I took a listing with "issues" towards the end of January. The home was moderate, cute and almost new in a subdivision of older homes. The home could have probably brought $10K to $12K more if it were in the newer subdivision a field and a creek away. Fortunately, the owners understood why their home could not be priced the same as the homes in the nearby subdivision of newer homes.
The issue, however, was next door. The next door neighbor was in the Seabees and was stationed, rumor had it, somewhere in Afghanistan. He had rented his home out. The renters moved suddenly and left a pile of debris including a TV, old couch, clothes, and, trash.
That didn't seem to be an issue to me. I figured we would get it cleaned up somehow. My first stop was to the Mayor's office with the City of Long Beach. I was advised that they could take care of the mess as it was a health hazard. EXCEPT-they had to have a "right of entry" signed from the owner for them to go on his property and remove the offending rubbish.
Nobody seemed to know where he was. Neighbors had vague, general ideas of the correct hemisphere, but no mailing address. He lived alone and no one knew anything about extended family. I looked the address up in our tax data base, so I had his correct name. With his name and local address I figured it could be easy enough to track him down. If the post office would give me his forwarding address, I could mail the forms to him.
My daughter and I were waiting in line at the post office and chatting about the possibility of finding a Seabee with an undisclosed location. We were talking about how unfair it was that his home and yard had been left in such a mess and that it was our duty to see that it got cleaned up. Aside from the fact that the rubbish was a blight on the neighborhood, it was a matter of principle. He obviously couldn't come home and clean up the property.
Patrons waiting in line started joining in the problem solving mission. One lady advised just mailing the permission forms to his Long Beach address then it would be forwarded to him. I don't know why I didn't think of that-it was probably the most simple way to take care of it. Time was still an issue, and we didn't know if the mail would actually get to him. It sure would be nice if we could fax him or email him...
Another lady joined the conversation and said she was with a volunteer organization and could try to assist in finding him, and once given permission she would make sure the mess was cleaned up. Then, yet another lady handed me her card. She was with Family Services at our local SeaBee base. She said she would take care of it, that was their JOB. How's that for providence?
My daughter and I left the post office smiling. We like going to the Post Office anyway because the postal workers are "cool", and because other than Winn Dixie, the Post Office is a social center of town. I think it was good for my 13 year old witness strangers brainstorming to help someone totally unknown to any of us.
The lady from Family services followed up with me. She called once to say they couldn't find him, but they were still trying. Then, a couple of weeks later when I visited my listing I saw that the Seabee's property was cleaned up.
We don't know who actually did it. But, someone took care of the SeaBee that was serving all of us. Close to the end of March my letter to the Seabee was returned to me with forwarding address unknown.
So here's my newest Long Beach sales pitch,
"Move to Long Beach-our postal workers are COOL!" Hey, ya wannta have fun? Meet me at Winn Dixie. Problems? General meeting at the Long Beach Post Office, Between all of us, we'll find a solution!
Posted by 
. I don't know when or why AR did it. But, I notice we can now delete comments. Every so often duplicates happen by mistake. Usually when the commenter discovers the duplications, they are embarrassed. Sometimes new people don't know how to correct, or haven't noticed. So, I helped her out a bit and deleted 2. This happens a lot to me as well. So if any of you note that I have a duplicate post--please feel free to delete on my behalf.
;)
;)
