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Oh where, oh where has my directional gone......oh where, oh where can it beeeeeeee

By
Real Estate Agent with Friendly Appraisals

openhouseforsalesingI bet this has NEVER happened to any of you(JK & LMBO), but today not just 1, but 2 of my directional signs were GONE!

Also participating in the disappearing act, were another AGENT'S Directional sign.

Not only were they gone, but in the same spot I had one of mine(Prime Corner you dream of putting one), there was another, different sign, and it looked like this!
       HHHHHMMMMM!!!!!     

NO, I am NOT going to call the number on this sign and make any type of accusation, but I think tomorrow, I will call & warn this person that there is a SIGN THIEF in the area!
I will be pleasant and introduce myself as a professional Realtor®-the one I consider myself to be!

The sign was placed at the corner of a busy 2-lane road and a residential street, THE PERFECT PLACE TO HAVE A SIGN!
Or so I thought. The lot at the corner where the disappearing act took place is vacant & wooded.

The owner across the street has not been home, so I have been unable to get permission to put my sign at the edge of their yard; hence the placement on the wooded lot.

I know you wont believe this, but this has actually happened to me before!  Maybe even a couple of times........lol

The first time this happened was at a gas station with SUPER TRAFFIC! When I talked to the attendant at the gas station, she told me "oh yea, the owner throws signs away all the time!"  I just laughed because I KNEW whose fault it was-MINE!

I would like to think that buying the more expensive, Personalized Signs would not get taken, at least not as fast.  However, they seem to do Disappearing acts, just as fast as the el Cheapo Generic ones.........

While it is very nominal and pretty much common sense, this is what I have for you, my Active Rain Family,

Before you put a sign on someone else's property, or ANYWHERE for that matter:

  1. GET PERMISSION FIRST! Aren't we ALWAYS trying to find an excuse to introduce ourselves anyway?
    This is a great way to meet people, and it makes a great impression by being considerate of them and their property!
  2. KNOW YOUR CITY/COUNTY ORDINANCES! While some counties don't care or seem to have any, most will at least have a setback that says it must be a minimum of 15' from the curb. Some counties will only allow signs from 6PM on Friday until 6PM on Sunday. In some places, usually inside City Limits, you cannot put out a sign at all; KNOW what you can and cannot do!
  3. ONE SIGN IS ENOUGH! If there are one or two directional signs at the entrance of your listing's subdivision, even if they are from a different company, DON'T PUT ANOTHER ONE! Put your directional inside the subdivision, at a corner that needs it, if there is one. And don't forget #1 listed above!Bothwaydirectional

If this has happened to you, I feel your pain, if it has NOT happened to you, IT WILL!

I certainly don't know it all, so PLEASE, if you have something to add, or even disagree with what I have said, I would love to hear about it!
I Will be off to the FMLS store in the AM, so I can buy a few more Disappearing signs!

 

Comments (6)

Sheri Sanders
Berkshire Hathaway C Dan Joyner Realtors - Easley, SC
Realtor/Broker - Easley, SC Real Estate
I feel your pain.  I have spent a lot of money because of directionals being stolen.
Sep 23, 2007 03:20 PM
Anthony Stokes-Pereira
Better Homes and Gardens Rand Realty - Nanuet, NY
Realtor

Hi Bruce,

maybe you should check with the city, because in some towns in Rockland county, NY signs are not allowed.

 

Sep 23, 2007 03:37 PM
Bruce Miller
Friendly Appraisals - Acworth, GA

Sheri,
Painful as it is, I am happy to have the problem of putting out signs that say "Home For Sale"! I Know you are too!

Anthony,
Great Point and you are right on the money!  I made an edit to the blog to include what you said..............Thanks for the input!

Sep 23, 2007 04:11 PM
Mary McCleskey & Michelle Gumeny
Assist-2-Sell, Home Buyers & Sellers Realty, Inc. - Acworth, GA

Bruce,

  In our area usually the rule of thumb is signs can be put on Friday after 12noon and picked up by midnight on Sunday. We normally give the seller extra's so that if they disappear they can put them out on the weekends. I have actually watched the city of Kennesaw and Woodstock drive around and pick up signs.

Did you know that some cities will take your garage sale directionals if you didn't apply for a permit to have them out??? We learned that when we had a garage sale for the baseball team and our signs kept disappearing. Finally the employee for the city stopped by the let us know why he kept taking them.

 

Sep 27, 2007 11:38 AM
Mary McCleskey & Michelle Gumeny
Assist-2-Sell, Home Buyers & Sellers Realty, Inc. - Acworth, GA
Oh Yeah, wait until you find someone who has stolen one of your yard or directional signs and have glued or stapled cardboard to it that says yard sale. Thats happened to me a few times believe it or not.
Sep 27, 2007 11:39 AM
Bruce Miller
Friendly Appraisals - Acworth, GA
Funny you should mention that Mary! When I was at FMLS, I asked the lady "Got any tricks to keeping your directionals from getting stolen"?  She just laughed and said "they are probably getting used for YARD SALE signs"......
Sep 30, 2007 10:23 AM