Buying or Building Your Cottage Part 2

This Part two-

The first part of this blog focused on buying and existing cottage, the pro's and con's of doing that in today's extremely tight real estate market on the Bruce Peninsula.

This half of the blog will focus on buying a piece of vacant land and building yourself a brand new cottage.

BUILDING A NEW COTTAGE

If you have looked around at all the older cottages for sale you have probably come to the conclusion that you don't really want to spend money on someone else's problem, the old cottages just come with to much work and unknowns for you liking and any cottage that is newer and in better shape is priced so high that you wonder if its worth it.

At the moment there is a fine line between the price of buying a newer cottage on the Bruce and just building yourself a brand new cottage on the Bruce.

Here are the Pro's and Con's of Building a Brand New Custom Cottage;

Pro's

• You get exactly what you want, not somebody else's idea of what a new cottage should look like.
• You control the budget on how much you want to spend on the project.
• You don't have to finish the entire thing if you don't want to before you start enjoying it.
• With everything new you will have a warranty encase something goes wrong.
• New cottages are more energy efficient, this will save you money in the long run.
• You will have a cottage that is built for 4 season fun not like an old cottage that has to be shut down when the colder weather arrives.
• New home means that your water will be safe to drink, you won't have to buy bottled water like in old cottages.
• New cottages don't have any rot or leakage or rodents or bugs like old cottages do.
• You will have a brand new septic system and a warranty that guarantee's that it works.
• Building permits in the Bruce Peninsula are extremely cheap compared to everywhere else.
• You can have as many bathrooms as you want, most older cottages only have one bathroom for everyone to share.
• You get to pick your lot, so you know exactly what you are getting.
• You get to position your house on the lot so you get the view you want as well.
• You will have a new driveway so that you know that it is built right.

Con's

• It takes longer to build a new home then buying an older cottage and renovating it. 
• You will be waiting a long time to use your new property unlike buying an existing cottage.
• New cottages are set farther back from the water then older cottages.
• You might find that certain properties are heavily restricted on building, limiting the size, shape and height that you can build your new cottage.
• You will have to find someone to create a proper set of drawings for you.
• You don't live up the Bruce so you will have to be ok with communicating over the phone and email with your contractor instead of being on site to see what is going on.
• Construction material is at an all time high, meaning that building cottages will cost you more then you think.
• With material rising monthly you run the risk of ending up over budget.
• Most peoples ideas surpass their budgets.
• Making all those decisions about a custom home can be very stressful, almost two stressful for a lot of people.
• You might not be able to build what you want too, you must take the time to check on what's allowed before you buy the land.

Building a new custom cottage is a big commitment, as I have informed you above there are pro's and con's to doing it. One thing that you need to understand with building a new cottage right now is that if you had to sell the place for whatever reason you would probably get all your money back even the cost of the land. The real estate market is that hot and the inventory that low especially for newer waterfront cottages.

If you are thinking about building a new cottage on the bruce peninsula email me at greatlakescustomhomes@gmail.com and lets see if we can make your dreams of a new cottage a reality.

Rob Abbott

Great Lakes Custom Homes Inc.

Buying Or Building A Cottage Part 1

Now that spring is here in the Bruce Peninsula people are coming up and looking to buy themselves a cottage. The Bruce Peninsula has never been so busy as it is in the last couple of years and the actual real estate market for cottage's and especially for waterfront property has never been more hot and expensive.

One of the main reasons for the rising prices is not just that people want a cottage up the Bruce Peninsula its that there is a lack of cottages for sale as people are not selling their cottages like they were 4 or 5 years ago. This is driving the price of waterfront or near waterfront cottages to ever new heights. There's a saying; they don't make new waterfront, meaning that there is a finite amount of cottages that can be bought or sold that are on the water.

In these kind of market conditions if you really want a waterfront cottage you have two choices;

1. You buy a cottage that you don't really want but is in the right location;
2. You buy a vacant lot and build yourself a brand new cottage.

Those two options are not ideal, the 3rd option of buying exactly what you want really doesn't exist, not even if you have an unlimited budget, even the higher end priced waterfront cottages have their flaws and problems. 

Let's talk about the Pro's and Con's of 1. You buy a cottage that you don't really want but is in the right location;

There are a lot of older cottages that are in need of repair or updating but are in the area that you want or are on waterfront that everyone wants. Some of the pro's to buying an older cottage;

Pro's

• You can move right in and start enjoying cottage country right away without waiting.
• Using the cottage before making major changes allows you the ability to get used to the cottage and help bring your vision of what you want out of the cottage to life.
• Buying and renovating a cottage is cheaper then building a brand new cottage from a vacant piece of property.
• When your ready to renovate or ad an addition to your cottage most of the work can be completed in the off season when you are not using the cottage.
• With modern technology your contractor can keep you updated on the progress of your renovations when your home at work.
• Some older cottages are in area's that you are not allowed to build on anymore or are closer to the water then what is allowed today. A lot of times that means that you have a better view of the water then your newer built neighbours, its great fro resale.
• Older cottages usually come with all the furnishing when they are sold, yes a lot of stuff will go to the dump but a lot of the stuff can be used at least for the first couple of years, this allows you to enjoy the cottage right away without having to shell out a lot of money on furniture and other stuff.
• Older cottages are usually easy to carry financially as the taxes are low.
• New cottages never give you that old cottage feeling that a lot of people dream about when they want a cottage, some unique and rustic, not a new modern home.
• An older cottage has usually been around longer then the last time the water in the great lakes has been at its peak in the 80's/90's. That means that even at its highest point the cottage was positioned in a place that it wasn't affected or at least survived. That means that your cottage should be fine in the future from the rising water.
• Older cottages have an established flora/fiona, this means that you will see lots of animals because they are use too the cottage being there and are comfortable around humans.
• Older cottages have neighbours, which means you will have friends as soon as you move in.

Con's

• Buying an older cottage you could be getting yourself into something that needs a lot more renovating then you ever thought.
• If you don't want to hire someone to do the repairs and renovations then you could be buying yourself a second job (renovating the cottage) instead of a place to get away from your job.
• Be careful that you don't have to replace the septic or the well as these are two big ticket items.
• When buying an older cottage don't fool yourself, you are buying an older cottage, they come with a lot more interesting flaws then older homes built in town. Usually older cottages are built to be used only in the warmer months, thinking your going to use them in the winter will probably be a mistake.
• Older cottages will have higher utility bills then you are used too, electricity is more expensive in cottage country then in town.
• Get used to fixing things or having things fixed, older cottages are always in need of repair.
• Older cottages can have unwanted guests (bugs and rodents). Its something you might have to get use too dealing with.
• Most older cottages have room to sleep a lot of people but are usually short on bathrooms, usually just a single one, learn to share.
• Most older cottages are sold because the owners do not use them like they use too, this means that the outside maintenance of cutting back the tree's and vegetation has not been kept up. Unlike the city you will have to get used to cutting trees. If you want to be able to see the water from your waterfront cottage then tree cutting and tree removal will be essential.
• Old cottages can have foundation problems if they haven't been constructed correctly or haven't been maintained.
• One thing its hard to do up on the Bruce Peninsula is grow a lawn, you probably will have to give up the dream of having a nice lawn at the cottage unless you really want to put in the effort.
• With older cottages there are perceived ownership of things, like waterfront, lot lines, fences. Sometimes it can be trouble figuring out what they are at first without offending your neighbours.

The one thing that you have to remember when you are buying an older existing cottage on the Bruce Peninsula is that you are buying someone else's idea of what a cottage is and over the years they have become comfortable in that space. That means that they become blind to obvious problems in and around the cottage, some of these problems are easy to fix and some are more of a financial commitment. These issues don't mean that the cottage wasn't taken care of its just means that they didn't bother the owner enough for them to do anything about.

Remember to always talk to your neighbours when you are planning to do major construction or tree cutting then you won't be surprised if they have objections to what you are doing, you don't need their permission but everyone likes to be kept informed.

Pro's and Con's of building a new cottage....in part two

Rob Abbott

Great Lakes Custom Homes Inc.