REI Wealth Monthly Issue 01 | Page 18

HOW TO USE BANDIT SIGNS TO GET LEADS FOR YOUR REAL ESTATE BUSINESS LEX LEVINRAD Many cities have laws that prohibit marketing using bandit signs. Generally, the more upscale the neighborhood, the more likely the city code enforcement will have laws prohibiting the use of bandit signs, and the more likely they will remove them. Check with your local city. Even if they do have laws against it, some cities are more tolerant than others. I have bandit signs that have been up for 2 years in some cities without a phone call or complaint. Other cities will call you within 30 minutes of putting a sign out and threaten you with a fine if you ever put out a bandit sign again. Do not antagonize them. Move on to a more bandit sign friendly city. The easiest way to gauge your city and their policy towards bandit signs is to see how many other yard signs are out there and how long they stay out before being taken down. If the city or code enforcement calls and asks you to remove your signs, do so immediately to avoid upsetting them any further. Some wholesalers place their signs out on Friday evening at 5 p.m. and collect them on Monday morning at 8 a.m. In many cities, code enforcement does not work weekends, so this can be an effective way of saving your signs from the junk pile heap and staying out of trouble. But, keep in mind that you might be violating city laws. See what others are doing your sign on the right hand side of the road where traffic stops, so drivers can see it while waiting for the light to change. Placing your sign between and know the laws in your city before you start a bandit sign campaign. Also, never put a bandit sign on private property. traffic lights is much less effective, since cars will be speeding by and are less likely to notice your sign. Do not put your website on the sign. People that are driving by are more likely to dial a phone number than to write down a website. If you put out bandit signs you will get calls from desperate sellers and some of these calls will turn into deals. Purchasing 100 bandit signs (18 x 24) will cost you about $200 or $2 per sign.