1508 Avondale Avenue
                                                  Richmond, Virginia 23227
                                                  April 20, 1998

BY FACSIMILE: 780-6948

Mr. Dyett Ellis
Housing Code Enforcement
City of Richmond
900 East Broad Street
Richmond, Virginia 23219

RE:     Action File No. 97-008699
          1410 Avondale Avenue

Dear Mr. Ellis:

Please extend my thanks to Kathy Branch and David Schanz of your staff for their kindness and courtesy when I called about this matter today.

According to Mr. Schanz, this house is tied up in the administration of the estate of Joseph Osborne. Whatever the reason, the house is in deplorable condition:

• Where paint remains on the house, it mostly is closer to black than the original white.

• Vines have covered the foundation plantings and have started onto the front porch. There is a particularly attractive shoot of Virginia Creeper running up the front of the house toward the open window on the northeast corner.

• The soffit has rotted out on both front corners.

• The back porch is tilted, and appears to be unsupported.

• A five-foot section of foundation is missing in the back. This appears to be the access portal for the (fat, happy) family of raccoons that lives beneath the house.

• The shed is unlocked and open.

• The "lawn" is rank and knee-high.

The building is more than an eyesore. It is attracting vermin and, to judge by the beer can in the side yard, it may have started to attract human vermin. The building is an affront to our peaceful neighborhood.

My neighbors and I would be grateful for any help you can provide to get this menace either fixed up or torn down.

With thanks for your help and with kindest regards, I am

Sincerely,

John R. Butcher

cc: Winnie Cobb

        Robert Shawn Majette, Esq.
        Thompson & McMullan, PC
        100 Shockoe Slip
        Richmond, Virginia 23219
        Fax: 780-1318