Posted by Mohammad Ali on 11/15/13 5:18pm
Msg #492957

Finding House number when it is dark

Anyone knows a good way to find a house number in the dark during winter.I do some notary work after 7 Pm when it becomes dark and in unlighted street .I use tom-tom Gps but only tells me I reached the destination.Now I can not see the house numbers of the house without focusing with a flash night door to door.It is really very bad for a stranger with flash light to find correct house number.Anyone who knows a good easy way.Kindly explain or can anyone knows to use good GPS
which shows house number.

Reply by Luckydog on 11/15/13 5:32pm
Msg #492960

Fortunately if you solve this problem, you would be a millionaire. What I do is tell the people to leave their lights on anytime now after 5:30 PM, describe their house and type of car in the drive. These 3 clues will help you find your destination. Worst case, you park in front of where you think it is and call them to come outside.

Reply by desktopfull on 11/15/13 5:40pm
Msg #492968

If you read your home owner's insurance policy they have a section in them that will allow them to get out of paying for damages if something happens and you don't have your street number for your home visible from the street, because emergency vehicles can't find your location which can cause additional damages. Most want 3" numbers or larger. I went an bought 4" numbers that are reflective at night.

Reply by Linda_H/FL on 11/15/13 5:42pm
Msg #492969

They don't all do that up my way DTF

Homeowners' insurance? Are you kidding?? LOL

I have a lot of homes up here that are unmarked. with acres of frontage loaded with trees....I won't get out of the car to look around in the dark - too many nighttime critters to be wary of.

Reply by jba/fl on 11/15/13 6:54pm
Msg #492978

But we aren't looking for your house, Desk. LOL

I ask how am I going to know their house from all the rest on the block. What sets them apart? Don't you just love the lights right under the numbers, that have a lid on the light? Once I had a bush completely hiding the numbers, but the BO didn't know. I don't think people look at what they have and understand how others cannot find them.

Telling me you have a red car doesn't help either - in the dark they all look dark. Ford Tahoe? how do I know - SUV is SUV. It is a problem for sure.

Now, if I can't find right away, I call and tell them to come out or start flipping the light off and on. Surprising how many don't even have the lights on. I wonder what super powers they ascribe to me.

Reply by Ilene C. Seidel on 11/16/13 6:07am
Msg #493017

I call the borrowers when on their street and tell them to turn the porch light on/off so I can find them. Easy Peezy

Reply by Sandra G Holland on 11/16/13 8:50am
Msg #493021

What Luckdog said.

Reply by Sandra G Holland on 11/16/13 8:51am
Msg #493022

"Luckydog". Sorry. Computer didn't want to put in the y.

Reply by Darlin_AL on 11/15/13 5:35pm
Msg #492962

How about when you contact your borrower & introduce yourself, ask them to please put on the porch light and any "outside" lights they have? It's just as important in the city as in the boonies, where I work. When that doesn't work, I call the people & ask them to come outside and look for me. This works good w/cell to cell. Describe your car. For sure you don't want to get shot or bit. I have had the borrower come meet me wherever the driveway meets the county road, even in daylight. Best to make the inquire on that initial call "is your house # visible or lit?", etc

Reply by John/CT on 11/15/13 5:35pm
Msg #492963

I always ask the borrower ahead of time how would I recognize their house in the dark (car in the driveway, etc.), and when necessary to come outside if I can't see the house number (assuming there is no rural mailbox outside). I'll call them when my GPS says I'm there, and the borrower can "talk me in".

Reply by NVLSlady/VA on 11/15/13 5:36pm
Msg #492965

Ask the homeowner to help - shine headlights, place flares, honk horn, put white flag on mailbox, flash porch light, leave trail of bread crumbs, something

Reply by Larry/IL on 11/15/13 6:12pm
Msg #492972

It's always good to ask how to know when you at the right house even if it was dark out, when confirming.

I also bring up the address on Google satellite, and ask them if I am looking at the correct house. Using Google satellite before leaving the office, You can then sometimes count number of driveways from a corner or road.

I have a Samsung Note 2. Once I put in the house on Google maps at my office, all I have to do is turn on my phone's GPS and Google map's satellite view and I can see exactly where I on my phone. I could find the house at midnight in a heavy fog. Of course if all else fails, as previously stated, call when you think your there.

Reply by Doris_CO on 11/15/13 6:25pm
Msg #492973

I also look up the address on Google satellite and count the roof tops or driveways from the corner. I have a gps but it has taken me to the wrong address several times so I always print out the google map and bring that with me. I guess people don't realize how difficult it is to see their house numbers after dark. Most people will have their porch light on, but so do their neighbors, so that doesn't help much.

Reply by JinCA on 11/15/13 6:34pm
Msg #492974

I can't even see the street signs around here at night.

Especially when it is rainy or foggy! I am thinking of getting a portable spotlight for those.

Reply by Sandra G Holland on 11/16/13 8:56am
Msg #493023

Re: I can

Yes, that is a problem, JinCa.

Reply by HSH/WA on 11/15/13 5:57pm
Msg #492970

Re: If they start shooting, probably wrong house. n/m

Reply by Signerbill on 11/15/13 6:02pm
Msg #492971

signing after dark... who does that!! n/m

Reply by Linda_H/FL on 11/15/13 7:17pm
Msg #492982

Who does what? Signing after dark? Is that what you

meant? If so - many of us have and many still do. The borrowers' convenience is many times 6, 7pm or later...it's dark..

If that's not what you meant...my apologies.

Reply by Malbrough_LA on 11/15/13 7:21pm
Msg #492984

I concur

I've been known to do GNW at 11pm in a Winn Dixie parking lot. Always makes for a good conversation with the deputy that drives by patrolling lol. Usually I know them too.

Reply by Linda_H/FL on 11/15/13 7:24pm
Msg #492985

My best late-night one

At a convenience store/truck stop off the interstate - 9pm - took my husband
Truckers all over the place
I'm signing on the back of an open pickup truck - my briefcase open, cash flashing around..
I was fully expecting the sheriffs to show up any minute..lol

Reply by Malbrough_LA on 11/15/13 7:27pm
Msg #492987

LOL

That's how mine usually go since I've become 100% mobile. The office was holding me back more than I had suspected. Either way, yes. Cash exchanged in Walgreens parking lot with docs flying around, briefcases out, etc. Looks rather comical lol.

Reply by MikeC/TX on 11/15/13 7:15pm
Msg #492981

There's no commercially available GPS I know of that will pinpoint an address, unless it's a really large building. They're designed to put you within about 30 feet of your destination, so at best you might be in front of a neighbor's house. Be thankful that they're usually correct about what side of the street the address is on. Using a flashlight is probably not a good idea, and could get you shot in some areas...

Your best bet, if you know it's going to be dark, is to ask them to leave a porch light on so you can see the house number. Calling them when you get in the area is not a bad idea either - I had one signing where my GPS led me to a dead end - it insisted there was a road in front of me, but new development had closed the road. I called the BO from the car and had them talk me in from that point.

Reply by notarydi/CA on 11/15/13 7:54pm
Msg #492993

Google is your friend......

I try to Google the address so I sort of know what I'm looking for even if GPS is telling me I have arrived at my destination. Then, if I am really having trouble, I just call the borrower to come outside and talk me in. Latest signing I have done was 10, and we waited for the husband who arrived at 11. Wife was stalling.....husband was flying into LA from LA GUARDIA! Had to sign or rate expired. We were jammin'! Escrow paid me very well.

Reply by MikeC/TX on 11/15/13 8:04pm
Msg #492995

Re: Google is your friend......

"we waited for the husband who arrived at 11. Wife was stalling.....husband was flying into LA from LA GUARDIA!"

From LGA at that hour? What is that - the reverse "red-eye"?

Reply by Howie35CT on 11/15/13 8:27pm
Msg #492998

When confirming w/the BO, I ask them what type(s) of vehicles are in the driveway. Since no one in CT parks their cars in their garages, it is MUCH easier for me to spot a truck or certain type of car than an obscure house number that may or may not be on a mailbox or dimly lit front porch. This generally always works, because they begin volunteering other information that makes it easy to pick their house out from the others. Just my 0.02.

Reply by pdl/cali on 11/15/13 8:37pm
Msg #493001

if you google the address in goolemaps.com, and scroll in, you will be able to see an actual photo of the property and you can view the street and neighborhood.

Reply by Linda_H/FL on 11/15/13 8:55pm
Msg #493005

Yes, you can see all that...but it doesn't do a bit of good

when it's pitch black out at night.

In my area, as I'm sure it is in other rural areas - no street lights....when dark hits you can't see your hand in front of your face. I'm looking out my living room window right now and I can't see the house across the way - pitch black outside. NOBODY can see my house from the street - they may see the light through the blinds but if these lights go out they can't see me either.

Reply by LKT/CA on 11/15/13 11:07pm
Msg #493010

Re: Yes, you can see all that...but it doesn

<<<In my area, as I'm sure it is in other rural areas - no street lights....when dark hits you can't see your hand in front of your face.>>>

This is a situation ripe for the boogeyman!!

Reply by MikeC/TX on 11/15/13 11:27pm
Msg #493011

"if you google the address in goolemaps.com, and scroll in, you will be able to see an actual photo of the property"

Sometimes - other times what you get is a neighbor's house, because Google can't zero in on every property.

And even if you got a hit to show the property, what good is that going to do you in the dark? Wouldn't it be easier to just call them and say "hey, I'm here, but I'm not sure which house is yours"?

Reply by sigtogo/OR on 11/16/13 10:32am
Msg #493033

Yes it would Mike, IF you have cell coverage!! n/m

Reply by Tim Cameron on 11/15/13 10:21pm
Msg #493006

Call the owner and ask them to step outside so you know which home it is

Reply by walthtz on 11/15/13 10:29pm
Msg #493007

If I cannot find a house number, I call the BR & ask them for help.

Reply by CJ on 11/15/13 10:50pm
Msg #493009

I like Christmas.

"We're the house with the giant Sponge Bob on the roof".

Reply by Serina/VT on 11/16/13 7:12am
Msg #493018

I ask the people directions and usually they will say something, like the 6th house on the left or the 1st driveway past the big farm, or 1.2 miles from the corner. But then again most of my work is very rural. One couple had to meet me at the bottom of the mountain and we drove up 1.5 miles in their Gator

Reply by bagger on 11/16/13 7:52am
Msg #493019

Use google earth street view n/m

Reply by jba/fl on 11/16/13 5:52pm
Msg #493058

Doesn't always work - I have been trying for years

to find my mom's house that way and still cannot.

Reply by Sandra G Holland on 11/16/13 9:46am
Msg #493025

Re: Lost on 117 Acres at Midnight.

After I turned down numerous farm-to-market roads and county roads with numbers instead of names, the rancher met me at the gate and escorted me in past the shed for the tractors. When I left about 11:00, I pointed and said, "Turn this way?" He nodded. His wife let me out as he was already going into the bedroom. Do you know how many turns a ranch road has and how many roads branch out from it? I was pointing to the way the paved country road went. When I had passed the deer blind twice, I knew I couldn't find my way out. The deer blind wasn't on the way in. I was in the only place on the 117-acre ranch that didn't have cell phone reception. (He had promised me that the whole ranch did.) So I drove until I could see the house with the last light on, but couldn't find the road, turned off into a shredded pasture, stumbled over a broken fence and walked to the house. I had put the flashlight in my house several days ago for lack of batteries, but usually don't need it. I left my car door open so I could find my car again. Something alerted the ranchers. Maybe a pet dog was restless. He came out and then escorted me to the road in his little thingamagig he rides to the mailbox. It's probably important to ask for directions to get back home, hmm? When I got on pavement, I looked at my watch. It was already 12:20. I got home in another part of the county at 1:30 but wasn't sure how I got there because I turned onto the first major road I encountered and watched the road signs to tell how many miles I was from a town. Oddly, this was the third signing with the couple. They live near a small town that lost its post office but that is their address, but they get their mail from a small town in the next county, go to church in another town in another county, and have a "retirement" business in my town. All of these towns are jsut a few miles from each other, but mine is the farthest. The first signing, an application, was at their church in a town in the next county because they said it was hard to find their ranch. I happened to be in that town that day so they changed it from their first choice of the family business in another town. The second was at the place of business in my town but they found inaccuracies and asked for changes because the contract didn't cover the part of the property they wanted in it. Usually, the most interesting thing that happens at a signing is the conversation!

Reply by Linda_H/FL on 11/16/13 9:52am
Msg #493026

You're brave Sandra

"I left my car door open so I could find my car again"

That's the LAST thing I'd do in the country at night - you never know what companions may greet you in your car when you get back or what you may go home with!!

The best - and safest - solution for nighttime appointments I've found is this huge halogen spotlight my husband bought for going out to our barn at night - I take that AND him - I drive while he uses the spotlight to locate - he then sits in the car during the appointment.

Or - my other alternative - I don't start any loan signings after 6:00pm during standard time.

Reply by sueharke on 11/16/13 12:50pm
Msg #493045

Re: You

Have the signers meet you at a preset GPS point and use a Garmin, Tom-tom, etc to get you to that point. Set GPS points as you travel to your desination and go back from these points. This is how I found my car in a school parking lot the first semester I attended.

Reply by LadyCA on 11/16/13 3:46pm
Msg #493052

Re: You

Sue even GPS sometimes will not find the address, for example the GPS will not find the City of Quartz Hill but will find the City of Lancaster, when I have to do a signing in Quartz Hill I do have to input Lancaster and than will take me to the right address. Is Garmin that I have but I guess not updated enough to find certain address or cities.

Reply by sueharke on 11/16/13 3:56pm
Msg #493054

Re: You

Ask the signer, LO, whoever is knowledgeable about GPS to give you a preset GPS point (that is how I find my brother-in-laws house i the boonies). Have an associate program the coordinates into your independent GPS (note I did not say cell phone as you may not have cell phone coverage). Click new location and follow directions.

Reply by Sandra G Holland on 11/16/13 5:54pm
Msg #493059

Re: You

I had already honked the horn, which is probably why the owner decided to come to the door. Honking the horn to get the critters out would probably work, except for those of the reptilian kind, and I highly doubt they would climb in the car. Besides, some animals shy away from human scent.

Reply by sueharke on 11/16/13 12:47pm
Msg #493044

Re: Lost on 117 Acres at Midnight.

Ah, the beauty of GPS that is not part of a cell phone. I have a GPS and GPS map book (highly recommended). if you don't know how to use a such technology (or map & compass).

Reply by Alan Murray on 11/16/13 11:52am
Msg #493042

I have a Peak PKC0TN 2.5 Million Candle Power Spotlight that I keep in the car its always charging of the 12v plug in. Works great when trying to light up the house from the street. It cost about $20 but you maybe able to find something smaller or better.

Alan Murray
Notary & Apostille Service
https://nynotary4u.com

Reply by Belinda/CA on 11/16/13 1:21pm
Msg #493047

Get a flood light type flashlight and carry in your

car. Plugs into the car charger to recharge. When you use it sometimes you wonder if pointing at the houses is going to get the police called on your but if they come, you explain.

I told one borrower if his house caught on fire the only way the fire department would find it was by the flames coming out of his roof. He looked shocked. I drove by his house not long after that and he had big numbers obviously placed over the garage. People just don't think about it.

Reply by TacomaBoy on 11/16/13 3:48pm
Msg #493053

Get 500 Lumens Light

I've been dealing, forever, with the difficulty of finding address at night. My advice: Goto
COSTCO and purchase a Duracell 500 Lumens flashlight. They are small, easy to handle, 3 "C" Cell Flashight. The light is so bright and concentrated that the beem will penetrate the shadows being cast over the house numbers.

Reply by sueharke on 11/16/13 3:59pm
Msg #493055

Re: Get 500 Lumens Light

I use a head beam and carry a 500 lumans flashlight in the car. Between the two, one has got to work.

Reply by ikando on 11/16/13 6:11pm
Msg #493062

Can't find number on property

I do the same as most mentioned in that I ask the homeowner to help guide me in. But I always find it funny when I ask them where I'll find their house number. There is inevitably a pause when you know the wheels are turning. Finally they'll say, "I think" it's over the garage door, or on the mailbox at the curb. I always wonder how they ask for directions when they need to go to an unfamiliar address.

My pet peeve is no numbers on businesses. I've asked our city councilors a couple times to address that. The numbers on businesses are usually bigger than house numbers, but there is no standard area of placement. Some are over the doors of each store, some are on the sign at the street, some are listed all together on a sign at the side of the building. It's a scavenger hunt!

And like Belinda, if I have a hard time finding the number at a residence, either because it's hidden by bushes or nonexistent, I'll comment that the police and fire would have a similar difficulty should there be an emergency. I usually get a blank stare.

Reply by Sandra G Holland on 11/17/13 8:20am
Msg #493084

Re: Can

Yes, I, too, have commented to my city councilman about signs on businesses. We have had phenomenal growth in our town because of the oilfield so we have a lot of new strip malls. I told him that no one can slow down in this type of traffic to look for addresses. I may have to tell other officials. You reminded me.

The comment from you two that emergency services need numbers is good. It is supposed to be the law in town here.