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Using Signs for Advertising to
Buy Houses
nother really good way to get sellers calling you is through the use of signs that have some variation of “I Buy Houses” on them. In fact, these signs can pull in more calls than almost a  ny
other form of advertising, which is why so many investors and other businesses
choose to use them.
While large signs such as an 18”x 24” draw the most attention, they are also the first to disappear. The “sign Nazis” are quick to take these and even the 12”x18” signs down. The sign Nazis are either people who just don’t like to see these signs posted, or they are someone employed by the city or county to drive around taking signs down. If you are like me you really don’t enjoy putting these signs up. So to put them up only to have them disappear in a day is rather discouraging. I have found something that not only costs far less than these big signs, but they also stay up for months in most cases. The sign I am referring to is a white 8”x 10-3/4” poly-coated cardboard sign. These are white signs made of a thick, waterproof cardboard stock. These have an outdoor durability of 3-6 months. And believe it or not, you will often see signs that you put up months ago rotting on the telephone poles or wherever else you place them. They can stay up that long! If you have ever put up the large signs, you know that you’re lucky if they stay up for a week in most areas.
The other benefit of these signs is that they’re cheap. I pay 55 cents a piece for 100 at a time. The 18”x 24” signs can be as much as $3 a piece. If they disappear quickly that gets to be pretty expensive. And if you factor in your time to drive around and put these signs up, it gets to be super-expensive!
The down side of these signs is that they are small so they have to be where drivers can see them. They work great in downtown areas where telephone poles are close to the road. I put my signs on the bottom three feet of the pole.
Sign Examples
This “Need To Buy A House Fast!” sign is the first sign I put up. I created this it in a handwriting font that I downloaded off the Internet. What I found is that this sign will pull lots of calls from Realtors. At the time I found that rather irritating and I stopped using it (although I think there are still a few up somewhere since I’m still getting calls on it).
Later, when I discovered a way to get Realtors their commissions using Lease Options, I realized that I missed some opportunities to tell Realtors what I do. So I would recommend using it if you want to get your message out to Realtors. It also does pull calls from sellers as well.
The handwriting of this sign makes it look like you are some average Joe that is looking to buy a house. I always just came out and told callers that I’m an investor and that didn’t seem to matter after they were already talking to me.
This one will eliminate the Realtor calls. I don’t think I ever had even one Realtor call. But I have bought houses from owners using this sign.
Why 9 days and not 3 days or 7 days? Well, most people don’t believe you can buy a house in 3 days, even though the way we buy them we can. Your marketing messages need to be believable. I’m sure using 7 days would work, but to me it just sounds more believable to use 9 days. Other investors have put a lot of testing into 9 days, so if it works for them, why not use it?
Other investors have put out signs that say “I Buy Houses $Cash$.” These signs will get you calls on “junkers” that you could flip to rehabbers, but I’ve bought rehab houses on the “9 day” signs so why go through all the work of putting a sign out that will limit your market?
The other thing to debate is using the word “I” or “We” before the “Buy Houses.” A lot of people feel like they may get ripped off if they’re dealing with some big company. I like to use “I” so my potential sellers feel more comfortable in calling. I haven’t tested it both ways and I know lots of investors use “we” so you can likely use either.
When is the best time to put signs up? I think the safest time is in the middle of the night when there is far less traffic. I’ve tried it during the day and you’ll always be in someone’s way.
Unfortunately for me, I’m somewhat of an insomniac. If I wake up at 3:00 a.m. and don’t feel like I can get back to sleep…I’ll go put up signs. I should actually be hiring someone else to do it now that I can afford it. But I just haven’t gotten around to finding someone to do it yet.
I can’t condone putting these signs up on telephone poles and traffic light meter boxes like I do since it is a codes violation in most areas. So far I haven’t had any call from the city about them. I think that’s another benefit of using such small signs…they aren’t as obnoxious as the big signs. If I ever do have problems, I’ll stick these little signs on poles and continue using them.
To put signs up on telephone poles you’ll need to get yourself a hammer stapler like roofers use to put on the black paper before they shingle. Using one of these you put up a sign in about 5 seconds. It would be considerably more difficult using a regular staple gun.
To put signs up on traffic light meter boxes you’ll need a roll of good double-sided tape. These take a lot longer to put up since you have to cut the tape, apply it to the back of the sign, and peel off the other sticky side. But it allows you to put signs in some really good areas.
If you can’t find someone locally to make your signs, you can contact the shop where I get mine done in Nashville, TN at 615-832-6679 or on the Web at www.signworks-nash.com.
Tim Bruxvoort
Remedy HomeBuyers, LLC 8161 Highway 100, #194 Office: 615-662-4141 Nashville, TN 37221-4213 Fax: 615-301-8609 Web site: www.remedybuyers.com
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This
“Sell Your House In 9 Days” sign really pulls calls well. People call and ask
something like “How can I sell a house that fast?”. I just tell them that I’m an
investor and I’ll just buy it and I can close quickly.
The
key words to the “I Buy Houses Fair Price” sign is the words “fair price.” Most
buyers think they are going to have to take a big loss when they call on these
signs. Having “fair price” on the sign lets them know that you aren’t going to
have them take a big loss.