7 October 2009

Real estate advertising blocking our street numbers

|
Join the conversation
42

What can be done about these large signs that completely hide our street numbers?
Real Estate sign blocks street number, ambulance in foreground
Over the long weekend, friends from out of town couldn’t find my address and called for help. It turned out that there was a large real estate sign blocking my street number and a bit of direction over the mobiles did the trick.
It’s a large apartment complex, and so we’re talking about a few hundred people being taken off the map by this real estate agent. Further, the property has already sold, and so it’s just advertising for the agent themselves and not on behalf of the seller.
Here’s what I have already done:

  • I’ve called the “removals” number on the back of the sign and spoke with the staff at Digital Central; however, as they are being paid by the real estate agents, it’s understandable that their answer was, “We’ll ask the agent.”
  • Canberra Connect quickly put me though to Fair Trading. Unfortunately, their hands are tied as the signs are not on public land, rendering them powerless.
  • I’ve emailed my landlord and asked them to take the matter up with our body corporate.

I’m looking for suggestions from the RiotACT community on better ways forward…

Join the conversation

42
All Comments
  • All Comments
  • Website Comments
LatestOldest

Punter said :

The ambulance in the foregound is a nice touch, and makes a very good point about the importance of emergency services being able to locate adresses quickly.

I dunno, as a delivery guy, I find my GPS manages to get me to pretty much any street number I give it. Id imagine emergency services would have something better than the $200 jobbie I picked up. But thats beside the point, its the non-emergency vehicles that will have more of an issue. Then again, if youre part of a large block of units, chances are pretty good that your complex number is already known by emergency services people. There are only a limited number of unit blocks around Canberra.

Why didn’t you just ring the agent owning any number listed on the sign? Ring once, ask politely and failing that keep ringing at all sorts of odd hours.

haha you rang everybody EXCEPT the real estate agent on the sign?!?!

Um how bright are your friends? Couldn’t they count a single house down or up from the next number?

It’s a shame that you didn’t just contact the agent with your concerns. Knowing one of the agents, I notified him of this matter this morning and he was completely unaware of where the sign company had placed the signs and contacted them immediately to get the signs moved. It’s obviously not in his interests to annoy other residents – where do you think they get their business from? Anyway, if the signs are gone, I guess all is good.

stirred21 said :

Write to Pastor Danny Nalliah about it!

He will only say that the sign was put there by god because Victorians have abortions.

Write to Pastor Danny Nalliah about it!

OP, the signs were taken down at about 8am this morning. There’s still one on the other side of the driveway, but the ones blocking the street numbers are gone.

re #33 – independent is like that. I say go with Jihad as per post #27

BabyGirl157410:15 pm 07 Oct 09

“accidently” misplace the signs, then deny everything 😀

djk said :

They are only about 3 body corporate management companies in Canberra – find out which one manages your property and let them remove it.

The only problem with that is that the major body corporate in Canberra happens to be the same agency to which the signs belong to..

+1 for ripping the sign down
or for painting the street number on the sign in black paint.

Unless things have changed recently, your body corporate is managed by the owners of the offending signs.

Your Body Corporate executive committee is able to lay down guidelines for the location, size, duration of signs such as these. Everything from no signs allowed at all, to limiting their placement to certain locations only. That takes care of the long term, although many agents just go ahead and put them up anyway – you are just in a much stronger position to argue for immediate removal.
Short term, go with the majority, just remove it; if your feeling really generous ring the mobile again and tell them if it isn’t gone by….you’ll move it; gaurantee it’s gone in no time.

suter said :

As much as I may enjoy removing the one sign on done day, I’m looking for a way to reduce the number of signs in the longer term…

Keep taking them down.

Most of the time street numbers cannot be seen, regardless of real estate sign blocking the numbers.

amarooresident22:19 pm 07 Oct 09

Cleansing Fire

declare jihad on the r/e firm, issue a fatwa and proclaim it in the canberra times, and sit back and watch the fun.. or just take the advice proffered above and remove them yourself while calling the r/e day and late night…

As much as I may enjoy removing the one sign on done day, I’m looking for a way to reduce the number of signs in the longer term…

I say pull them out and put them in front of the real estate.

They are only about 3 body corporate management companies in Canberra – find out which one manages your property and let them remove it.

Christ I cant believe some people – just take the damn things down

Relocate them to another location e.g. outside an embassy, or Parliament House!

Just don’t get caught doing it!

If the agent has so kindly donated these resources to your complex, make use of them. Corflute is quite sturdy, and useful for many things. You could:
1. make some nifty little planter boxes
2. create some little birdhouses
3. use them to block the sun from an unwanted structural orifice
4. make some really cool aeroplanes
5. send them to channel seven for that stupid woman to make frilly little girly house things out of

Or, why not take them to the offending agency, and put them up backwards in front of their sign an see how they like it.

Rawhide Kid No 210:41 am 07 Oct 09

Kramer said :

Move it to the nearest skip bin.

I thought advertising signs over a certain size was illegal in the ACT unless that sign was attached to a business premises.

Pull the sign down, leave it on the ground for the agent to pick up.

Paint the Number over the sign.

Call and report illegal dumping. Someone should be able to work out who put the sign there.

Take the Phone number from the sign and place a “adult services” add in the paper with it as a contact.

Remove said sign and place it in the lawn out the front of the Real Estate Agent.

At the very least you should put a sold sticker on it so people don’t bother calling.

they burn REALLY well…..

StrangeAttractor9:13 am 07 Oct 09

These newfangled metal signs don’t burn like the old corflute ones used to 🙁

Thoroughly Smashed9:12 am 07 Oct 09

Leave the signs there, but cut a hole in the middle of them so your house numbers are once again visible.

Too bad if the ambulance fireys or police need to know where to go as the photo suggests.

The ambulance in the foregound is a nice touch, and makes a very good point about the importance of emergency services being able to locate adresses quickly.

For a bit of fun paint your number over it, or relocate it to an spot where it is illegal to place commercial signage.

Otherwise just remove it, like the voice of common sense in this thread advises.

Do we really need these signs today – what with this interweb thingy?

They are just another (unneeded) cost to sellers….

buy some illegal fireworks and blow em up………

Pull it down yourself. I’m surprised you’ve let it last this long.

Just pull the bloody things out.

You’re not going to get into trouble for it, so why leave them there causing such an obvious problem like covering the address numbers!

I know those units and there is a skip bin just up that driveway. Do a late night mission and dump the signs or at least give them a call warning them that you will dump the signs unless they are removed. They will get the message.

Hells_Bells747:40 am 07 Oct 09

Wow, I want a real estate dude to put one on my lawn blocking stuff so I can put it up them – early morning RiotACTer style!

I’m still amazed they are that tame but would be effective, much like the suggestion of putting your wipers on at window washers at lights.

Private property? Not authorised by the body corporate? Rip ’em down.

Move it to the nearest skip bin.

Move it to a different place on the property – to behind the street number.

captainwhorebags6:29 am 07 Oct 09

There’s likely to be a mobile number on the sign for the agent who is selling the property.

Ring it day and night.

Daily Digest

Want the best Canberra news delivered daily? Every day we package the most popular Riotact stories and send them straight to your inbox. Sign-up now for trusted local news that will never be behind a paywall.

By submitting your email address you are agreeing to Region Group's terms and conditions and privacy policy.