I’ve been having a struggle trying to get my signs to stay on the wooden telephone poles. I use one of those stapler guns and doesn’t seem to work. I’m also struggling with having to have my H wire frames to stick into the dirt. Over here in Las Vegas, there isn’t much soft dirt and it’s mostly hard ground. Does anyone have any input on this on how to make it better? Thanks!
Forget the H-wires and use grade stakes. Buy them at Home Depot 36" they are around $12.00 for a bundle of 25. Use a rubber hammer to beat them into the ground after you have attached the signs using roofing nails with plastic washers.
The same nails are your best way to attach the signs to telephone poles also. Use a ladder and get them 10-12’ up. Its a pain and takes time but your signs stand the best chance of lasting that way. I use a hammer style stapler with 1/2" staples which I have attached to a 2" pvc pipe that is 6’ long. I staple my signs to the wood telephone poles with about 15 staples.
Good Luck
Tony
Around here we have sign ordinances and the city will deface (cut the phone number off) your sign if they see it.
Likewise, I used to work for SBC and nails and staples in phone poles is dangerous for the climbers - their boot jacks won’t seat and they can fall. It’s technically illegal to hang signs on the poles. It practice, it’s just not a nice thing to do.
I have had the most success with ground stakes!
I have also had other investors call pretending to be code enforcement or police officers;
you can just tell them to call your attorney if you are doing something illegal.
I have put my thick plastic signs on telephone poles using 1/2" roofing nails, usually 2-3 of them. My two cents!
I called my code enforcement office and spoke with them. Posting on telephone poles is illegal. There’s no way to get around that. They recommend that you place your signs 10 feet back from the intersection and 6 feet away from the road. This way, you aren’t blocking the right-of-way at the intersection and don’t have to worry about potentially causing an accident.
Also, having signs that far back from the intersection work to your advantage. When you’re sitting at a traffic light, where do you spend most of your time? At the light waiting for it to change, or several cars back, inching your way forward? If your signs are back 10 feet, then chances are several cars will get to see it before going through the light.
Plus, the cars are going slower as they pass it rather than at breakneck speeds like they are at the light.
Big Cheese
What kind of trouble can you really get in for putting signs on poles?
How many areas are really enforcing it?
People put signs on the poles for garage sales every weekend where I live.
Do you guys bother to laminate your signs, or do they get torn down before the weather wears them down?
Do you guys have the number go to a hard to trace voicemail line, or to your cell phone?
Ryan
In Atlanta, you can get into a lot of trouble for posting signs on telephone poles. I know of one investor in particular who was forced to come back from vacation in the Bahamas to appear in court per a judge’s order. I know of another who was fined $200/sign and had 10 signs he was fined for. I’ve heard from my closing attorney that jail time has also been discussed. It’s gotten so bad here that even the folks who put out signs for you are now being ticketed, even though it’s not their signs!
The code enforcement guys have really been cracking down here. It might still be ok in some areas of the country, but I’m speaking for Atlanta in particular. I reckon that’s what happens when your local REIA group has 5,000 members. Everyone’s an investor and puts up signs. But code enforcement is even pulling down the garage sale signs now!
The signs I still put out are laminated on corrogated plastic. I have all of my numbers and website info private and the only time my sales person’s cell appears is on the sign in the front yard of the house. But that’s just the way I sell houses. I’m sure other folks have different exit and selling strategies which may require a cell # on the sign. Find out what’s working for the folks in your area. Talk to some of the local REIA members as well. They can probably help you too.
If you’d like an example of the “sign posse” (aka home owner’s associations with nothing better to do) who pull down signs around here, go to www.truckloadbunch.org and check out their “hall of shame”. It’s silly, really. These folks need better things to do with their time!
Big Cheese
I checked the site out. That is sad. I feel sorry for those people.
I know, right!?!?! And they seem happy about doing it! The bad thing is, they’re one of many. I had one HOA write me an email from my website and cc the sherriff of the county where they found one of my signs. We got into it pretty hot and heavy. I mean, they sent me an email of all my signs lined up on the ground, like they’d taken them hostages.
I’m not one to negotiate with terrorists so I stood my ground. Eventually the law stepped in and we were able to sort it all out without any fines on my part or repercussions on theirs.
Big Cheese
If somone places one of those “bandit” sings on my property without permission it will promptly go into the trash. If you don’t have permission, it is litter, not to mention bad manners. Some Carleton Sheetz disciple put up a couple dozen on telephone poles in my neighborhood once and someone else removed them before I could.
It is a little different if it is your personal property, or yard. The part that is funny is that they actually patrol neighborhoods. Most of those wern’t even bandit signs. They were arrow signs letting people know where to turn to see a house for sale.
Sorry that people put signs in your yard. Makes the telephone pole signs not seem so bad, right?
Bandit signs…LOL
Look at this picture. Do you blame people for pulling them down? I just looked at that picture for longer than anyone would who is driving by, and I can’t remember a singe name off of any of them.
THAT’S GOT TO BE A FAKE PHOTO THAT THEY SET UP. AROUND HERE, THE PEOPLE PLACING THE SIGNS WOULD TAKE DOWN OTHERS SO THAT THEIRS STOOD OUT. AT LEAST THAT IS CAPITALISM. THE GUYS ON THE SITE THINK THEY ARE FIGHTING CRIME LIKE BATMAN.
Ahhh, but guess what - removing this illegally placed trash winds up improving our property values and reducing crime - check out “Fixing Broken Windows” - a well established set of facts. Anyway, my favorite is going to court and watching the four and five digit fines plus the occasional jail sentences - priceless! Basically, if it ain’t your property, you might want to try some brain power and keep your trash to yourself. In any case, in my county it will likely be removed in a day or so anyway.
I work for the power company and hanging signs on poles is against code so I don’t do it. We (the power company) won’t go after those who do it but we just reserve the right to take it down . Our company owns 1 million poles so it is a little hard to keep track of that. That’s probably why the cities get involved with their own little rules.
Personally I would rather them go after all of those solicitors that you see at every intersection asking you for donations. Now THAT is dangerous and you never know who is going to poke their heads in your car and steal your purse!
So where CAN you put sings? If you are, for example, 10 ft from the road and not on private property is it acceptable? I will check to local laws in my area but would like to hear from the sign removers too.
I’ve considered signs, but have always had issues with them personally. I suppose that I would put them out if it was done legally. Any suggestions on that? Seems it is not possible. I’ve just kept to posting them on my properties which has gotten some results.