About Ottawa's Bells Corners

When last we talked about Mark, he was unable to sell his home for his high asking price and by trying to do it himself. He had asked Agent Valerie to come back and talk about what may be limiting the sale. As we heard, he listed too high, the house was on the market too long and Mark had thought that all the good houses would eventually sell so that his would start looking good. Agent Valerie left Seller Mark with some things to think about as she headed out for another appointment.

After leaving the house, Valerie noted that the next door neighbour was sitting on his stoop and seemed to be waiting to talk to her. She went over and introduced herself. It turned out that Mr. P.T. Barney and his dog Bailey had lived next door to Mark's house for several decades. P.T. told Valerie that the house had seen many owners and some owners had rented the home for periods of time. P.T. was a friendly guy and he liked Valerie. He decided to give her some information she might want. He asked if the problem with selling the house was the drug bust four years ago. Valerie did a double take on the words drug bust. Oh yes, according to P.T., the police arrived and found 200 marijuana plants growing in the basement. The renters were not there at the time and never returned. After the bust, the owner (according P.T.) had fixed the house and then quickly put it on the market. Seller Mark was the second owner since the bust but had likely bought it knowing that it had been a marijuana growing house.

P.T. talked to Valerie, because that is what neighbours do, they observe and they comment. He said that he and two other neighbours had noted that there were odd coming and goings from the house, the renters were seldom there, a radio played all the time, there was no garbage out on garbage day, the window blinds were always drawn and, he said, that there was an odd humming noise that they could hear day and night. At the annual block party, they mentioned their observations to the policeman that lived down the street. Wasn't it a surprise that two days later the police showed up and broke down the doors?

P.T. had to go in and have his tea. He left Valerie thinking that Mark had a lot more on his plate than just an overpriced home. It was time to do a little investigation to see how much of P.T.'s story was fact and how much Mark knew. This house could now have a history, be stigmatized and had owner legal requirements of disclosure of possible latent and patent defects.

Agent Valerie drove away thinking about P.T.'s comment that watching Mark try to sell his house was like

Watching the greatest show on earth.

Photo credit; Circus Tents

All neighbourhoods can be locations for homes turned into Grow Ops and drug distribution. To maintain the value of your current home (for now and future sale) and to make your area safe, it is important to know some of the signs and to phone the authorities if you have concerns. Closing your eyes to these problems will not make them go away - in fact, you are assisting the perpetrators.

What should you notice?

For drug distribution:

• Look for a number of cars arriving at the house, staying for short periods of time, and then leaving.
• Maybe there is a lot of foot traffic going in and out of the house.
• Look for people who park a block away and walk to the house. Everyone has visitors but is there an unusually high number and people who do not look like they are just dropping in for coffee.
• Ask yourself if the the house is being left to fall apart while other business is being transacted.
• Listen to your intuition. Is something just not right?
• Call the police to voice your concerns.

In a case near me, the police indicated that they had no records of people calling so they were not actively watching the house. Call.

For a Grow Op: (see Ottawa Police site )

• Because the humidity is going to be high (and destroy the house in the process), it is unlikely anyone is living in the house.
• There will be ‘visitors' to tend to the crop and they may be arriving and leaving at odd times.
• In a Grow Op situation it is more what is not happening versus what you can see.
  • The drapes or window treatments will be closed tightly.
  • There is likely to be condensation on the windows (from the heat and humidity).
  • Windows will never be opened.
  • Lights and music/TV will be left on 24/7 to give the feeling of someone being home.
• There may be a fan running to vent the inside of the house.

Remember, a Grow Op does not have to be in a detached home. It may be in an apartment block, duplex, row or semi-detached. Your best move is to contact the city police.

The City of Kansas has a wonderful brochure and reporting sheet available for use.

If you have information about a marijuana grow house, the Ottawa police would like you to contact them:

• phone 613-236-1222, ext. 7300; or
• contact Crime Stoppers anonymously at 613-233-TIPS (8477) or 1-800-222-8477.

Photo credit: Neighborhood Watch

I have no idea what motivated me to buy this snowman. No idea!!! It is now in a box with other ornaments that are looking for new homes. Can you say bye-bye? Well, at least it makes a good photo of one of the more tacky things for Christmas. If, by and chance, you want a copy of this photo, let me know and I will zipfile a better image.

I now understand the need for a light box for photos like this.