How do I resolve ambiguous addresses with LiveAddress?

Question

I'm getting an error message trying to normalize an address.

The address in question is:

2537 Broadway, New York, NY 10025-6990

When I try to validate it I get a response saying that it is ambiguous, and the possible options are:

2537 Broadway, New York, NY 10025-6990
2537 Broadway, New York, NY 10025-6947

However if I then try to validate either of those addresses, I get the same response, with the same two possibilities suggested.

Any idea what I could be doing wrong here?

Answer

You are running the address verification cycle twice. You are validating the address, which in this case returns two results that are slightly ambiguous, and then you are validating one of those addresses again when the end user selects the better of the two addresses. That is a circular process and won't get you what you want. Instead, you need to validate the address, allow the user to choose the best one, and then just take that data, since it is already validated.

Incidentally, here is some additional information that you can determine from the results of address verification on that address.

Using the RecordType field, we can determine the following from the addresses.

2537 Broadway, New York, NY 10025-6990
(F) Firm – The address is a Firm record, the finest level of match available for an address This address belongs to SymphonySpace, a theater that occupies the main floor (or default address)

2537 Broadway, New York, NY 10025-6947
(S) Street – The address is a Street record, containing a valid primary number range This address would pertain to any of a number of business offices that are above the default address. The address is still deliverable but would be better served by having a secondary number such as apartment, floor, or suite.