I’ve been wanting to take a picture of a handwritten sign near my house for several days. In bold black marker, it reads, “I’LL BUY YOUR HOUSE TODAY!! CA$H” plus a phone number.

This marketing technique is intriguing to me. What kind of consumer will respond to this entreaty? Someone with a missed payment, fearful of becoming a statistic in the rampant foreclosure trend? Someone whose house has been sitting on the market for a year without a nibble?

Who would really respond to a real estate transaction offer that was written in black marker on a cheap white yard sign?

As I was taking this picture, a city parks and recreation truck stopped at the light. The driver was looking at me, and I was prepared with a defense if he fussed at me for the sign, which I know he thought was mine and I’m sure is illegal. Sure enough, he rolled down the window.

“Hey,” he said. “Do you guys do remodeling jobs, too?”

What this guy proved to me is that these signs do get noticed. Their handwritten appeal catches people’s eyes, and people respond. Not just desperate people with a mortgage they can’t pay. Real people who are looking for help with their homes.

I’m afraid to call the number to ask, but I wonder how many calls these guys get aweek. I Googled the phone number, and this person, John, also has an ad in some local online classifieds, referring to his location near “Lemon Grove Ave at Massachustetts [sic] Ave.” Again, what kind of traffic does that drive to his toll-free number?

If it works for John, would it work for me? Here’s my sign: