What Should I Do About Graffiti On My Building?

“Focus on being productive instead of busy.” – Tim Ferris

Graffiti can be a problem for apartment owners in any location. The key is removed by the owner. Penal Code 594 defines graffiti as defacing another’s property or “other inscribed materials”. It can be a misdemeanor if the damage is under $400.00 or a felony if over $400.00.

THE CLOCK IS TICKING
The reality is that, as a property owner, it is nearly impossible to catch someone “tagging” your building. So your best plan of action is to make sure the graffiti is removed WITHIN 24 HOURS. The 24 hours has always been my rule, whether I had a handyman, a resident manager, or myself doing the removal. As in many real estate-related things-

TIME IS OF THE ESSENCE.
I once owned a 10-unit building in Long Beach where there were a lot of adjacent buildings being sprayed with graffiti. Because of my rule, you would never see graffiti on my building. One time, the owner of the building next door asked my resident manager why they didn’t tag my building. Her answer was that they did, but we removed it in 24 hours so it was not seen by many. That is the entire purpose of graffiti. Think of it as a free billboard, advertising the person painting, a group, or maybe a point of view. In any case, it does not enhance the desirability of your building for any tenant. It also makes the building less attractive to potential buyers and lenders.

BEST WAYS TO REMOVE GRAFFITI
There are 3 pretty common methods of removing graffiti. 1) Painting over with a darker color. This is easy but can cause your property to look splotchy as if covered with band-aids, especially if you get a lot of graffiti. I recommend painting your building a darker earth tone, and keeping a good supply of the original color on hand, not just for graffiti, but also for touch-ups resulting from incidents of paint being chipped or scratched. 2) There are chemicals and paint products designed for graffiti removal such as GOOF OFF and PROSOCOS GRAFFITI REMOVER, or in some cases even vinegar. Most of these products work best when the graffiti is fresh. Another reason is to remove the graffiti within 24 hours.3) Sandblasting or water blasting.

CITY SERVICES
Many cities such as Long Beach, Monterey Park, and Inglewood, to name a few, have removal services and/or telephone hotlines, and in the case of Long Beach, they supply free paint. The problem I see with all these services is, once again, time. It’s good to have extra paint on hand, especially if it’s free, but you may have to wait longer than 24 hours for removal. For my money, I would rather handle the job myself, either personally or using my own people. However, if that is not possible, it’s good to know you have some options. The best advice here would be to explore your options before you need them. If you have buildings in different cities, be sure to check out what is available in each one. You also may want to follow up, periodically, to see if the rules have changed.

“You can’t get much done in life if you only work on the days you feel good.” – Jerry West

What we at PRS PROPERTIES CAN DO. We can discuss with you the current rents in your area and supply you with comparable rental prices for similar properties. Before you hire a manager, make sure the compensation is fair to you! We can also look at your building for changes that might allow you to get a higher value in order to create value without huge expenses for your building. We can help you to get the maximum value for your property, should you decide to sell, or the maximum return if you are planning to keep your building.

We always have many investors who are looking for “as-is” properties and are willing to purchase with low rents, a moratorium, or even with a problem tenant in place. We have put together numerous transactions over the years which involve properties that are not listed for sale. Many investors are in 1031 exchanges and need to identify a replacement property before their 45-day identification period runs out.

Should you decide to put your property on the market, we will put together an aggressive, targeted, and professional campaign to get your property sold fast. We have been doing this for over 40 years, and we will use all the tools available to bring you the most dollars at closing. If you are thinking of selling or are just curious about the value of your property, don’t hesitate to give us a call.

Remember – KNOWLEDGE IS POWER!