Image: Cara Hanssens / Julie Hiscock, used with permission / A before and after picture of 46196 Third Avenue in Chilliwack. The picture on the left shows the interior of the kitchen at 46196 Third Avenue, and the picture on the right shows the Chilliwack residence as it sits today. Former owner Cara Hanssens says she's saddened to see the house deteriorate two years after she sold the home and relocated her family to Salmon Arm. The house has been the scene of at least one drug raid, possibly two, and the house has been boarded up. The City of Chilliwack says the home

By Mike Vanden Bosch

Drug house at 46196 Third Avenue

Third Avenue home in Chilliwack deteriorated into a drug house after being sold in 2021

Jun 22, 2023 | 2:04 PM

CHILLIWACK — Before it devolved into a drug house and a dilapidated eyesore, the residence of 46196 Third Avenue in Chilliwack had seen better days.

As in two years ago in 2021, when former owner Cara Hanssens and her husband sold the quaint-looking bungalow in an older neighbourhood of the city, said farewell to Chilliwack and relocated to Salmon Arm. The house sold for $715,000, according to B.C. Assessment records publicly available online. The property has a 2022 assessed value of $706,000, including land ($592,000) and building ($114,000).

Hanssens reached out to Fraser Valley Today this past week after seeing a story about how her former home of seven years had deteriorated.

A small fire broke out at 46196 Third Avenue in the early morning hours of Thursday, June 15, prompting a response from the Chilliwack Fire Department. The property has since been boarded up with a metal fence along the Third Avenue perimeter. Piles of debris and unsightly garbage continue to occupy the property.

Image: Julie Hiscock, used with her permission / A current view of 46196 Third Avenue in Chilliwack, a far cry from what the property used to look like two years ago when it was sold to what Cara Hanssens calls developers. There were peculiar circumstances surrounding the sale, Hanssens says.

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The home in question has been the site of three drug raids by the RCMP, including one in December 2022 when members of the Chilliwack RCMP Priority Target Team executed a search warrant after observing a large quantity of foot traffic in and out of the residence.

According to a news release from RCMP spokesperson Sgt. Krista Vrolyk, police discovered approximately 15 people inside the residence once they entered the home in December 2022. A search of the residence resulted in the seizure of large quantities of cocaine, methamphetamine and fentanyl along with scales, packaging and other paraphernalia.

Hanssens says she sold the property to two women in their late 20s or early 30s in 2021, but the circumstances surrounding the transaction drew a red flag.

“It was sad for me because I used to own that house from 2014 to 2021,” Hanssens said. “It was the first house my husband and I bought. Initially the uncle of the nieces made the offer [to buy] but couldn’t get financing. We sold the house to ‘developers’ who, a week before the sale closing, couldn’t get financing and forced their nieces to buy the house. The new owners didn’t care about the house. Since then, the house has gone completely downhill.”

The new owners, Hanssens said, showed up unannounced around the time of the sale in 2021. She says she formed a bad impression of the new owners.

“It was not a good impression. They were upset as they did not initiate the purchase. They wanted access to the property before closing,” Hanssens said.

Hanssens provided pictures of the interior of the house showing fairly contemporary flooring in the living room, backsplash in the kitchen, a newer sink, and working appliances.

Image: Cara Hanssens, used with her permission / The interior of 46196 Third Avenue back when it was sold in 2021. The house has since been raided by the RCMP three times, and a small fire broke out at the property last week Thursday, June 15.

Hanssens described the Third Avenue neighbourhood, located about two blocks east of Young Road, as an ideal place to raise a family.

“The neighborhood was quiet, lots of families, and was an excellent location,” Hanssens said. “It was walking distance to everything. We raised our children there. We had an offer so we listed and sold three days later.”

Image: Google Maps / Third Avenue in Chilliwack looking east is pictured.

Given its lot size and external and interior appearance, the selling price of $715,000 seemed reasonable.

However, online realty companies like Just Realty boasted of the potential to redevelop the lot into a subdivision, with the disclaimer that buyers needed to check with the City of Chilliwack. That may have played a factor in the purchase.

Even though the immediate neighbourhood was ideal, Hanssens said she had growing concerns about crime and drugs in the broader community.

“The only reason we sold was an opportunity to get out of Chilliwack as it was seeming to go downhill fast,” Hanssens said. “We had concerns mostly in the downtown core, the influx of drugs and crime. We had teenagers by the time we sold. We had adopted a little boy and didn’t want them to stay in Chilliwack. The park beside Central Elementary always had unsavory folks doing drugs openly in view of the school.”

A spokesperson for the City of Chilliwack, Jamie Leggatt, advised in an email Wednesday (June 21) that the house is not to be occupied until it is remediated or demolished. The city bylaw department has not received any complaints from the public about the house.

“Bylaw has been working with the owner to bring the property into compliance,” Leggatt said via phone Wednesday.

No fines have been levied against the property owners despite its unsightly appearance. Again, no complaints have been brought against the property owners through city bylaw.

As for Hanssens, she says her heart goes out to her former Third Avenue neighbours who have had to deal with the drug house and its appearance.

“We had amazing neighbors,” Hanssens said. “I feel bad for them that they had to go through this since we left.”

When asked if there’s a noticeable difference in public safety in Salmon Arm compared to Chilliwack, Hanssens said, “100 per cent. Salmon Arm does have a small homeless encampment and some petty crime, but nothing like what Chilliwack had.”