Hmmmm.... mortgage, tax & insurance? I could use that cash to buy some new windows my home desperately needs. If it's just the mortgage, I don't know if it would be worth it. Might be worth investigating. I imagine my architect husband would veto.

I actually got into and argument with a friend over this topic last week.

On one hand, it can help people with doing renovations that would normally take much longer to accomplish. The money made could also be used towards college funds, which is an idea I like!

On the other hand, would you like to live in a neighborhood that basically has billboards all over the place? It would really cheapen the area. I may not mind a few houses in my area with this sort of advertisement, but when do you draw a line? How many houses are too many, and for how long? Having an ad for a few months might not be that bad, but I certainly would not want to look at something like that for a year!

All in all, I don't think it is TERRIBLE... I guess you have to evaluate if keeping your neighbors on good terms outweighs whatever the money would be used for.

Reminds me of India...I swear there wasn't a building for miles that wasn't painted red with a big Kingfisher Beer ad painted on the side.

Still....I'd do it if I thought the city wouldn't hunt me down. I got enough grief after painting my garage Lime Green and Barney Purple to vex a neighbor ;-)

I wish I could but I own a condo. There's no way the HOA would let me.

I actually think this is fairly a novel idea.. 3 months estimated around at least $7K would pay for some pretty cool gadgets/upgrades.

This looks stupid to me, but advertisements were frequently painted on the sides of barns, and faded examples of advertising remain on the sides of many buildings in my neighborhood. I would say that this is an updated version of the same, but taken to an extreme.

Still, no matter what we think, these people are laughing all the way to the bank.

Um, that's why Homeowners Associations can be a good thing.

I was thinking no, but then I looked at that picture and I would. That house is Beautiful. I might do this despite the offer. Oh wait no never mind that is scary ugly. If anyone is that desperate for the cash I wish the neighborhood would get together and help them out before they had to resort to this atrocity. Who ever lives in this photoshopped image can pay a fortune for landscaping but can't afford their mortgage. I would be livid if I lived in an affluent neighborhood and someone did this blemish.

I'm pretty sure this would not be compliant with many municipality zoning codes, which have regulations over the size and location of signs.

Never. My neighbors would hate me forever. It would not be worth it.

Yes, it's completely ridiculous, and yes, I would totally do it.

i would do it, the worst than can happen is people laugh about it in a few years and say "remember that neighbour who's house was a billboard"
Although, I would get pretty cozy with my mortgage being paid, and may keep the billboard there too long

honestly, i would do this for 3 months. but the ad had better look decent. the upgrades i could do with that money would raise property values, not lower them as some people are saying.

since 2 of my neighbors think it's totally appropriate to have a never-ending yard sale and a showcase of their various john deere tractors in their front f*cking yards i would totally do this without any regard for their opinion.

however, my house is fully brick, so these ad people better have themselves an excellent power washer to change it back after the contract is over.

Totally crazy. But might be worth it! Especially if you're the most colorful house in town!

I'd happily do this for a few months if my husband and I both lost our jobs simultaneously again. That happened in 2007 and we got by on unemployment and frugality, but now that we have a pricey mortgage I'd be thrilled to enlist a temporary fix like this. And even though I'm sure neighbors in our semi-affluent area would hate it, once they heard the explanation I'd like to think they'd relate to our desire to hang on to such coveted real estate at any cost -- especially since the company would paint it back for you when you decided to end.

I live in an apartment building close to the downtown area of a large city, and there are billboards all over the place when I look out my window anyway, so I don't really see how this would be much different in that way.

The biggest thing I can see is that this is a suburban issue, and suburbanites (in my experience) have different views on what is "appropriate". Something that seems completely normal to me as an urbanite would seem completely out of place in a suburban setting.

I don't mind it, but other people do, and I guess that's why the 'burbs exist!

Three months of ugliness in exchange for no mortgage? I'm vain, but not that vain. I would sign my house up so fast there would be a person-shaped cloud of dust where I'd been sitting.

This is the tackiest thing I've ever seen, but I like the idea that a family months behind on their mortgage might be able to catch up on payments by doing this.

I live in a historical district, and there are rules about the upkeep of the exterior of our homes. I don't think I'll be seeing this in my neighborhood anytime soon!

Neighbors will hate it, HOAs will forbid it, but in an economy where people are struggling to keep their houses I can't say it isn't a really clever idea. And if we needed the money I can't say I wouldn't consider it.

Let's hear from all those peeps whining that HOA's are the devil, now. LOL.

Say goodbye to your property value. Bye-bye.

Sure! But the historic commission would have me up on charges before the paint dried ha ha.
xo xo

I don't really understand why people would object to this. I think it's fantastic! I would totally do it if I lived in a house and not an apartment. Not paying a morgage for a few months would equal quite a lot of student loan payments. Plus, it's way better than the ugly pastels people tend to paint their houses. Who cares what your neighbors think about your house color? As long as it's in good repair, I don't think anyone has a right to object to what you do with your house and/or yard.

Imagine trying to sell your house with that thing sitting right next to it. It just screams "I'm a month away from being foreclosed and turning into a meth-head squat, yay!"

I don't have a problem with it aesthetically, but I have a problem with everything needing to be commercial. Americans seem inured to the constant stream of advertising and don't seem to, very often, be able to distinguish between what is and isn't marketing, despite the omnipresence of it.

I suspect most municipalities will or already have, banned this, through requiring permits for signage - if they haven't, local codes and ordinances will be amended.

And would you really want your neighbors to think that you are either poor, cheap and obnoxious? My suspicion is, that you'd also have to pay quite a bit of tax - it's income after all (think of the tax homeowners on This Old House have to pay on all the "freebies" that they get during the course of the show as an example).

How about they do this at school's and help school's save/make money?

I would never agree to this unless they totally paid OFF the mortgage....

Also, in this economy, the only people who qualify should be people already behind or out of work.

The biggest worry would be which company is buying the ad space from adzookie - having a viagra ad would be embarrassing

If I didn't live in a conservation district and my house weren't stone, then yes. I'd do it. My neighbors could just shut up about it unless they were willing to ante up. It's not like it'd be forever and their homes are hardly perfect specimens either. In fact, I'd recommend this to them. Seems it may be the only way they'll paint their siding more than once every 20 years.

Oh, I read this as they would pay off your whole mortgage - if that was they case then I'd definitely be in the queue of people wanting to get it done! On the other hand if it was just the monthly repayments for a couple of months I'm not sure it's worth the hassle.

I live in a condo, so no can do. I have friends who live in developments with such restrictive HOAs they aren't even allowed to have plants with variegated leaves in their yards, but I bet some of them would love to do this. You see this kind of thing in foreign countries a lot, and it can be done tastefully. Three months of mortgage payments is a significant chunk of change for most people; I think the temptation would be pretty strong.

I have a brick house.

Heck yeah I'd do it!!!

Too bad I rent in a culdesac in Mexico.

agree- pay off the whole mortgage and heck i'd keep the ad on for 6 months.

Why yes, Yes I would. My husband's about to get laid off and I'm still in college. We live in Michigan. Neighbors be damned. If it would keep us IN the house my husband's family has owned for generations, I would do it. I just may call Adzookie myself! Just let us get through the next recession...

Hmmm, I remember my father telling me about people buying apartment buildings near the highways in NYC just for the advertising money. That was back in the olden days when an abandoned building was actually affordable. I imagine it's something people needing the extra cash, and if it helps stop someone from losing their house I'll bear their ugliness if it's in my neighborhood.

I rent now but I would have no problem doing this if I owned somewhere. I'm a pretty solid saver but I work in the arts and on that kind of salary there's a limit to how far you can cut expenses. This way you could potentially save thousands AND get a free coat of paint on your house at the end of it?! As long as it wasn't an ad for a company I have a problem with from an ethical standpoint of course...

I would do it. By the time the neighbors got around to complaining about it, the contract would be up. I'm not sure they would pick my home, as it is mostly rock and mortar, but I have lived in some homes that would have been perfect, and on busy streets, too....

If I owned a house I would happily do it! I don't care if it's ugly and tacky.

Perfect!
While you're at it, you can have your car done too!
http://ad-wraps.com/

I already submitted my info. I bought a house in a new development. Construction is done and only 7 more houses need to sold including the models. I need my backyard landscaped. No HOA, so screw what the neighbors think.

I'm a suburbanite and if I were in enough of a financial crunch I would TOTALLY consider this.

But what about those of us with flag lots? We're out of the question, I guess?

All of the money would end up in my estate - the neighbors would kill me.

I'm in!

I'd totally go for it if I owned a house. Wow. How about they buy me a house and I'll let them paint whatever they want on it for three months? They can paint my car whatever they want too. Seriously. I get why people think it's tacky and too far, but I'd totally go for it if I had the chance.

I'm with untrussedgourmet. There would be a lynchmob of neighbors on my porch before the paint was dry.

I hate it but then I also hate it when neighbors park their commercial vehicles outside their homes, UGH!

absolutely!! i cant believe there are people that wouldn't. pay my mortgage in full and i would put an ad on my forehead.

Yes. Yes I would.

Yes, I would TOTALLY do this! I mean, seriously - what I could do with the money we saved from our mortgage would be completely worth every penny. Just let the neighbors know it's temporary, and throw a monthly ice cream social sponsored by yourself or something if it's needed to keep the peace. Free. mortgage. guys!

When I first read this I thought they would pay off your mortgage to which I thought, "heck yeah! They can paint my house whatever they want." I still don't necessarily think it's a bad deal to have them pay your monthly mortgage while their advertisements are on your house. It would be only temporary.

Heck yeah I would. I wouldn't give a cahootie about the city not liking it in my small town! Three months paid mortgage vs. a $100 fine - ha - NIKE, I am interested!!! Yoo hoo!!! NIKE??? Reebok? New Balance?!?

@julietcreative, there IS a guy who tattooed himself for an advertisement. Though I can't remember what the ad was for? I'll have to go back and google it and look for it!

Horrible. I feel like the company is taking advantage of people who probably shouldn't have a mortgage in the first place.

Hell. In. A. Handbasket.

ditto applebomb. only houses on busy roads would be accepted for this but if you couldnt choose what you were advertising for you could end up with cigarette or beer ads on the way to a school.

that being said, I live on a busy road and have one windowless side of the house that would make a PERFECT billboard if I could get some money every month! thats much easier than having a roommate.

also, I'll believe it when I see it. this controversy is a h-ll of an advertisement for adzookie!

I'd do it if they paid off a large portion of my mortgage instead of just making 3 months of payments. I put a ton of money down, so my payments aren't that high. And it helps that I live in an artsy community where most people would probably laugh at it for the 3 months that it was up. Plus a free paint job at the end? I need to paint anyway...

SweetVirginia makes a good point. Most of the worries would be solved if people just *talked to their neighbors*. Personally, I think it's a really clever idea for the company. People will notice a house way more than a billboard, and the price for them would be similar. A few months rent free, for three months or however long you decided it should be, could let get out of a bind, renovate or landscape. Really, if you had a neighbor who was about to forclose, would you rather have them do this and try to save their mortgage or trash the place like so many people who are foreclosed on do, then have it sit empty for many more months?

Having an ugly-painted house does far less to neighborhood property values than does having a foreclosed house. Just sayin, naysayers. Get off your high horse; some people are struggling to get by and if ugly paint helps them put food on the table it shouldn't be anyone else's judging that keeps them from doing it.

Wow, I'm shocked at the level of "to hell with the neighbors" shown here. (Is that because the majority of posters are in apartments?) My house has vinyl siding, so it can't be painted, but I'd never even consider this because I'm a GOOD neighbor. We care about property values, we care about maintaining our property, we support each other from a security standpoint (neighborhood watch), we have block parties and joint yard sales... I am very glad none of the hostile posters in this group live in my neighborhood! What kind of world are we creating here? Depressing!

i would do this in a heartbeat

I see a lot of people talking about property values, and I'm curious. I've never owned a home, and my parents didn't really talk about it growing up. I thought property values were pretty much voodoo magic in the way exchange rates are and don't matter unless you're actually in the process of selling your home...am I wrong? I would appreciate a brief, easy explanation. :)

@Tweets: IMHO, but I'm not in real estate, property value doesn't mean diddly until your house is on the market (until then it's all imaginary money except for the tax assessments). However, having said that, once your neighbors begin doing strange things to their property you can't exactly say 'hey, clean that up, I'm about to sell my house!!!' Thus the constant pressure to maintain some sort of standard and, if you're not in a planned community, it's really tough to pull off (though most larger communities now have mediation teams to help resolve disputes and this might fall into that realm).

My house is in desperate need of paint job and the money would go to fix up the inside, so I would definitely do this. My neighbors have yet to say hi to me anyway, so who cares what they think.

Just repainted the house, so that is a tough one... The ROOF, however, is in desperate need of being done. For the right price, (a new roof afterwards?) you could advertise there for a few months, absolutely!!