US- Canadian border makes dual-nation house a tough sell
BEEBE PLAIN, Vt. — For sale: a 1782 fixer-upper with thick granite walls, 1950s decor and armed 24-hour security provided by both Canada and the United States.
The house, almost 7,000 square feet and cut into five apartments, straddles the border between Beebe Plain, Vermont, and Stanstead, Quebec.
Selling a home in two countries is proving to be a challenge for the couple who owns it.
The structure, which has an estimated rebuild cost of about $600,000, is on the market for $109,000. It’s structurally sound but needs lots of work. And then there’s that international border.
“In the day, it was a normal and natural thing,” said owner Brian DuMoulin, who grew up in the house. “Now it stresses everyone out.”
The home, known locally as the Old Stone Store, was built by a merchant so he could sell to farmers in both Vermont and Quebec. Brian and his wife, Joan DuMoulin, now in their 70s, inherited the home about 40 years ago.
Beebe Plain is a community in the Vermont town of Derby that has seen lots of border-security changes since the 9/11 attacks in the United States.
Residential streets that used to be open were blocked by gates. The back doors of an apartment building straddling the border in Derby Line village have been locked shut.
The street next to the Haskell Free Library and Opera House, deliberately built in both countries, is blocked by flower pots, although Canadians are still allowed to walk to the library’s U.S. entrance without going through a border post.
Real-estate agent Rosemary Lalime, who is selling the DuMoulins’ home, said one potential buyer called from Toronto.
“He was inquiring more about the border situation and if he bought it, what are his rights,” she said. “I put him in touch with the Border Patrol.”