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leonk
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# Posted: 17 Jul 2009 14:12 - Edited by: leonk
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Hi all,
Fantastic site. I have long time dream of building a cabin.
Ideally log, but we'll see.
I have been thinking about it for years, but life gets in the way, you
know how it is.
Anyhow, my question is - how to find good land?
I now it sounds silly, but I'd appreciate any tips.
Specifically, I am in Toronto, On, Canada and being an immigrant,
I may not know some things that would be obvious to people born and raised here.
Here's what I know. Land can be located via MLS (realtor listings) or couple companies that resell (like Dignam). I was hoping to cut the middle man out and get better deal. Clearly I am not rich (not poor either).
I'd be looking for your typical property - not to far (under 3 h drive),
decent size or surrounded by Crown land, hopefully with road access at least in summer, not really need phone or electricity, but nice to have the option.
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CabinBuilder
Admin
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# Posted: 21 Jul 2009 10:44 - Edited by: CabinBuilder
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I used MLS to find my cabin property.
Obviously, the main question is how much are your willing to pay for it.
The issue with Toronto's geography in this regard is
because the fact that it sits at the lake Ontario limits available land for properties in about half... And being a major Canadian urban center - everyone wants a cabin/cottage "up North, less that 3 hrs drive". Waterfront cottages cost more than an equivalent house in mid-city...
Good luck with your search. Drop a note here about your progress.
(P.S.: In case you didn't see this: finding property cabin page.)
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watersound
Member
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# Posted: 17 Oct 2009 20:24
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leonk,
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watersound
Member
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# Posted: 17 Oct 2009 20:43
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leonk, you can try west of toronto around lake erie it had a bad name a few years back due to polution but has cleaned up quite a bit over the last years and ofcourse prices are on the rise port dover for example longpoint, portrowen lake erie always has a wind .I didnt go through mls for my property but I did use a good lawyer who did the proper title searches. That payed off, my first time up to the land we met people that thought they bought that land 4 years ago. they didnt get the proper searches done even though they went through an mls co. We were good but they now have to sue the mls co. be carefull.
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RickandRandy
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# Posted: 2 Nov 2009 15:23
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We are in Canada also. We found our place on a used merchandise web site. I recommend you check craigslist or usedtoronto.com or any other used merchandise web site, because they all also have sections for properties for sale,
all the best
Rick
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bugs
Member
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# Posted: 3 Nov 2009 11:17
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Hi LeonK
We went with a Realtor for a couple of reasons. First there are always legal issues to cause problems and second they sometimes know of properties that "might" be listed if the buyer is right. As it turned out it took almost 5 years for us to get a property looking on and off. Kept coming back to the same realtor who seemed to have recreational properties all the time and knew what we wanted. He was extremely helpful throughout the process. He dealt with a pile of issues related to the municipality that we would have taken months to sort out. He did it in one phone call. Even provided us with trades people to check out. Of course he almost got us into another 160 acres adjacent to our property but we finally decided it would be too much debt load with unemployment looming.
The one thing you also need is patience. Just like any property take your time and fully explore the place and try and ferret out any issues that might not be first evident: ie How much is it going to really cost to get services if you want them. How good is the access and is it all season. What is the place going to look like if there is a drought or flood. What are the neighbor's like. Is there a garbage dump slated for down the road??? Check out some of the local gov't bylaws to see if there will be any hidden costs in getting permits for buildings.
Hope you find your dream land.
Good luck
bugs
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