Locked Out From across the Country

[Tanner Gish]

Looking for some help:

I am in a very frustrating situation, where I have a duplex I am ready to sell ( not very modernized, but habitable).

Here’s my issue though – the contractor who was getting it ready to sell, is now completely MIA. I have not received a response to my weekly texting and phone calls in almost 2 1/2 months.

He changed the lock box code, so I don’t know what the code is, to be able to get into the property, get pictures taken, and to start listing it.

Lastly, I am out of state – this is in Cincinnati, And I am in California.

What are my options? I can call a locksmith to pick up the lock box, but who will I send to the property to meet them? I can have my listing agent, but won’t the locksmith want proof of ownership, before doing this, and will they feel comfortable with someone being my proxy?

Would appreciate any advice the community can provide!

[J Scott]

Get on an airplane and visit your property.  You made the mistake of not having a trusted third-party as your eyes and ears on the ground, and now you need to deal with the repercussions of that mistake.  While you're there, you get a locksmith to let you in, you figure out what the remaining scope of work is, you find a new contractor, and you find someone you TRUST to manage everything for you (NOT the contractor).  Perhaps the listing agent is willing to do this job for an hourly fee or a piece of the profits?