Are bandit signs still a good tool for finding motivated sellers?

Question

I have quite a few blank bandit signs I am going to put to use this weekend. Are bandit signs a good way to find motivated sellers nowadays? I haven't come across any threads that talk about this lately as much as I did back 2 years ago. I am getting started with my marketing once again and I am highly motivated. Looking for sellers with majority equity or free and clear homes that need repairs. What price range/areas should I plant these signs and what is some useful wording I could use.Thanks

Joshua Dorkin · Answer

As James already said, they are illegal in most areas and are a fast way to  start your business off on the wrong foot, IMO.  If you're willing to blur the line a little by illegally putting up signs that aren't allowed, what else will you do in your business?

Brian P. · Answer

Illegal in your town, you can often make them legal. E.G. ask the owner on a corner if you could use a part of his property to hang a sign and if you get a deal you will reward him with whatever.

Put them on cars, same thing borrow a car, I had an employee of a business that would use her parking spot on a prime corner and she and her husband would go out to dinner on me when I got a good call.

just because you can't put them on a street sign, or pole doesn't mean they can't be used effectively some where. Think of them as mini-bill boards. For years I put them on abandoned properties I couldn't find the owner except in one town where if you didn't have written permission there was a stiff fine and Barney Fife was in charge of enforcement. But I cured that by having a neighbor allow a sign and paid if I got a deal, and they were glad to do it to get a property back in to shape and get rid of a eyesore.

Michael Smith · Answer

Putting out bandit signs is definitely the gateway crime in real estate investing. Its all down hill from there!

Dev Horn · Answer

This is serious food for thought for you newer investors.  Bandit signs are pretty much the bottom-dweller of marketing strategies available to us.  In some case they can be used effectively, but using them puts you just one level above "Spamming Craigslist" as a marketer.

This business all starts with finding the motivated sellers.  So it's a marketing challenge.  There are not many free or almost free ways to generate consistent lead flow, which is required if this is to be your BUSINESS.

My advice is:1) You need a marketing budget for 6 months AT LEAST to start this business2) You need to rise up above the bandit sign guys and play a different game - be innovative and ethical and certainly always LEGAL in everything you do.  THIS IS ABOUT YOUR CHARACTER as a business person, right?

You can get a landing page service for $50 a month and run an AdWords account with as little as $10 per day budget ($350 month total for the 2 things) and get some leads the smart way from people who are actually motivated and looking for your solution.

If you can't start with something like that, you're just not quite ready to get started.  Step 1 is to save some investment capital.  That's how we build businesses as entreprenuers - we're smart, we invest, we work our a**es off often for years, and we reap the rewards.

"The REAL 'scam' is that there IS NO GET RICH QUICK SCHEME.  A successful real estate business requires investment, hard work, and long-term commitment.  If you're told anything else, it's bullsh*t." ~ Dev Horn  =)

Lawrence McKay · Answer

I live in Dale City as well and according to the County's website they are actually illegal. ANY sign in the median, on a pole or on the side of the road are all illegal. If it's in someone's yard without their permission then those are illegal as well.

You're right about the competition yanking them. In other cases it could be the county's task force that they setup to get rid of the signs. They are REALLY cracking down on them now.

Tyler Carson · Answer

After checking my local municipal code it appears that I will be able to put signs up for no more than two consecutive days.  I am JUST starting out (haven't even ordered a sign yet) and am a little put off on the effectiveness of bandit signs after reading this thread.  I am looking to get leads on motivated sellers and am still fuzzy on how to get these mysterious "lists" that I keep reading about.  I wouldn't mind doing direct mailers but I don't know how to get those contacts.  Any help is appreciated.

Ross Schneider · Answer

David, 
I use bandit signs to market my properties.  I have had a lot of success but also some failure.  The game is all about consistency.  If you can maintain a constant wave of signs, you will do just fine.  Try to vary up the areas where you are placing them.  Some counties may not like the fact you put signs up around the area and might get angry calls.  Just brush them off and keep going if you find they work for you.  Just make sure to check the local laws because fines can be hefty.  Also, marketing on craigslist, myhousedeals, and other sites where you can post your properties are also very very effective.  Good luck

Demos Loizides · Answer

A few years ago, I had signs at a local Target store. They stayed up almost a year. I wrote a contract on a local house and one in another state (the owner moved to my state) from those signs.

In Prince William County, Virginia, bandit signs are called "off-premise" signs. They are legal, as long as they don't block people's right of way. It's illegal to put them on stop signs and telephone poles. However, my signs kept getting yanked. Some neighborhoods would keep them up for days, while others yanked them in a matter of hours.

I think some people yank the signs simply because they don't like them; they're the competition; or because they think they're illegal.

I think some people yanked the signs because they didn't like them; they were my competition; or they thought they were illegal.

Justin Silverio · Answer

I've used them in the past and got more tire kickers than anything else.  Direct mail and the MLS has definitely proved to produce better results for me.

David A. · Answer

Thank you for the replies. I certainly don't want to break any rules in my city. I will talk to the code officer to ask if it may be possible to put them out Friday nights and pick them up Sunday evening.

Are bandit signs still a good tool for finding motivated sellers?

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