• Rachel Hellman
• Main Street, Derby Line, looking toward the Canadian border

Everyday living is complicated for residents of 18 and 26 Main Street in Derby Line, who live quite literally on the Canadian-American border.

The international boundary runs through the middle of the two buildings, so, for starters, the tenants have not one but two addresses: one in Derby Line, Vt., and the other in Stanstead, Québec. Electricity comes from a Canadian company. The building's sewage lines run through the U.S. but carry waste into Canada.

Even taking the dog for a walk can be knotty. Tenants who leave the building by a door on its Canadian side must check in with U.S. Customs and Border Protection — conveniently located just a stone's throw away — when they cross the street and therefore the border.

But since 2018, when BMS Holdings purchased the property, tenants of the problematically situated buildings have been dealing with complications of a different sort. A Florida-based ex-dentist, Ben Spivey, owner of BMS Holdings, is under scrutiny by Derby officials over the reportedly poor condition of the buildings. Yet Spivey won't allow an inspection of the basement because Derby's health officer has no power to enforce the law on Canadian territory.

Reports filed between 2018 and 2022 by the Town of Derby's health officer — who also covers the Village of Derby Line — document that tenants have lacked heat at times and have often been without water in winter because of frozen pipes. The health inspector, Elijah Capron, has frequently noted the presence of fire hazards. While some of the problems have been resolved, others remain.

Capron said he is especially concerned about reports from tenants that sewage has been backing up in the basement of one building for the better part of four years. BMS Holdings has prevented Capron from inspecting the premises by insisting that the basement is, technically, in Canada. The apartments have some Canadian tenants, but most are American.

Derby Line residents are accustomed to life on an international boundary. Many have family in Canada and do some of their shopping in Stanstead. The 2020 pandemic put a hard stop to nonessential cross-border traffic, interrupting village life for more than two years. "It was like having one of your arms chopped off," said Krista Farley, a staff member at the Haskell Free Library & Opera House.

The library has long been known for the fact that patrons can read in two countries at once, since the international border runs through the building. More recently, it served as a clandestine meeting place for people separated by immigration policies. Of lesser fame are 18 and 26 Main Street, which sit 700 feet west of the Haskell and, like the library, have doors in Canada and the United States.

The apartment buildings were constructed in the early 1900s and feature charming turn-of-the-century carved-wood details and large corner fireplaces. The larger building, 26 Main Street, has six units on three floors. Next door, a plaque on 18 Main Street indicates the location of the invisible line separating the U.S. from Canada.

• Rachel Hellman
• 26 Main Street

There's a reason that such structures are rare. A century ago, the United States made it illegal to erect buildings within a certain distance of the country's international borders. Derby has a handful of buildings that predate the law.

Rick Edelstein, a former tenant of 26 Main Street, was drawn to the apartment by its in-betweenness. An American citizen, Edelstein moved into the building in 2007 so that he and his Canadian boyfriend could live together without the need for residence permits. For years, the arrangement proved ideal. But when Spivey purchased the building, maintenance lapsed, according to Edelstein. He moved out when there began to be problems such as pools of sewage in the basement, he said.

It's not clear why Spivey and his company bought the buildings in northern Vermont. Most of his holdings are in Florida, where he lives and invests in properties. He's received some negative publicity there over his practices.

Florida Beach Coast, Spivey's property management company, advertised fixed-up homes, according to a 2022 investigation by WFTV9 in Orlando. Prospective tenants were asked for as much as $6,000 in fees up front. But, the station reported, the units had rats, leaks and code violations.

Since WFTV9's investigation, Spivey has closed Florida Beach Coast and opened another real estate company called Sunbelt. He also operates BMS Holdings, the owner of record in Derby Line. He was once a practicing dentist, but the Florida Board of Dentistry permanently revoked his license in 2017, citing his "extensive disciplinary history" stemming from patient complaints.

Spivey did not respond to multiple attempts by Seven Days to reach him by phone and email. In Derby Line, tenants expressed frustration with his slow response to their concerns.

One renter, Sandra Harrower-Garrett, said there's black mold in her apartment and that she hasn't had internet for five months despite paying for the management company's Wi-Fi. Her sink backs up; occasionally, the pipes have burst.

Another resident, who asked not to be named to protect her privacy, said she is paying a few hundred dollars more than the advertised price of her unit. She said she has been hit with additional costs she didn't realize were in her lease, including a $400 lease-renewal fee and a mandatory subscription to the company's Wi-Fi, which costs $100 a month.

The tenant said she is often without hot water, or any running water at all. The apartment had no heat from February 23 to March 2. She said she's desperate to move out and is looking for other places to live. 

A third tenant, who also asked not to be named, said he's been without consistent hot water for almost three years. Recently, he's been taking sponge baths with water he boils. "Nothing is maintained," he said. "Nothing, nothing, nothing."

A February 13, 2021, complaint and inspection form filed by Capron, the health officer, in response to tenant's complaints, lists numerous issues: "No water in any of the occupied units — all froze," it reads. "Almost no CO2 detectors present — many smoke alarms missing/not working. Emergency fire exits not kept clear of snow. Electrical THROUGHOUT is seriously dated."

"I've been in construction my whole life, and I've never seen anything like it," Capron told Seven Days. For years, he said, Spivey has done little to repair problems in the building until being asked repeatedly to do so by a tenant or health officer. Even then, Spivey would fix just the bare minimum.

Derby and Stanstead officials seem uncertain about who is responsible for dealing with the situation. "It's not just two different villages, counties or states," said Jean-Charles Bellamare, general manager of the Town of Stanstead. "We're talking about two different countries." 

Bellamare explained that if Canadian citizens have an issue with their lease, Stanstead officials may be able to help. There's little they can do for American citizens, he said, and, in fact, Stanstead officials have received no complaints about the buildings.

Capron sounded more hopeful about a possible resolution in an interview on Monday. He said BMS Holdings recently responded to some of the tenants' complaints, and officials in Stanstead have agreed to look into the sewage issues. But it is unclear whether a long-term solution is on the horizon.

"I've been trying to get some cooperation and transparency from both sides to decide who's going to enforce what," Capron said.

If BMS Holdings fails to deal with outstanding tenant complaints, Capron said he will consider pursuing an emergency public health order, a mechanism intended to address substantial health hazards at the local level.

For now, though, life at 18 and 26 Main Street remains as it always has: somewhere between here and there.