more for elections/politicians...is paying residents and/or businesses to post their big signs on fences/buildings that face a busy street. I really hate these signs because they are usually enormous, unlike bandit signs, and are so tacky looking. But not much anyone can do about it because they are being allowed by the owners of those private properties.
Specialist · Jacksonville Beach, FL · Member since 2008 · 39 posts · 41 votes
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Originally posted by @Account Closed:
Please stop littering our cities with these trashy slimy signs!!!!
I also invest in real estate and dont need to make my city look trashy to do so. have some respect for the city you live in! you can get the same effect legally and in a non trashy way as well. makes the rest of us look bad.... so you can understand where all the negativity is coming from
Trashy and Slimy? HAHA you're one of those guys, eh?
To the people tagged I did some thought on why this triggered me to justify doing something that is illegal. I do not do this any other area of my life so why here in this area? I have put everything on the line to develop a full time real estate business after many years of buy and hold apartment buildings part time. So After a very long yoga class this morning I was able to drop my ego out of this and listen to both sides of the story. I did get defensive and to the above names I apologize. I am not here to make waves and was asking for help not realizing the backlash this topic creates. I did stop and think then said to self what if I did not do bandit signs and got creative in that area of my marketing. So for now I will hold on bandit signs. Instead I will ask for some creative ways to get the word out that are cost effective. Also any help with probates as I have really had most of my focus here so any thoughts, ideas and suggestions would be appreciated. So again I apologize and hope this thread goes positive.
Flipper/Rehabber · Arlington, TX · Member since 2013 · 1k+ posts · 2k+ votes
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No apologies due to me, Joseph! I personally don't use them because of the stringent local ordinances in my area. But probably 80-90% of the guys I know that are successful now got started using bandit signs and the guys that can use them today (in more rural or non-incorporared areas, etc.) are some of the biggest call generators in our system. So, let people have their philospohical debates. They are a ugly, I don't like seeing them in MY neighborhood, etc. so I totally understand their position and find myself pretty much agreeing with it. But don't beat yourself down too much. That topic is MINEFIELD in here, you walked into it and no one warned you. All new guys think about bandit signs because they are easy, they're cheap, and they work. Most people have no idea there are even laws against them. I bet you had no idea, right?
So, your response above was great, I hope the BP community appreciates that. (I think they will!)
Just don't lose that spark, that excitement about doing this business after you get knocked around a bit! There are plenty of ways to market - I don't have time to expand on the 24 strategies that we have, but I'd be happy to send you a few links if you send me a message or colleague request here in BP.
It's a massive (but informative) read by Wendell De Guzman about his business. I seem to recall him having a very high tech way of dealing with this particular problem. I wish I could point you to the exact spot in the thread where he refers to it but if you skim back through his post(s) you'll find it.
Google Voice with a local number is another easy option....
Real Estate Investor · Prince Geroge's County, MD · Member since 2012 · 392 posts · 104 votes
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Use Google voice with a local number to answer the call. Answer the call with your call center "rep" (for me someone I pay locally to screen calls). If it's a pissed off person or local agency then they play the I work 2000 miles away and just work at a call center excuse. "I'm sorry you feel, this way and I wish there was more I could do to help you" response. Train them not to use business names and stay vague.
I don't use bandit signs but I wonder how many of these same pissed off people call and complain about the church illegally putting up signs for their sales, the local fore department doing it for their fundraiser, schools for their events, the family who litters the neighborhood for their yard sale or other small local businesses who put it up for roofs/granite/computers/hair/etc/etc/etc. Not that I agree and do think they clutter up the neighborhood but I always wonder if the same angry people call the church, school, and other businesses to complain about them. Is there a different mindset when they are used for nonprofits as opposed to for profits that have the look of exploiting people.
Real Estate Investor · Prince Geroge's County, MD · Member since 2012 · 392 posts · 104 votes
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Dave in our area politicians are allowed to get signs permits which allows them to post their signs during election periods. I'm not sure if it is the same in all areas.
Investor · Central Valley, CA · Member since 2012 · 6k+ posts · 3k+ votes
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Originally posted by @Account Closed:
Google voice. I have had county officials call and yell at me and I have had them actually call to buy the house. You will learn the areas that you can't put them out in do to all the complaints. The way I look at it people would rather stare at a house falling over and an eyesore in there neighborhood instead of some yellow signs every now and then. The purpose of those signs is to fix that house so it is not an eyesore in your neighborhood and make a little money while doing it.
Really? Isn't the only purpose of that sign is to make someone some money? Wholesalers don't typically do the rehab resale nor buy for long term holds.....so don't fix anything. They may sell to a rehabber or landlord with funds and a pln for renovation. But plenty of properties just become occupied rentals with little rehab. Better than a vacant eyesore, but still an eyesore. I know, because I've sold dozens of houses to investors that look exactly the same 10 years later, and the neighborhoods are still just as bad.
If you really wanted to make sure the house got fixed you'd refuse offers from those who couldn't prove their ability to rehab to a certain standard. You'd only accept listings where the seller agreed to sell to rehabbers. You'd only lend to rehabbers with a proven track record.
Most people in this business are not focused on making a neighborhood better. They're happy if it works out that way, but don't actually have a mission statement or business plan that puts neighborhood and community first. Do you?
Nashua, NH · Member since 2014 · 71 posts · 25 votes
11y
@k.
@Account Closed Part of my business plan does involve rehabbing the property if the situation is right. I have bought the eyesores in town and made the neighborhood better. With long term buy and hold. The banks thanked me and local residents as well. But in general right now my focus is assigning contract. Just to show that I am not just showing up here and running my mouth here is what I have done. Although not a huge impact I did something which is better than nothing in my book. I am not saying that I disagree with you but wanted to at least show I did care about the community I was living in until I moved to my new location. I love my area that I have grown up and lived most of my life. Hence my listening to both sides of the conversation.