'Buying An Acreage In BC' ... comments / questions / answers.

[Selkirk]

.
The wife and I are thinking of 'Getting The H3ll Out Of Dodge' (Calgary) and buying a small acreage in the Kootenays area of S.E. BC. Having never owned a rural property before, there's lots for us to learn about and figure out, before we take the plunge ... two of them being; 'well water systems' and 'septic tank systems'.

For those here who have knowledge and experience with those ^ two subjects, what would you say we need to know and ask about, when looking to buy a small acreage?

Thanks in advance, for the help and advice

Mac

[Johnny Huntnfish]

I've been doing the same thing. Research the ALR in BC and also make sure you retain the mineral rights to the land you are looking to buy. Sometimes the mineral rights are not included and the BC Govt can come and claim timber or quarry rights on your land.

[Skybuster]

First it will depend on whether you are buying an existing set up or looking at raw land.

If you are looking at raw land:

Check what the local requirements are.
- What is the minimum acreage for a septic field
- If allowed a pump out, what is min acreage.
You may need to get a perk test done to determine how absorbent the ground is.
The size of your septic field should be based on how many bathrooms are in the house.
Are you able to dig a septic system into the ground, or do you need to go with a mound.
For water you may have to get a diviner and drill. Bit of a gamble.

If you are buying an existing set up:
How old is the system? My understanding is about 20 yrs will require replacing.
Have the present owners ever suffered a frozen septic in Winter.
Walk around and see if there is any smell.
Locate the field and see if there are any wet/soft spots (bad thing)
Flush each toilet and make sure the flush id good, ie not slow.
Ask how often they have the tank pumped out. Should be every year or two. Cost?

I'm sure more will chime in with other suggestions.

[CNP]

I was researching a couple years ago and what you are investigating now is what stopped us cold. Couldn't afford to get into an acreage with the extra cost of septic/well/gas line runs/electricity runs. 30K septic system and wells drilled 300 - 400 ft are common here. Ended up with a large lot with all services in CNP. Very happy.

[Full Curl Earl]

What's CNP?

[tacomama]

Originally Posted by Full Curl Earl

What's CNP?

Crowsnest Pass

[CNP]

Originally Posted by Full Curl Earl

What's CNP?

Crowsnest Pass

[Sooner]

My cousin just moved to Kelowna so his wife could find work as a mid wife. He was just telling me on Saturday that they will have to pay the first time homeowners tax in BC when they buy in the spring.

Maybe someone in BC can elaborate on this tax for you Macleod. He did say its a pretty good hit for them(young couple, first house).

[special_fred]

if the water wells dont give good water sometimes its better to haul water, check what kind of water you get with the neighbours. septic tank, get a 2000 gallon minimum made of concrete

[Selkirk]

Forgot to mention that we'd be looking to buy an 'established' acreage, with a house, etc., already there. Also, we're not looking for a hobby farm or hobby ranch. We just want a small (1-3 ac) mostly wooded place, a few kms outside a small town in the Kootenays. And, we'd probably be looking at places with a septic 'tank', not a septic field.

Not knowing much of anything about well and septic systems has me concerned. We need to learn a lot about them.

Thanks for the suggestions and comments so far ... I'm taking lots o' notes!

Mac

[marty1]

Originally Posted by MacLeod

Forgot to mention that we'd be looking to buy an 'established' acreage, with a house, etc., already there. Also, we're not looking for a hobby farm or hobby ranch. We just want a small (1-3 ac) mostly wooded place, a few kms outside a small town in the Kootenays. And, we'd probably be looking at places with a septic 'tank', not a septic field.

Not knowing much of anything about well and septic systems has me concerned. We need to learn a lot about them.

Thanks for the suggestions and comments so far ... I'm taking lots o' notes!

Mac

Septic Systems are are not that difficult but if you plan on living out their full time you will want a field If not you will always bee pumping out the crap I am putting in two 1300 gallon tanks with a Septic mound and I will still be getting that thing pumped twice a year at $150 a trip,just bought my land this last summer and can't wait to get the well,septic and power going next year.If your handy you can save yourself thousands by doing most of it yourself. Cheers

[The Cook]

Albertan tax in BC is $5,000.00

[Sneeze]

Originally Posted by MacLeod

.

For those here who have knowledge and experience with those ^ two subjects, what would you say we need to know and ask about, when looking to buy a small acreage?

Thanks in advance, for the help and advice

I would try to find something with at least proven water. We have a place in the East Kootenay's and we went 140 feet to get a small volume of water that requires a cistern. A neighbor a little ways away had to go 700'. Cost can be really insane and its impossible to budget for. Who knows if 60' will give you a geyser or 500' and you have to put in a truck sized cistern. A good indication is to speak with the neighbors before making an offer.

Don't forget about the costs associated with setting up the house on propane - and the costs associated with installing electricity. As an Albertan you are going to get a dollar sign tattooed on your forehead and every towny with a hammer and government agency with a rubber stamp is going to raise their rates to provide you with services.

[Skybuster]

I'm not aware of a septic system that doesn't use a field, or a pump out or a lagoon. Not many single family homes will have a lagoon, and here in Alberta you need 10+ acres for a pump out, though I am against them since I just don't like the fact that the septic is flushing out on top of the ground.

The system I am familiar with is one where the septic is sent to a two stage tank system. The first tank collects the solid waste and an aerobic process acts on it breaking it down further, mostly fluid. The fluids spill over into the second tank and are pumped out to a septic field from there. If you don't send the fluid somewhere your tank would fill up very quickly I would think. You would probably have to pump the tank out 3 or 4 times a year, perhaps more.

With a two tank system like I described we get it pumped out usually every second year. The tanks were in when I bought my place 7 years ago. But the old field had frozen up on the previous owner twice so he put in a straight pump out. Illegal on my property since I am only 3 acres. I had a field put in and had it attached to the existing tanks. The field cost me $10k. And the contractor said replacing the tanks would have cost another $11k.

Make sure the well you get has ample volume. 2 or 3 gallons of water an hour is not enough. Well may be okay if you add a cistern. And check how much iron is in the water, you may need to add an iron eater system. Just tell em Danny Cooper sent you. -jk.

[Slash8]

For water wells, here's a little info for you.... go to the website below. It has all the information you need for all many of the wells drilled in Alberta and info on the water quality and depth. If you do go with a well, get a reverse osmosis system. Easy to maintain and easy to use. Just zoom in on the map.

http://aep.alberta.ca/water/reports-...e/default.aspx

For sewage go with a mound or a field, getting a tank sucked out every couple of weeks is an added cost and a pain in the *****. Especially if you cant get it sucked out and you're full. Some people are on a plan but people are people and sometimes they are not reliable. It happens, it happened to my Mom and Dad, he had to pump it over the hill or risk it coming back in the house, not fun at 2 am.
I have a mound. Never had a problem with it. It was installed properly. I have it sucked out every two years and I ad yeast regularly. When I do have a problem with it I will be doing it myself for a few grand and not paying 20 grand to have it done. What the county doesn't know won't hurt them. They get enough of my money, paying the exact same as people in town with less services.

[lmtada]

Hauling H2O would get old quick. Having grown up on a farm, nice to see the water well drilled.

Originally Posted by special_fred

if the water wells dont give good water sometimes its better to haul water, check what kind of water you get with the neighbours. septic tank, get a 2000 gallon minimum made of concrete

[elkdump]

Originally Posted by MacLeod

Forgot to mention that we'd be looking to buy an 'established' acreage, with a house, etc., already there. Also, we're not looking for a hobby farm or hobby ranch. We just want a small (1-3 ac) mostly wooded place, a few kms outside a small town in the Kootenays. And, we'd probably be looking at places with a septic 'tank', not a septic field.

Not knowing much of anything about well and septic systems has me concerned. We need to learn a lot about them.

Thanks for the suggestions and comments so far ... I'm taking lots o' notes!

Mac

when building or repairing a septic system in a rural area ( outside of any city limits) in BC you will be dealing with the local/ nearest office of the BC Health Officer , those standards are in conjunction with what is called Regional Districts( controls building by-laws, garbage collection, fire and emergency taxation and administration . All personal dwellings in BC require at least 100amp electrical service for residences.

If you buy an existing home and acreage the best bet is for a Local certified home inspection , house,electrical, water and sewer, and property surveys current.

[Selkirk]

Originally Posted by Sooner

My cousin just moved to Kelowna so his wife could find work as a mid wife. He was just telling me on Saturday that they will have to pay the first time homeowners tax in BC when they buy in the spring.

Maybe someone in BC can elaborate on this tax for you Macleod. He did say its a pretty good hit for them(young couple, first house).

On that ^ subject, we have already done our homework.

It's called 'Property Transfer Tax' (PTT). Alberta is the only province in Canada that doesn't have a PTT. And of all the other provinces, BC's PTT is the most expensive

Here's how it works in BC ... http://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/ta...tax/understand


BC = Bring Cash ... lots of it!

Mac

[mich]

Originally Posted by MacLeod

Forgot to mention that we'd be looking to buy an 'established' acreage, with a house, etc., already there. Also, we're not looking for a hobby farm or hobby ranch. We just want a small (1-3 ac) mostly wooded place, a few kms outside a small town in the Kootenays. And, we'd probably be looking at places with a septic 'tank', not a septic field.

Not knowing much of anything about well and septic systems has me concerned. We need to learn a lot about them.

Thanks for the suggestions and comments so far ... I'm taking lots o' notes!

Mac

If you are buying an established acreage just write subject to inspections in the offer to purchase. This can save you $$$$$. Depending on where you are looking at property will determine the possible risks as per your well water, regardless have the water tested as part of the inspections. Have a good septic company inspect the septic as well.

[Selkirk]

Originally Posted by elkdump

when building or repairing a septic system in a rural area ( outside of any city limits) in BC you will be dealing with the local/ nearest office of the BC Health Officer , those standards are in conjunction with what is called Regional Districts( controls building by-laws, garbage collection, fire and emergency taxation and administration . All personal dwellings in BC require at least 100amp electrical service for residences.

If you buy an existing home and acreage the best bet is for a Local certified home inspection , house,electrical, water and sewer, and property surveys current.

Also good to know ^ ... Thank-you!

As for a pre-purchase home/property inspection, that will be a 'given' for us. It's hard to imagine not having one done, but there are still some people out there who don't bother with it, either because they're not aware of the benefits, or they're pinching pennies.

Mac

[From The Hip]

It is BC and BC means "Bring Cash" and lots of it.Small town living in the Kootneys is expensive...so much so that residents drive to Alberta to shop at Costco which is a signifigant savings.Which lead to the BC Government to try to get access to Costco's financial records about BC members shopping in Alberta in an attempt to hit those respective people with the PST.

FTH

[Hydro1]

The misses and I just got denied on an offer we put in on a small acreage just north of Kimberley.
Beautiful area, good luck on the move Mac!

[ChrisGrohms]

When you have found the acreage you like I would recommend hiring a local septic contractor to take a look at the existing system. Same goes for the well/plumbing. I have done numerous walk throughs with friends/customers just to give an idea of what possible upgrade costs may be. Home inspectors will only catch so much and having qualified contractors there is a huge benefit worth paying for.

[special_fred]

Originally Posted by lmtada

Hauling H2O would get old quick. Having grown up on a farm, nice to see the water well drilled.

how much water do you really need, a 3/4 truck with a 900 gallon tank on the back taken to town once a week and half filled is a lot cheaper and can give you way better water than a well depending on the quality where you are at. its probably different in BC but in Alberta where sometimes your wells contaminated with gas from a local frac, its the only way to go.

[coreya3212]

You should get the mods to put "very" in front of your AO handle.

[leeelmer]

Also
Do not!
I repeat do not!
Trust the realtors home inspector!!!
They are payed by the real estate firm and anyone can get a licence.
Most are not qualified to tell you sqatt about the home
Sure you will get a fancy sheet of paper. But in the fine print they are not liable for anything.
Demand a 3rd party inspector of your choosing research them
It can save you tens of thousands!!!

[gmcmax05]

Originally Posted by special_fred

how much water do you really need, a 3/4 truck with a 900 gallon tank on the back taken to town once a week and half filled is a lot cheaper and can give you way better water than a well depending on the quality where you are at. its probably different in BC but in Alberta where sometimes your wells contaminated with gas from a local frac, its the only way to go.

900 gallon tank on the back of a 3/4 ton truck Let me know how that play's out Obviously math is not what your Special at.

[special_fred]

Originally Posted by gmcmax05

900 gallon tank on the back of a 3/4 ton truck Let me know how that play's out

drive slow, aint nothing stopping someone from purchasing a 7000 lb car hauling trailer for 1500 dollars and filling a 1500 gallon tank every third week neither

[special_fred]

Originally Posted by coreya3212

You should get the mods to put "very" in front of your AO handle.

lol touché, very special fred is a possibility, also a possibility is very practical fred

[gmcmax05]

Originally Posted by special_fred

drive slow

How much do you think 900 gallons of water weighs.