It can be a sudden shock when it happens: the appearance of graffiti on your property. Perhaps you were the first business in your area to be tagged. Or maybe you are in a neighborhood where graffiti occurs regularly, but you didn’t think it would happen to your building, which, you thought, was too active, vibrant, and respected in the community to be treated in that way.
It can be cold comfort to know that from the perspective of the graffitist, the tag might be a mark of honor: they thought your business was worthy of claiming. Or they might just want to exploit your high-visibility walls to promote their name and brand at the expense of yours.
You don’t have to just accept the presence of graffiti on your property, though. Commercial restoration services can remove it. In fact, removing the graffiti will give several benefits for your property.
Protect Property Value
The most documented impact of graffiti on businesses is the loss of property value. Properties lose an estimated 15% of their value when graffitied, according to the National Association of Realtors. If the graffiti is profane or hateful in nature, the loss in property value could be as much as 25%. For many businesses, your building is your most valuable asset, and taking a 25% hit can be a big deal. Even if you’re not thinking of selling, it can impact your ability to refinance or use your property as collateral for operating loans or other investments.
The cost of removing graffiti is a small fraction of the impact it has on the value of your property.
Avoid Fines and Seizure
Another good reason to remove graffiti is that if you don’t, you could be fined. Many municipalities across the country have ordinances related to the presence of graffiti on property. If you don’t remove the graffiti within a certain timeframe, you might be fined.
If the graffiti is left in place for too long and you’re not responsive to the city government, the city can sometimes take even more serious steps. Your property can be declared a public nuisance, which leads to even more severe fines. In some cases, the property can be seized. Hopefully, you would never let it get close to that.
Improve Sales
In addition to losing money because of property value loss and potential fines, having graffiti on your business can impact your sales. When people see a graffitied building, they are less likely to want to go to it. In some cases, graffiti might even make people think that your business is closed.
Removing graffiti can help your business seem vibrant, safe, and well-maintained.
Feel More Secure
It’s not just potential customers who can feel unsafe because of graffiti. Employees can feel threatened by the presence of graffiti on the building, especially if it is hateful or vulgar. In fact, the loss of security might impact you, too. You used to feel a sense of security in your property, but the presence of graffiti can be a reminder that you aren’t fully in control of the area. When you lock the doors and go home at night, other people take control of the property. After all, it’s their name on the side of the building now.
Removing graffiti is a way to reassert ownership and control over your property. The only logo you want on your building is yours and those of your tenants. Removing graffiti sends a message to everyone that this is your building.
Prevent the Return of Graffiti
Reasserting control over the building can have another important effect: it can stop graffiti from coming back. A survey of graffitied buildings in Los Angeles showed that removing graffiti within 48 hours reduces the rate of recurrence to almost 0%. Graffiti artists, taggers, and gangs want to graffiti places where their mark will stay. If you remove it right away, they will find someplace else to put their mark.
Note that this is true for either removing graffiti or painting over it in the same color as the original wall. Painting over with a different color creates an inviting canvas that graffitists will seek out.
Ready to Remove Your Graffiti at Any Time
When you want graffiti removed quickly, Just Right Cleaning & Construction can help. Our teams will respond to your call 24/7 and can be out quickly. They will get right to work. We handle restoration work for both private homes and businesses, so we can always help, no matter what type of building was graffitied.
We have been the leading restoration company in the greater Seattle & Spokane Metro Area since 1954, and we have experience in all types of restoration work, including graffiti removal. We’ve seen it all, and we know how to approach any type of graffiti on any type of wall. Our team will be able to assess the damage right away and recommend the best approach to deal with it.
Our expertise is in restoring businesses to their prior condition. The goal is that no one will be able to tell that there was damage to the building – not even you.
If you are looking for quick and effective graffiti removal in the greater Seattle & Spokane Metro Area, contact us today to schedule an appointment.