Dear Neighbor: 'about those Open House signs . . '

(That's) One Way to Cut Your Property Taxes

To: the anonymous neighbor(?) who toppled all my "Open House" signs the other morning
From: your friendly neighborhood Realtor (me)
Date: 7/30/2010
Re: my Open House signs

Dear Neighbor:

I'm sure you thought you thought you were striking a blow against obnoxious advertising the other morning when you toppled all my "Open House" signs and left them in a jumbled heap.

But what you really did was make it more difficult for my Realtor colleagues to find me at your neighbor's house last Tuesday, when I was there holding it open for Broker Tour (when Realtors check out all the new listings, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. each Tuesday).

Because the house is in a cul-de-sac and easy to miss, I set out several signs to provide directions.

I set out the signs at 10:55 a.m., and -- had you not toppled them -- would have retrieved them a little after 1 p.m.

With no signs to direct people, my traffic was low, and as a result of that your neighbor's house will take that much longer to sell, and likely fetch a correspondingly lower price (sales price invariably declines as a function of market time).

So, not only will you get to see more, not less, of me while I work hard to sell your neighbor's home over the coming weeks (months?), the value of you and your neighbors' homes will be pegged to whatever (lower) price I'm able to fetch for your neighbor's.

On the other hand, maybe you were just trying to reduce your property taxes??

Sincerely,

Your Neighbor's Realtor

"Not in My Front Yard" ("NIMFY")

Real Estate Signs -- the "Analog" Kind (vs. Symbolic)

Sign, Sign everywhere a sign
Blocking out the scenery breaking my mind
Do this, don't do that can't you read the sign

--Lyrics, "Signs"

Nobody likes real estate signs -- until they want to sell their home!

Then, if not your best friend, they're at least a necessary evil.

So, too, "arrow signs" (see above) can be quite helpful drawing attention to a home that's tucked away in a neighborhood that's hard to find.

The typical strategy is to locate one on the busiest nearby street, to pique the interest of passersby.

Sign Ordinances -- and Etiquette

Whenever I do that, I'm always careful to get permission from the closest neighbor.

Then, I check the local ordinances, to comply with any requirements regarding size, setbacks, etc.

Even after having done those things, my experience is that someone (a neighborhood vigilante? a city worker who doesn't know the rules?) doesn't like the sign -- and it disappears.

In almost nine years in the business, I have lost arrow signs (at $40 a pop) in Minnetonka, St. Louis Park, Plymouth, Bloomington, Edina, Minneapolis -- and, as of this morning -- Golden Valley.

P.S.: when I first started in real estate, I remember seeing a toppled "For Sale" sign, and automatically assuming it had been vandalized. Then I saw another, and another, and another.

The explanation? Every Spring when the ground thaws, signs that were put in before the ground froze topple (probably a good "sign" that a price reduction is overdue!).

Sign Clutter

Sign(s) of the Times: "Vote For" & "For Sale"

Are there really that many homes for sale at the moment?

Drive down any busy urban Twin Cities street these days, and it can seem like the entire block is for sale.

Until you realize that the names on a lot of the signs aren't Realtors selling homes . . . but candidates running for office.

Look for "inventory" to peak just ahead of the election in two weeks (always the first Tuesday of November).

P.S.: Ironically, this phenomenon is more subtle in an off-election year like 2009, because instead of saying "Obama" and "McCain," the candidates' signs say "Peterson" and "Johnson."