BELTON, Texas — Recently a local realtor complained that a 'for sale' sign she posted near Lake Belton High School was stolen. People wished her well with hopes that she'd find the sign again, but there was a bigger problem at hand.
"Stolen signs are part of, unfortunately, real estate and being a real estate agent, as you kind of know that's going to happen," Temple Belton Board of Realtors President Elect Mallory Anthony told 6 News. "You try to keep extra signs on hand for if that does happen."
But keeping extra signs on you as an agent isn't easy. Really, the issue is that it's not exactly cheap.
"The big wooden ones, those can be very, very costly. Those can be upwards of 1000 or more. So that can be definitely a hit to the pocketbook if one of those got swiped," Anthony said.
Multiple realtors tell KCEN that they have had this happen to them and you would think law enforcement would get involved. The reality though, is that most cases are more than likely under reported according to Temple PD Deputy Chief Jeff Clark.
"Most realtors, I think, take the position when they're missing one they just go out and replace it versus actually making a criminal report about it."
This would explain why Temple police say they've only received one reported case of a stolen sign since 2013. But local realtors say it can happen to anyone at any time, a feeling Anthony knows all too well.
"That easily could have been my sign that that could have happened to and I definitely feel for her because that stinks."