Snipe Dinner

Eric Helmers and Keller Williams Realty

It seems that Eric Helmers of Keller Williams Realty is busy polluting the communities he claims to be serving with his ugly yellow signs that speak of foreclosures.

Do you wonder how he feels about cluttering the community? Wonder no longer! Here is his response to being called out on his illegal snipe advertising.

You must be a very, very lonely person with little or nothing better to do in your life.
I find it ironic that you report to be stopping illegal actions by yourself committing theft of personal property.

If you want to waist your time, gas and energy floating around the cities looking for signs only to break the law yourself
by stealing others property, that’s your choice. I also know that New Hope police will pull you over and write traffic citations for
illegal parking and causing a public hazard if you are not following traffic laws when stopping to pull these signs and will write citations for
theft even if the signs are not in compliance with the city code unless the signs are on your private property. Theft is theft and this matter
will be reported to them on Mondays as it is not an emergency situation.

Find something productive to do with your time like making meals for starving children or cleaning garbage up from parks and streams.
I clean up my signs and am responsible.

Your IP address is highlighted below and am turning it into the police when I make my report.
You thought you were anonymous, but you are not.  If I wanted to waste more time on this I could probably have your name in less than a week.

Your wasting your time and life worrying about signs that will be there every single week regardless if they are mine or not.

Get a life!

Not only is this a matter of removing litter, not personal property, some of these signs have been attached to stop signs with zip ties. This is a big no-no in regards to the law.

We hope Eric Helmers decides to run his advertising efforts within the bounds of the law. Who would want to move into a neighborhood covered in his foreclosure signs?

One Sign, Two Sign: Hidden Beach Indoor Beach Volleyball

One sign, I’ll let you slide. Two signs, a few towns apart, and you’re definitely getting pulled up.

Fighting the Bad Fight

It is amazing that companies fight this hard to justify their illegal activities. Their ignorance is an act. After giving them the benefit of the doubt, the come out and show their true colors.

ME: Dear Calhoun Team,

Please stop littering our lovely communities with your illegally placed and ugly snipe advertising signs that promise cash for houses. There are pleanty of legal advertising methods available to you.

- Snipe Dinner

THEM: Thanks for your email.

I know of no illegally placed signs.  Please describe with detail the location of the sign and I would be happy to address it.

Yard signs are a legal method of advertising when placed properly.  You will likely see political signs, garage sale signs, etc along side of our advertisements.

Our promise of cash for houses is real.  We buy 2-4 houses per month and always close with cash. 

Thanks for your concern & again, please let me know with detail the location and I will address it,
Nate

ME: Nate and Diana,

Here are photos of your illegally placed signs in New Hope and Brooklyn Park. The map to the right of the photo album shows the locations they were found.

Snipe sign photo album

And here are the city ordanances that define these signs as illegal.

Brooklyn Park
“No sign other than bench signs at public transit stops and governmental traffic safety or roadway information signs and off-site directional signs as defined in § 150.03 may be permanently or temporarily erected within any street right-of-way or upon any public easement.”
Brooklyn Park code link


New Hope
“Off-premise sign means a commercial speech sign which directs the attention of the public to a business, activity conducted, or product sold or offered at a location not on the same lot where sign is located. For purpose of this sign code, easements and other appurtenances shall be considered to be outside such lot and any sign located or proposed to be located in an easement or other appurtenance shall be considered an off-premise sign.”
“Temporary sign standards. All temporary signs must be located on the premises where the event is occurring.”
New Hope code link

Most cities in Minnesota have laws against these signs, yet allow for campaign signs, yard sales, and community events. Signs for business placed on public property are not allowed.

- Snipe Dinner

ME: Nate and Diana,

There were also two illegally placed signs on Winnetka BLVD. It looks like the city removed those before I could.

It’s nice that you put these signs up on Friday night so you have two days of advertising before the city removes them on Monday. Luckily, for the community, I don’t mind pulling this trash off the streets on a weekend.

- Snipe Dinner

ME: Hello? Nate and Diana? Are you okay? Are you now aware of how your signs were illegally placed last Friday?

- Snipe Dinner

THEM: Greetings,

We have called both the community development office & the police department and received clarification of the laws and will ensure all placements are correct in the future.

If you would like to talk through this further, please call me at 651.261.7957.

Thanks,

Nate

ME: That is great to hear. Thank you for taking an active approach in correcting this.

- Snipe Dinner

ME: Nate and Diana,

Maybe you are confused. When I said “most cities in Minnesota have laws against these signs” you must have read “put these signs anywhere.”

Here is where another one of your illegal signs is placed.

Google Maps location link

And here are the ordinances against it:

Snipe sign definition
Snipe sign prohibition

- Snipe Dinner

THEM: Hi Snipe Dinner,

I request that you call me to discuss this further. My cell is 651.261.7957.

Our signs were placed properly. The one you mention was in front of an abandoned store.

On Saturday a man was arrested for stealing one of our signs in the Linden Hills neighborhood of Minneapolis. He was caught by a local who lived there. The Police followed the thief back to his house and found more than 200 signs he had taken from the neighborhood. He is being fined $20 per sign and since the dollar amount exceeds misdemeanor statutes, he may get a felony.

In everything our company does, we practice business legally & ethically. I am happy to discuss your concerns about the signs in person or on the phone. In the meantime, we will ensure all of our signs are placed within local guidelines. If you have suggestions on placement I am also happy to talk through them.

Thanks,
Nate

ME: Your story is highly dubious. The man was removing litter. The ordinances in Minneapolis regarding snipe advertising are clearly defined.

Here is the definition of a snipe sign according to Minneapolis, since you obviously didn’t follow the links I provided for your convenience:

“A sign of any material, including but not limited to paper, cardboard, wood or metal, attached to any object and having no application to the premises where located.”

Did you see the “having no application to the premises where located” part? It does not matter if the store where the sign is placed is abandoned. The second link I provided simply lists snipe signs a type of signs that is prohibited in Minneapolis.

Maybe I will be fined for removing a candy wrapper from the same abandoned lot. It is litter. You can’t steal litter. Why do you insist on littering in the Twin Cities?

- Snipe Dinner

THEM: Hello Snipe Dinner,

Final request, you can call me to talk through this if you want further discussion.

If I see a sign disappear, the local authorities will be notified.

Minneapolis police records can be reached at 612.673.2961. The event occurred Sat the 23rd in Linden Hills.

Thanks,
Nate

ME: Nate and Diana,

You are not ignorant of the laws regarding these signs, since you claim to have contacted the community development office & the police department. They wouldn’t have told you the opposite of what the law is, unless they were having a fun Opposite Day at the office, so they must have told you that this type of advertising is illegal. Why do you insist on continuing your illegal activities?

Please explain to me what is ethical about using illegal advertising.

And why would I call the Minneapolis accident report line for police record? Was the hero who cleans up street spam injured in some way? Perhaps we can start a fund to pay for his injuries. That would be an ethical thing to do.

- Snipe Dinner

Snow Removal in July

Sundance Construction thinks you need snow removed in July. Are you having trouble with your snow? If so, I apologize for taking down these signs.

These Are a No-No

Calhoun Ventures thinks putting up illegal signs is an okay thing to do. “I know of no illegally placed signs,” they say.

Do not worry. I let them know that this is a no-no.

Recently, they told me “We have called both the community development office & the police department and received clarification of the laws and will ensure all placements are correct in the future.”

Thank you for listening, Calhoun Ventures!