By Ken Alltucker
The Cincinnati Enquirer

John Angelo has worked tirelessly collecting signs illegally posted by companies offering cash for homes, so he was stunned Thursday when he discovered one of those signs nailed to his North Avondale home.

"My neighbor saw two guys come to my house and (they) literally nailed this professionally made sign to the house," Angelo said. "When she told them they had no right to do that because they don't own the home, they just ignored her."

Cincinnati City Councilman John Cranley calls the sign posting a brazen example of a real estate company running afoul of city ordinances. Today, he will introduce a motion urging the city's police department and solicitor's office to investigate the company responsible for the sign postings.

Cincinnati City Council last September passed an ordinance outlawing signs and flyers on utility poles as part of a web of laws to crack down on nuisance issues. But Cranley said affixing a sign to a privately owned home raises the practice to a new level.

"It is my firm belief that these companies are destroying our neighborhoods," Cranley said. "If that's not enough, now they're trespassing on private property."

The green-and-white sign nailed to Angelo's home in the 700 block of South Fred Shuttlesworth had the following offer: "We Pay Cash for Homes." It included a phone number but no company name.

An operator who answered the phone number identified the company as Keystone Properties. Matt Pinger identified himself as an employee of the company, but he hung up the phone when asked why a sign was nailed on Angelo's home.

Angelo said he plans to rehabilitate the property into a single-family, owner-occupied home. Previously, it was used as a rental.

E-mail kalltucker@enquirer.com