Drug house landlord tells of eviction struggle

Doesn’t matter how carefully those references are checked. As a landlord, it’s easy to end up with tenants you think are taking part in illegal activity – and it’s hard to get them out.

"They have more rights than you do right now," said a landlord who has experienced the difficulty of renting his home to someone and then having regrets.

He doesn’t want to give his name, or too many details, because he’s scared of retribution. But this Oliver landlord has spent months embroiled in a battle to get his tenants out, and he wants to speak out to let others know what it is like.

"It took me a full two months, which was absolute Hell. I was sitting on pins and needles the whole time."

When the tenants applied to move into the Oliver home, he checked the references, and all looked good. But it didn’t take him long to realize the people who signed the contract weren’t the people moving into his house. By then, it was too late to end the situation without huge hassle.

"They were in. I ordered them out, because they weren’t the people I thought they were. They were not even the people on the contract. But even though they were illegal in the house, you still have to follow the protocol."

The BC Residential Tenancy Act lays out some strict guidelines to follow when trying to evict tenants. To complicate matters, it was only a matter of days before he started to suspect there was illegal activity going on, mostly because of the traffic to and from the home.

But the cops couldn’t do anything without more proof, and he had to deal with trying to evict people he didn’t even rent to in the first place.

"You need to get someone to help you through this protocol. You need to find someone who knows what to do," he said. He contacted a lawyer from the Lower Mainland who is experienced in dealing with this matter, and started the legal steps to get the tenants out.

But it wasn’t easy. They hired their own lawyer, and threatened a lawsuit. The process involved proving the tenants were breaking the rules, waiting on appropriate hearings, and issuing notices at appropriate times.

In his case, the police became involved, because there was indeed illegal activity going on.

After the two-month battle, the tenants moved out – after paying no rent at all – leaving the home in shambles. He said there was evidence of some serious drug activity.

"Everywhere you look it is another, ‘Oh my God,’" he said. There were clothes strewn all over the floors, and junk food containers everywhere. He had to deal with drug paraphernalia, stolen goods, structural damage - like burn marks on the floors, and chemical erosion in the bathtubs – and the involvement of a police investigation.

"In every single room there was an acetylene torch," he said, adding he thinks that is used to take drugs.

After two months of stress, the man has a few tips for other landlords. First, he said never to allow a tenant to move in until after they sign the contract, and to accept no excuses for delay. He also said that references should be checked very carefully, and more attention should be paid to the reputation of the people renting.

His other advice is to keep careful records, including a diary of suspicious activity. It was his careful accounting that helped keep the situation to the least amount of time possible before evicting them, he said.

Ultimately, he said he would like to see more done to allow landlords the power to resolve such situations.

"There were four parts to this whole thing, and that has to change. There are no rights here for the landlord," he said, referring to the red tape to get the tenants out. "We’ve got to vote in a bylaw to protect landlords. We need to pass a bylaw so the police force can go in and make these arrests."

Sleazy salespeople targeting seniors with scams

She knows first-hand that con artists are targeting senior citizens in Oliver, because it recently happened to her. And even though this woman wants to speak out so others know what to watch out for, she is afraid to give her name.

"He’s a predator," said the victim, a senior citizen living in Oliver.

The whole thing started out with the woman being told she had won a free gift – and it ended up as a nightmare for the trusting senior.

"I was sitting on the love seat, and it was early evening, and the phone rang," she said. When the woman answered it, a friendly voice on the other end knew her by name. He said he was trying to find out some information about the air and water quality in the valley, and would she answer some questions for him.

"I thought he was working for the town," she said.

As a reward for answering the questions, the woman won a free prize, to be delivered another day. Shortly after her gift was delivered, the man who had called knocked on her door, to follow up.

Turns out he was trying to sell vacuum cleaners, and wouldn’t take no for an answer.

Deb Carlson, from Oliver’s RCMP victim assistance program, said this is a common practice in town. The high-pressure salesman can be peddling vacuums, home repairs, or any other services. They have a well-honed repertoire of techniques to get through the front door. Often, it is the promise of a free gift – like flowers. And by that point, the salesman has often learned more key information about the target.

"If they are talking to a woman, they will say something like, ‘Is your husband allergic to flowers?’" Carlson said. They might also just simply inquire if the woman’s husband agrees with her opinions about the survey questions she is being asked. Depending on her answers, the salesman can figure out if she is a single woman.

To boot, when the man shows up at a senior citizen’s door, after giving out a free prize, some might feel it would be rude not to let him in.

"Our senior citizens were raised in a much gentler time than we were," said Carlson. "They may feel obligated to ask him in."

Then, the con artist works on earning trust.

"I like to call it ‘relationship-building,’" Carlson said. The salesman might notice photos or other items in the home, and comment on them accordingly. Stories of ties to the community might earn the trust of the victim, and a polite, clean-cut appearance helps.

"It’s much easier to say no to somebody you don’t trust, and who doesn’t look decent," Carlson pointed out. Then, she said, they get down to the hard sell.

Sometimes the con artist talks in circles. The victim might end up feeling confused, and vulnerable.

"By that point, I believe the target is feeling unsure and unsafe, and just wants that person out of their home," Carlson said.

That’s what happened to this senior. The man started looking at her personal belongings, and asking too many questions. When she got up to walk around her home, he told her to sit back down. He demonstrated the vacuum cleaner he had for sale. Then, said the woman, he insisted she buy it for more than $2,000.

"He came and stood over me and said, ‘Write the cheque,’" the victim said. "I felt I was threatened. He turned altogether different, and I was scared, I really truly was."

"After he left, I thought, what have I done?"

She called the bank to try to cancel the cheque, but it was too late – it had already been cashed. The woman called the police the next morning, and hooked up with Carlson.

Carlson said there are some easy steps to be mindful of when someone comes to your door. The easiest solution is prevention: just don’t let anyone in the door unless you have asked them to come over.

But if you do want to hear about their product, there are precautions. First, the salesperson should have identification, and a local, Oliver business licence.

"If they don’t have ID, don’t let them in," Carlson said.

"Before they (the buyer) sign any contract or allow any money to change hands, they should wait," she said. A few days to cool off can help the buyer to think straight, and if the salesperson really wants the sale, he or she will wait.

The buyer can then check with the Better Business Bureau, and try to find out if the item under consideration is legitimate. Also, it is important to remember that a buyer has 10 days to get a full refund on an item by sending a registered letter to the company or individual.

Carlson helped the senior get her money back – but the woman would not have done it alone. There is no way she would have let the man back in her house without Carlson present. She has even felt it necessary to get a security company to find out how to beef up her safety.

"I’m afraid," she said, adding the only reason she is coming forward is because she wants other seniors to be prepared and not fall into the same trap. "If somebody doesn’t speak up he might go on forever."

Mother of missing boy upset by claims

When Oliver resident Linda Boudreau saw local media coverage of what David Barclay claims to know about Michael Dunahee’s disappearance, she was infuriated.

She knows what this kind of information can do to Dunahee’s family – because she’s been in their shoes – and she thinks he and the media were out of line.

"You know this is going to get back to the Dunahee family," she said. "I have a problem with this man walking around town saying stuff like this."

It was 25 years ago that Boudreau’s 10-year-old son, Lonnie, went missing from Vanier, Ontario. It only takes her a few seconds to pull out the box that holds the news clippings that tell the story of his disappearance in 1981.

"He’s 35 years old now," she said. "In my heart I want to believe he is still alive."

It was a Thursday evening when Lonnie came home to trouble from his mother. When she grounded him for some wrong-doing at school, he slipped out the back door, and she never saw him again.

She still continues to hear snippets about her missing son.

"There was all kinds of sightings. One idiot called and told me the police found him in the park, cut up into pieces. It was the hardest time of my life."

Boudreau is still sensitive about people who are coming forward with information like Barclay’s.

"She (Dunahee’s mother) is hoping upon hope someone has found him and looked after him … he came out and said the guy was a pedophile, and he knew the guy who had killed him … if this got back to the Dunahees it would rip them apart."

She isn’t claiming his story is untrue – but she doesn’t like the way he is going about the telling.

She would like Barclay to either make sure the police are doing something with the tip, or, if the report is false, to stop spreading the story. She wonders if he is out for the money.

"Fifteen years later, the family boosts the reward to $100,000 and he comes out of the woodwork."

According to Sgt. Kevin Schur, Barclay hasn’t spoken to them. The Chronicle alerted Schur to the tip, and Schur faxed a copy to the Victoria police.

"The info they (the Barclays) are providing, they already have," Schur said. He can’t comment on what is being done, just that it was indeed reported to the Victoria police some time ago.

Schur said if someone reports false information to get a reward, there are repercussions.

"If we enter into an investigation that is false … that is public mischief," he said, adding the party must be aware the report is untrue for charges to be laid.

Private versus public promotion

Banée chair Alan Ruddiman felt there was some confusion in the minds of readers following our report last week under Council Briefs about his request for $20,000 from the taxpayers of Oliver. He asked for space for a letter-to-the-editor and we are happy to oblige.

We have some confusion in our minds, however, about why a private dinner party for the wine industry and its writers should require public funds. We have no problem with the event, which is a brilliant way to promote our wine industry. Our hesitancy is in understanding the line between public and private when it comes to promotion of an industry.

Grapes and wine are only a part of the economic activity that supports our town. The wine industry is an important and growing part of our economy but we are not yet a one-industry-town. There are other businesses who might want subsidies for their promotion efforts and they could use the same trickle-down argument that their efforts add to the common good.

The Town of Oliver already supports two organizations with a mandate to promote business and economic development. The Chamber of Commerce and Oliver and District Community Economic Development Society have mandates that extend to a wide range of business activities although both put a portion of their resources into promoting our grape and wine industry.

Our preferred strategy would be to use the newly formed Banée Society to raise the necessary funds from the wineries, vineyards, industry-related suppliers, hotels and restaurants that are the direct beneficiaries of the sale of wine. There are a dozen wineries in our local area, so this is now a mature industry with the resources to fund such an effort. Self-taxing an industry is not always easy but it is better than imposing a compulsory tax on a town with over a third of its population being retirees, many on a fixed income. They have already done their bit by branding the town with Wine Capital of Canada, erecting the welcoming signs and promoting the grape motif on Main Street.