I want to talk to a person; not a recording

[And-Con]

I have now officially spent all morning digging through phone recordings and deciphering the Lee County Florida (my home) website. I have yet to find a person on any of the phone systems, or make any headway with the website.

All i want to do is find out if a piece of property is buildable before I bid on it; I wish they would have a person at the phones but no that costs money; so does anyone have advice, since i can't make headway with the county-would a realtor be able to tell me; maybe an architect, engineer? surely there is someone who has a pulse and a brain-not a recorded list-that could explain if this piece is buildable

If anyone cares to know its a ~1/3 acre lot(small 75'x205') on an outer island(Upper Captiva, boat access only), it has growth on it, its slightly more than just sand, I actually grew up going to that beach in the boat, so i would love to own a piece of it but for realistic reasons if i purchase this and its not buildable, i will never be able to get rid of it, so i want to ensure it is in fact buildable

 

[CATransplant]

Re: I want to talk to a person; not a recording

I think you're going to have to go to the county courthouse with the legal description of the property and ask your question there. Someone's going to have to do some research and you're going to need their help.

You will definitely need the legal description of the property to get the info you need. It's going to be frustrating, but I don't see any other option.

 

[DJ]

Re: I want to talk to a person; not a recording

This is a pet peave of mine.

There are more people, on this planet than ever before. Yet, nobody to talk to.

Text them! They'll answer that!

 

[FBPirate95]

Re: I want to talk to a person; not a recording

"HELLO! and thank you for calling....."


If you are obsessive-compulsive, press 1 repeatedly.

If you are co-dependent, please ask someone to press 2 for you.

If you have multiple personalities, press 3, 4, 5 and 6.

If you are paranoid, we know who you are and what you want, stay on the line so we can trace your call.

If you are delusional, press 7 and your call will be forwarded to the Mother Ship.

If you are schizophrenic, listen carefully and a little voice will tell you which number to press.

If you are manic-depressive, it doesn't matter which number you press, nothing will make you happy anyway.

If you are dyslexic, press 9696969696969696.

If you are bipolar, please leave a message after the beep or before the beep or after the beep. Please wait for the beep.

If you have short-term memory loss, press 9. If you have short-term memory loss, press 9. If you have short-term memory loss, press 9.

If you have low self-esteem, please hang up our operators are too busy to talk with you.

If you are menopausal, put the gun down, hang up, turn on the fan, lie down and cry. You won't be crazy forever.

If you are blonde, don't press any buttons, you'll just mess it up.

 

[HopeSheFloats]

Re: I want to talk to a person; not a recording

Whenever I get those automated messages, I just reply "operator", which usually leads to a message along the lines of "I'm sorry, I did not comprehend your response.. please enter one of the following options using your touch-tone keys"{or something similar}...8 out of ten times repeating 'operator' again will get me connected to a human, tho sometimes it may take three or four 'operator' request's.

Another way you can try, is punching in a number they don't offer in their selections. And lastly, I'll just punch a bunch of random numbers{just don't start with a number they use} as that sometimes too will get you connected....so please "hang up & try again" lol

 

[BWR1953]

Re: I want to talk to a person; not a recording

Some of those voice systems are designed to never have a human come on the line... they're completely automated. You can TRY dialing #### and see if that works, but some of the smarter systems will simply tell you that's an invalid response.. then "goodbye."

Best bet in your case is to get the property info and go down to the Lee county permitting office. They'll know what can and cannot be built on that lot.

Best of luck!

 

[kenmyfam]

Re: I want to talk to a person; not a recording

Ah yes, the age of technology. Press a million different numbers and speak to somebody in India (if you are lucky) that has no idea what you are talking about.

 

[Bob_VT]

Re: I want to talk to a person; not a recording

If you live in the area.....and the phones are so anti-social...... get in your car and drive there..... be nice and you may even get a direct line to someone

 

[Tim Frank]

Re: I want to talk to a person; not a recording

Whenever I get those automated messages, I just reply "operator", which usually leads to a message along the lines of "I'm sorry, I did not comprehend your response.. please enter one of the following options using your touch-tone keys"{or something similar}...8 out of ten times repeating 'operator' again will get me connected to a human, tho sometimes it may take three or four 'operator' request's.

Another way you can try, is punching in a number they don't offer in their selections. And lastly, I'll just punch a bunch of random numbers{just don't start with a number they use} as that sometimes too will get you connected....

I tried that once and ended up with a $20- charge on my MasterCard statement.

 

[HopeSheFloats]

Re: I want to talk to a person; not a recording

I tried that once and ended up with a $20- charge on my MasterCard statement.

LOL, Not at your being charged ,but in the fact that I didn't add in my original post to be sure... not to use random numbers that begin with 976

 

[TahoeQ4Pilot]

Re: I want to talk to a person; not a recording

Try entering 0 (zero). It may take a few tries, but that usually (50% I guess) works for me.

 

[And-Con]

Re: I want to talk to a person; not a recording

I tried my old standby-just keep hitting "0" until something finally happened, and they managed to direct me through to zoning&permitting. Once i got a person on the line it was clear sailing and she was very helpful and actually seemed to have good news; it should be buildable.

They were also able to get me the direct number for the lady with the department of environmental protection(no cursed automated services this time-take that "system"), who I'm waiting for a response from, but have fingers crossed. As it turns out these lots are all anomalies, they were initially made too small for their zoning classification, but some amends appear to have been made, and the one I'm interested in is one of few that are not "partially underwater"(stupid ice caps melting) meaning it should still be buildable.

On a lighter note, thank you fbpirate, that really hit the spot, just what i needed.

On a sad note, the building i was calling is 4 miles away from me, i could have walked it easily, biked it happily, or even driven it, but instead i sat on my fat stern and called.

 

[jay_merrill]

Re: I want to talk to a person; not a recording

Best bet in your case is to get the property info and go down to the Lee county permitting office. They'll know what can and cannot be built on that lot.

This.

Just tell them you want to apply for a building permit. After they give you an answer, you can say, "not really, but I needed to know if I can build there."



???

 

[Fly Rod]

Re: I want to talk to a person; not a recording

Do not rely on a Realtor to tell you if a property is buildable.

Go to the city or town building inspector, he should be able to tell you if the lot is big enough to build on, street frontage, front, side and rear yard set backs. You may have to go to wetlands departtment(if they have one) or conservation.

As a buyer of land and if you are working with a Realtor, make sure that your Realtor writes in the provisions of P&S something like:

"Subject to the buyer obtaining all neccessary permits for construction of a dwelling prior to closing." That is if you are looking to build and not just going to hold onto the land.

You do not want to be stuck with a non-buildable lot.

Also go to your county deeds office and get a plot plan of the lot that you may want to purchase. If working with a Realtor he/she should be able to do this for you.

 

[canyonken]

Re: I want to talk to a person; not a recording

Whenever I call a bank, phone, cable provider, etc. I always press 1 or whatever number gets you to NEW SERVICE or APPLY NOW. They will pick up the phone fast for a new customer. Once you get a person they won't hang up on you. It is usally the same group of people handling new service or questions or whatever. Press any choice that sounds expensive and you will get a person.