Thinking of buying a Cabin

[troutman]

tin roof, rusted

[CaptainYooh]

Originally Posted by blueski

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.

I guess, it's a factor. We've been going there for the past ten years. Had a few slowdowns on Hwy-1 going back on long weekend Mondays. We now try to avoid this by going there on Thursday afternoons and returning to Calgary on Tuesdays.

[Fuzz]

Originally Posted by 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...

I was asking my dad about that in regards to Canmore. Turns out with our crappy dollar lots of Americans and British are buying. Looking through the local paper ads seam targeted towards then with prices in USD and pounds shown alongside CAD. Not sure if this is true in other areas, or strictly a Canmore thing.

[spetch]

Bump

So me and the wife have been on the lookout for a cabin out on gull lake, specifically meridian beach. The area ticks off a lot of what we would be looking for (close enough to commute to work, nicely developed, close to her family, etc). Has anyone here have any experience being out there? There seems to be a fair amount of houses there but I have yet to actually talk to somebody who lives/cabins there.

[MoneyGuy]

Slightly off topic. We usually rent a place for a week in the summer and are looking for next year as we've already done it for 2016 (Kelowna). Any ideas or anyone rent a place maybe in SW Alberta or in B.C. not too far away. Looking at Canmore perhaps, or Waterton or Kananaskis areas.

[Sliver]

Originally Posted by spetch

Bump

So me and the wife have been on the lookout for a cabin out on gull lake, specifically meridian beach. The area ticks off a lot of what we would be looking for (close enough to commute to work, nicely developed, close to her family, etc). Has anyone here have any experience being out there? There seems to be a fair amount of houses there but I have yet to actually talk to somebody who lives/cabins there.

What are the prices like there? What do you get?

[spetch]

Originally Posted by Sliver

What are the prices like there? What do you get?

Currently the prices to buy are anywhere from 450-1mil. We have no plans on going over 550 so a few of the current for sale homes are outta the question. We are pricing out a couple builds as I think we could stay around 500 with a couple plans we have out to contractors.

The area itself looks like one of the better designed central Alberta lake communities. Tennis courts, nice hall, canal to the lake, couple beaches, actual sewer and water systems.

Just have no idea about the community itself. While the pictures and driving around it look great, how is the actual experience? I tried to find a place to rent there, but there was only one and it was pretty much booked all summer

[Sliver]

Yeah great questions. I've been there, too, and I really like it but can't help you with what you really need to know. Location of it is awesome. Good luck.

[Alpaca]

We have a family cabin in Meridian Beach,I can try to answer your questions. We were are the Cabin for the long weekend, great weather. We went fishing with 5 young kids and all managed to catch either a pike or a walleye.
We have owned the cabin for 6 years, we bought a finished cabin on Summer Crescent. There is a broad range of prices and homes from what I call cabins to very expensive luxury homes. Some folks have retired to Meridian Beach nice to have some folks there at all times. In about the last year a Home Owners association has taken over from the developer, this was always the long term plan. It is nice to have the boat dock close to the cabin, for those with a lot on the canal it is perfect for parents with kids as it is easy to keep an eye on them.

[spetch]

Originally Posted by Alpaca

We have a family cabin in Meridian Beach,I can try to answer your questions. We were are the Cabin for the long weekend, great weather. We went fishing with 5 young kids and all managed to catch either a pike or a walleye.

We have owned the cabin for 6 years, we bought a finished cabin on Summer Crescent. There is a broad range of prices and homes from what I call cabins to very expensive luxury homes. Some folks have retired to Meridian Beach nice to have some folks there at all times. In about the last year a Home Owners association has taken over from the developer, this was always the long term plan. It is nice to have the boat dock close to the cabin, for those with a lot on the canal it is perfect for parents with kids as it is easy to keep an eye on them.

Nice! We have really thought about building now based on some initial quotes we got. How busy does it get out there? Do the roads get a lot of traffic? I would be at work 5days a week (includes Saturday's) but my wife and two young kids (1 & 3) would be there daily. Is there families out there with young kids?

[Weitz]

How's the depth at Gull Lake these days?

My friend has a place out there but I haven't been in a few years. Last time I was there I remember having to walk like 400 meters to get to his boat lift and boat.

[Alpaca]

Lots of families with children, there is a kids program runs Tues, Thurs, and Fridays in the morning months of July and August. Families go for walks or bike rides on the paths, to the play ground, or to the beach. If you look at the map of Meridian Beach you will notice the one road goes around to all of the new lots,I would expect more traffic on the road as more lots are developed. Lots on the Canal side of the road you don't notice the traffic much as most of your time is spent near the canal.
Water level is down slightly from last year, due to less snow in the winter and less rain so far this spring/summer. We moved our dock out about 2 feet on the weekend. Hasn't been much change in the water level in the time we have been out there.
Give some thought to your preferred location, I know of a couple of Meridian Beacher's that changed ( bought,sold,bought)cabins because they wanted to be on the canal and their first cabin was on the opposite side of the road. Especially with young children that will want to be near the water as they get older. A cabin on the canal gives you easy access to the canal and in many cases you can watch the kids from the cabin while they play on the edge of the canal or on your dock.
We have a rule that the kids must have a life jacket on before they cross the walking path on the way to the canal/dock.