Flossie Pyle-Vincent-Gilleland-Olsen was one of the first female real estate brokers in the city of Burbank. She was a remarkable woman who in the nineteen forties, fifties and sixties loved helping people meet their real estate needs. This is the story of her most interesting sale as written by her son, Herb Vincent, in a 1978 newspaper article for the Burbank Daily Review.

 

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This is the true story of a sale my mother, Flossie Olsen, made about 30 years ago (1948) when she was a broker with Paul White Carnahan Realtors here in Burbank.

 

She was alone in the office one evening when a couple dropped in wanting to buy a home. Flossie had seen a good buy that day, a new listing on Niagara Street just north of Burbank Blvd. She took the couple in her car and drove to the house. However in the dark she made a slight mistake and turned up the wrong street, stopping in front of the house, which had the number of the house for sale on Niagara St. She went up to the door and asked the rather startled owners if she could show their house to the couple in her car. The husband looked at his wife and said, “Well, I guess so.”

 

As soon as Flossie got her buyers in the living room, she realized she was in the wrong house. And the more she tried to get them out, the more they liked the place and wanted to stay. Finally she got them out of the house and into her car where they asked, “How much is it?” She quoted the price of the Niagara St. house and they said, “We’ll take it.”

 

She wrote up the offer and after taking the buyers back to their car, went back to see the owners who were somewhat surprised when she announced, “I’ve sold your house.”

 

The owners said, “How much did you get for it?” and when told the amount of the offer they agreed it was a generous price and that they would take it.

 

Flossie says to this day neither buyers nor sellers realize her mistake. The sellers even told her later that it was real nice the way brokers will take people around until they see a house they like and then talk the owners into selling it.

 

Needless to say, the owners of Paul White Carnahan Realtors; Bob Paul, Bill White and Joe Carnahan, nearly died laughing the next morning when Flossie told them about her sale of the wrong house.

 

I’m sure this will be one of many memories that Flossie Olsen and the owners of P.W.C. Realtors will recall this week when they will hold their 32nd annual recognition dinner at the Sportsman’s Lodge. Flossie was the first saleslady at P.W.C. and although she’s now 82 years young, she always attends the dinners to greet her long time friends who mean so much to her.