Stop the car! There's a home for sale!

You see them everyday. Real Estate agents call them "directional signs". They are supposed to let you know there is a home for sale around the corner or just down this street or that street. They are often found on busy street corners like along Route 12 in Gales Ferry or Long Hill Road in Groton. I suppose when you are driving by on your way to work at 45 miles an hour, you might consider slamming on the brakes to take a drive by the home for sale.

Some agents even like to have more than one directional sign pointing to a property, prefering to have signs pointing from many directions. They think this is good marketing. I respectfully disagree but that debate doesn't matter because in many towns in New London County, it is illegal to place a directional sign.

The Eastern CT Association of Realtors provides a list to its members, of towns where directional signs are illegal. They include East Lyme, Groton, Ledyard, Montville, New London and Salem. These towns have sign ordinances that specifically prohibit real estate directional signs. So why do we still see them? I can only speak for Ledyard where the ordinance is not enforced. I actually tested the ordinance last summer and placed a directional sign on one corner of Route 12. It remained there for 3 months until the home was sold. I never received a letter or a phone call asking me to remove the sign.

If you drive up Route 12 today, you'll see at least 3 directional signs. One of them has been there for quite awhile. I guess the sign hasn't helped much.