Shaky economic times have prompted many Americans to cut corners — or, at the very least, to get creative. One suburban Los Angeles family, for example, has found a way to secure its mortgage payment each month. How? The couple has converted its four-bedroom home into an advertisement.
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Marketing firm Brainiacs From Mars offered to fund the Hostetler family’s $2,000 mortgage payment every month in exchange for converting the home’s facade into a gaudy orange and green billboard, Reuters reports. The company’s founder and CEO, Romeo Mendoza, said he ultimately plans to turn 1,000 American homes into ad spaces for the firm. He began publicizing this plan on the company’s website in April 2011, and since then he says he’s received nearly 40,000 applications. Though the majority came in from California, Florida and Nevada, the company also received applications from as far as Japan and Russia.
The plan is pretty simple. According to the company’s website, there are just a few stipulations. First off, you must own your home. They’ll paint the entire exterior, aside from the roof, along with the windows and any awnings. The painting process will take up to five days. Your house must remain painted for at least a month, and if the contract is terminated for any reason, they’ll repaint it back to its normal colors.
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Mendoza said he selected the Hostetlers to launch the new marketing strategy because they are nice people and he wanted to choose the most deserving cases over the families who happen to live on the busiest streets, according to Reuters. Though zoning laws and other city ordinances could present roadblocks, Mendoza said negotiations with larger firms are underway.
If your house is selected, neighbors will almost certainly complain, and you won’t be helping attempts to boost local property values. But come on, tough times call for strange measures.