Directionals Move Properties

One of the most effective and frequently overlooked methods of filling or selling a property is the use of directional arrow signs. I'm guilty of it myself, although usually I'm merely lazy instead of overlooking this great marketing technique. Being lazy usually costs me in terms of holding costs, especially if you happen to be in a buyer's market as I currently am. Even if you're in a hot market where everything is moving quickly, directionals will move your property that much quicker.

Yes, there are numerous other methods you can use such as: flyers in the neighborhood and large stores and shopping malls, ads in the large and small papers, listings on the internet, listing with a real estate agent, calling real estate agents to inform them, mailouts to apartment complexes, yard signs with flyer boxes, open houses, calling loan officers, emailing your buyer list, etc., etc. (I have one friend use advertises her properties on the cable preview channel and she says it works great. Unfortunately, that option isn't available in my area.)

Why Do Directionals Work So Well?

Directional arrow signs work well for a number of reasons. First, they are targeted to the neighborhood where the property is located so the folks who will actually see them are the buyers or tenants who are already driving the neighborhood looking for properties. The second group of people who will see the signs are the residents who already live there. Many times the nearby residents will have family or friends who want to move into the neighborhood.

Flyers delivered to the neighborhood will also accomplish the notification aspect that there's an available property, but what flyers don't do is lead the prospect or prospect's friend straight to the front door.

Why Not Just Use Typical Bandit Signs?

For those that don't know, bandit signs are the road-side signs that many people utilize to advertise their business, favorite politician, and/or properties for sale or lease. The signs come in many colors and sizes, some professionally done and some hand-written. The nickname bandit signs stems from the fact that many municipalities have sign ordinances that prohibit their use or restrict use in the public domain or right of way.

The primary weakness of typical bandit signs for marketing a property for sale or lease is that the sign provides a little information (often impossible to read while driving by) and a phone number. If I'm out looking for properties today, I don't want to leave a message or turn around to go see what the sign said. I want to drive by NOW, not tomorrow, not later today, right now.

How is a Directional Arrow Sign Different?

Who said anything about one directional sign? I'm talking an entire series of signs that leads the prospect from the main thoroughfare all the way through the neighborhood to the driveway of your property. There's no thinking, major squinting, turning around, or phone calls involved here. "Oh, honey, turn there quick." Then it's "look, there's another sign, turn there." etc., all the way to the property. Then, of course, there's more information including contact numbers available at the property.

Okay, So How Do I Implement This Technique?

Here's the way I do it and you should tweak it and improve to suit you. When a property becomes available, I study the neighborhood and determine the "best" ways to lead prospects to my property. By "best", I take into consideration ease of navigation, neighborhood amenities like parks and schools, and surrounding properties. If there's a back way into the subdivision or location, I map out both paths.

My target locations are every single corner that my prospects will need to turn in order to get to the property. If there's a really long stretch without a turn, then I might need a directional arrow in the middle of that stretch to keep them coming. My experience has been that I will have to replace signs within the neighborhood only a few times, but I have to monitor the signs on the major roads and replace them fairly frequently. However, these signs tend to stay put much longer than a traditional bandit sign.

Then I simply go door-knocking and ask people if I can place a small directional sign in their yard. I intentionally do this during the day to miss folks because I'd rather not get involved in lengthy discussions about the property and I've got many doors to get to. Once I'm sure no one's home, I leave a letter in the screen door or someplace where it will be easily seen. I drop this letter at all four houses on each corner on the route.

What Does the Letter Say?

I've found it's important to NOT come across as a real estate investor or a company. I use an informal style and simply ask for help in finding someone to buy or lease my property. Points that I include in the letter are:

• It's just a small directional arrow sign

• I'll put it right by the corner and not really in their yard

• I'll make sure I don't damage any sprinkler systems

• They get a $20 gift certificate once the process is done

• They get to choose the store, restaurant, etc.

• Please call me to replace the sign if it gets removed

• The first person who calls me wins

• This technique has never failed. Frequently, I'll have two or more people from each corner call me, but I've always had at least one person call to agree to the arrangement. Some of them have even taken serious offense to do-gooder neighbors who remove the signs as the property owner is concerned they might not get their gift certificate. I'll describe the signs in more detail below, but I started adding "Placed With Permission of Owner" on the top of the signs and this reduced my losses.

The end result of this effort is that perhaps I pay out $160 to $200 in referral fees, but I have to run my $50 to $150 worth of weekly newspaper ads many, many fewer weeks. It definitely pays off from a monetary standpoint. The other benefit is that I now have a list of folks near each property (whom I've never even met) who think I'm great. Every single person will call me back after receiving their gift to thank me and the large majority volunteer that I'm more than welcome to do this anytime I need.

What Do the Signs Look Like?

The signs I use are basically the standard bandit signs cut in half. A normal size bandit sign is 18" x 24" and I use 9" x 12" signs for my directional arrows. I have a red directional arrow that takes up about 5 inches of the sign, leaving the bottom 4 inches blank. Within the red arrow I ask the sign company to put my message which could be "Owner Finance" or "Lease Purchase" or whatever you prefer. The message is easy to read.

In the blank space I use a large marker to write the property address. It's important to leave enough blank space below the arrow to write the address in large numbers and letters. Also, as I mentioned above, I include the "owner permission" tag line on top of the arrow. I buy 36" wooden stakes from Home Depot and attach an arrow sign to each side of the stake so the information can be seen coming and going.

If you don't have a source for these signs, please contact BanditSigns.com to get some. They're inexpensive and well worth the cost.

I hope you'll add this tool to your marketing techniques and discover the same success I've had in using it. You may find that you abandon many other advertising tools you've been using in the past.

Sincerely,

Tim Randle
http://TexasRealEstateClub.com

(c) Copyright 2003, All Rights Reserved.

About The Author

Tim Randle is a full-time real estate investor in the Austin, Texas area. For more information, please visit his web site at http://TexasRealEstateClub.com

info@texasrealestateclub.com

---

Real Estate Investing Myths That Steal Profits From Your Pocket

One of the things that distresses us about our industry... Read More

A Powerful Suggested Technique for YOUR Home & Property Search

A Powerful Suggested Technique for YOUR Home & Property Search... Read More

Conditions Are Right For Buying The Higher Priced Home You?Ve Always Wanted

Higher interest rates and home prices in the past have... Read More

Finding the Right Buy to Let Mortgage for Your Investment Property

Finding the right buy to let mortgage is crucial to... Read More

Inspecting Your New Home - 17 Areas You Must Inspect Before Taking Possession

Congratulations! You've made your decision; you've chosen your new home... Read More

Late Mortgage Payments Sabotage PMI Cancellation

There's something you should know about PMI!Private mortgage insurance is... Read More

Selling Your House - $100,000 Pets

Is your pet worth $100,000? It may be if you... Read More

5 Simple Steps to Sell Your House Fast!

The decision to sell your house wasn't made on the... Read More

Real Estate Season is Here

Yes, it has finally arrived. This is the time of... Read More

Follow-Up - The Key To Successful Closings

If everyone always did everything they said they'd do, we'd... Read More

Home Not Selling In Todays Hot Market? Tips and Ideas to Help You Sell

So, your selling your home. Prepare yourself both physically and... Read More

Do You Have the Correct Home Buyer Mindset to be Buying a Home?

By learning what you need to know and preparing how... Read More

Home Buying Checklist ? Windows

If you are in the market to purchase a home,... Read More

Home Selling: How To Set The Right Asking Price

Many homes remain unsold for a long time because they're... Read More

5 Things to Look for in a Property Appraiser

Homeowners who are seeking a property appraiser often ask "How... Read More

On the Crossing of Continents

Cyprus is situated in the north-east Mediterranean on the crossing... Read More

Vacation Homes Are Becoming A Reality For More Homeowners

Whether it's a lakefront cottage or a log cabin in... Read More

Practical Advice for Finding Irish Castles for Sale

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to... Read More

How to Become a Successful Real Estate Developer

Real estate investment and development has never been a more... Read More

New or Old House?

A lot of buyers think that a new house is... Read More

You Wanna Get High With Me?

Being a home inspector is great. It's fun, it's interesting,... Read More

Real Estate Investing Is A Better Gamble Than The Lottery

Real estate investing begins when you move to the starting... Read More

What Makes Fractional Shares Different from Owning Other Kinds of Vacation Properties?

Fractional shares ("fractionals") are sometimes confused with other vacation property... Read More

Why I Love Country Living

As somone who has lived in both places, I can... Read More

How to Create Cash Flow Out of Thin Air!

Want to see a trick every real estate investor will... Read More

Kings Bay, Saint Marys and Kingsland Georgia Real Estate - Mortgage Lenders

When looking for a home, it is important to first... Read More

Best Places to Retire

Places to Retire: Popular Doesn't Always Mean "Best"Las Vegas, Nevada;... Read More

Market Reaching its Peak

I do not profess to "Know" what the real estate... Read More

Escrow From a California Homeowners Perspective

The Escrow ProcessBoth Buyer and Seller deserve the assurance that... Read More

Homes For Sell By Owner ? FSBOs and Buyer Brokers

You're selling your home as a FSBO (for sale by... Read More

Searching the Hawaii Property Listings

Maui is an island so full of life and vivacity... Read More

Building Your Dream Home - Part 1

For most of my adult life I had thought about... Read More

What to Look for in a Real Estate Agent

Real Estate Agents play an essential, critical role in the... Read More