Thinking of buying a Cabin

[#-3]

Calgary is really hard.

You go west, Its pretty much the best place in the country, but the drive is too long for every weekend. (and might be too expensive).

You go north, its pretty typical cottage country by Canadian standard, but too crowded, too expensive.

You go south, the price is right and its not overly crowded, but the quality is quite a bit lower than other areas.

You go east and their is nothing, and if something is developed in the near future, you will likely end up with the same problem as South.

So it all depends on whats important to you.

If your looking for cheap, every weekend Family time. I would go to Southern Alberta, MacGregor, Little Bow...

If money is not an issue but you are still looking to go every weekend, I would look in Central Alberta, Sylvain....

If your looking for Cheap, Long weekends and Vacations, I would go Southern BC, Arrow Lake type area.

If you don't mind spending money and are looking for long weekends and Vacations, I would go to Mara Lake or something.

I'm a waterskier, so I probably wouldn't consider Canmore, But I guess there are some would like that. probably quite expensive as well.

[Madman]

^^^




In terms of Montana and Flathead, take a look at something on the East side around Bigfork - some super nice properties around there.

[Northendzone]

As mentioned several times, grand beach in Manitoba is fantastic.....when it has been hot during the week in Winnipeg, the scenery at grand is fantastic.

To me the only issue with a cabin in the U.S. Is the border crossing which can be very slow at times.

[bossy22]

Originally Posted by 4X4

A 3 hour wait at Roosville? Really? I was going to use that crossing to get to Sandpoint on August long because the one by Yahk seems to take forever. Bad idea?

Sorry, I should have clarified. It's always way slower coming home. I think because everyone seems to leave around the same time. Going down, the worst I've ever had to wait was 1.5 hours, and that was only once. Usually I was through heading to the US within 30-45 minutes on a long weekend. Coming back to Canada it was usually 1.5-2 hours. We started taking the extra day off to avoid the lineups.

[Party Elephant]

Hey guys, I think this is the appropriate thread to be bumping.

So I'm thinking about buying a vacation home sometime in the next couple of years. I've got my eye on the Catlins, a remote corner of the South Island. It is an absolutely beautiful coastal area that is relatively unspoiled, and it's only a 3-3.5 hour drive from home for me. I'm pretty into outdoor activities such as camping, hiking and surfing, and this area ticks all of those boxes. I think having a base down there to spend my weekends would be amazing. Here are some pictures of what the area looks like:

Spoiler!

Due to its somewhat remote location (remote in New Zealand generally wouldn't qualify as remote in Canada, the area is within a 3 hour drive from several cities and towns), properties are dirt cheap down there. I've seen dozens of listings that are going in the $150-180k range which for me is very affordable. Just for a frame of reference, $1 NZ is about $0.95 CAD right now which is the highest it's been in years, possibly ever.

I have never owned property before, and would like to ask for some advice from the CP Braintrust about cottage buying/ownership. What are the most common pitfalls? What sort of costs should I be expecting, maintenance, taxes, etc? Any advice would be appreciated, thanks!

[indes]

Put a steel roof on it

[MrMastodonFarm]

Make all the entryways round, like Hobbiton.

[Party Elephant]

Originally Posted by MrMastodonFarm

Make all the entryways round, like Hobbiton.

Only wealthy elites can afford Hobbit-holes, the rest of us peasants have to live above ground.

[Kavvy]

Originally Posted by MrMastodonFarm

Make all the entryways round, like Hobbiton.

I know a big basement is important, but don't dig too greedily and too deep.

[Bigtime]

So is all of NZ pretty much done with the LOTR jokes?

[Party Elephant]

Originally Posted by Bigtime

So is all of NZ pretty much done with the LOTR jokes?

Yes and no. Most ordinary people are over it, but plenty of tour companies are still trying to milk it. We still have an official LOTR shop here in town, and most road maps will highlight filming locations.

[CaptainYooh]

Blind Bay, BC. 5-hr drive from Calgary, once you get on Hwy-1. Beautiful little village on Shuswap, two public beaches, three marinas, big grocery store, lots of parks and other attractions for kids within 1-hr drive. Cheap real estate too. $300K will buy you a nice small house. $500K will buy you a palace near the lake.

[Slava]

Originally Posted by CaptainYooh

Blind Bay, BC. 5-hr drive from Calgary, once you get on Hwy-1. Beautiful little village on Shuswap, two public beaches, three marinas, big grocery store, lots of parks and other attractions for kids within 1-hr drive. Cheap real estate too. $300K will buy you a nice small house. $500K will buy you a palace near the lake.

Probably too much of a commute for a guy in New Zealand though?

[Derek Sutton]

Originally Posted by Slava

Probably too much of a commute for a guy in New Zealand though?

It would seem like no commute at all, get off work Friday at 4:00, arrive in BC Friday at 1:00, its like a negative commute.

[CaptainYooh]

Originally Posted by Slava

Probably too much of a commute for a guy in New Zealand though?

LOL, my bad. Just looked at the OP.

[surferguy]

Negative two points for not calling it a Bach

[Party Elephant]

Originally Posted by surferguy

Negative two points for not calling it a Bach

If I said that then none of you guys would know what I was talking about!

[blueski]

Originally Posted by CaptainYooh

Blind Bay, BC. 5-hr drive from Calgary, once you get on Hwy-1. Beautiful little village on Shuswap, two public beaches, three marinas, big grocery store, lots of parks and other attractions for kids within 1-hr drive. Cheap real estate too. $300K will buy you a nice small house. $500K will buy you a palace near the lake.

Parents have a place on Mara lake, most long weekends there's a serious crash and it takes anywhere from 7-13 hours to get through either way.

[Bill Bumface]

Since we're derailing the crap out of the recent posts of this topic, I love the Shuswap and lots of the Okanagan (Besides Kelowna: We have all the negatives of small town living, but with big city gang, drug and homeless problems!) but I couldn't handle that drive on a regular basis.

I really enjoy that road when it's quiet, but feel like I'm risking my life getting on it anywhere near a weekend in the summer.

[bizaro86]

Are prices for recreation property coming down? You'd have to think there are some people who want to sell, combined with a lot less consumer confidence in buying expensive recreational assets...