We're in the process of emigrating to B.C (should be on our way, or even there by this time next year).

We're actually not sure what part of B.C we'll be ending up in yet as it all depends on where i get a job, my boyfriends job is fairly universal so he should be ok finding work pretty much wherever.

The thing is that we've been looking at properties for sale over the net, and as obviously prices have gone up (as they tend to do with property) we can't really find what we're after (3+ beds with double garage and basement) amongst the houses we've seen (for the money we've got)..... We should have between $360,000 and $400,000 but we'd obviously like to keep some money for emergencies. (like sports cars and stuff )

Has anybody built a property in B.C?

If so how did you go about it, what planning etc did you need to get?
How easy was it? and what was the price like in comparison to buying a ready built one??

Has anyone restored a property?

What we're the prices like for buying a restoration as opposed to a finished house?
How much of a nightmare was it?
What sort of costings should you look out for?
How do you tell a good contractor from a bad one?

Sorry to be a pain, just exploring a few options.

That’s a lot of questions.  I’ll try and answer as best I can.

3 + bedrooms + double garage and basement is a pretty standard Canadian home. You’ll not get anything in the Lower Mainland or Capital region for your budget but, Okanagan aside, you will in most of the rest of BC. All you have to do is chose where you want to live.

Lots of people build their own houses. It is very common. You can either act as your own general contractor or hire a general contractor to build the house for you. Planning issues are similar to the UK. You will need your drawings approved by the city before you start and you must build according to local code. The city will want to inspect the building during construction and will issue an occupancy certificate on completion if they are satisfied if the house is to code and fit for habitation.

Cost will depend a bit on location – how far you have to truck the building supplies. If you are using a general contractor I would budget around $200 per square foot. You might be able to do it cheaper yourself as you don’t have to pay his/her fees, but then they will know who the good subs are and how much they should be paid. Unless you are really keen to do a lot of the work yourself it makes sense to employ a general contractor.

There are books of house plans available to the public so unless you want a “designer” house there is no need to employ an architect.

I don’t think building your own home is necessarily any cheaper that buying an existing one, but you get the house you want where you want it.

Restoration, or remodeling as it is called is also very common. Remodeling can vary between periodic maintenance to completely gutting and rebuilding a home. A remodeled home (done well) will sell for a similar price to a new one. Again, if you are confident you can do a lot yourself, or you can hire a contractor to do it for you. There are too many possibilities to say what it will cost or how much hassle it will be.

How do you find a good contractor? Same as in the UK, ask around for recommendations and go and see other work they have done. Two things to bear in mind:

1 Good contractors are always busy. If they can start next week/month they are probably not good contractors.
2 An experienced contractor should be able to give you a reference list of at least 20 past projects. If they only offer two or three how many projects have they done? How many satisfied clients do they have?

Last two points (c) Mike Holmes

I'm in the process of building in Kamloops (interior of BC) at the moment. Pics here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/fieldstone/sets/ if you'd like to see the process (sorry not updated in a while - we're now fitting out the kitchen and bathrooms)

Land here starts at an absolute minimum of $100k for a city sized lot - $200k's nearer the mark for something with a decent view/location. If you want acerage, there's a flat 5 acre lot with services close by for sale for $495k a couple of minutes drive from where I live. I'm building on land I already live on (this will be a third property), so didn't have to include the cost of land purchase this time around.

Build prices are $175 sq/ft upwards. I'm paying about $220, and I know our builders finishing a couple of properties that are pushing towards $300 sq/ft. Builders and tradesmen are in high demand, which means the cost to build is quite high - no sign of any drop in demand for several years yet here.

Just like the Uk, contractors rely on reputation - talk to people, visit houses they've built, get recommendations etc.

Planning permission's easy to sort out - there are building codes to work to, but style/size etc hardly matters at all. Local architects were booking work 8-12mths ahead of time, so we scoured the internet for plans, found some that were close to what we wanted, then paid an architect in the States to make some amends. It cost us c$4k for all our plans, rather than the $10k+ we were quoted for creating something from scratch.

The process has been a bit frustrating, mainly down to the availability of trades - once you're delayed by one there's a knock-on effect that's hard to recover from. We lost a month early on due to the City's slow speed in issuing a building permit, then most of June due to insulators not being available. Since then it's been a bit hit and miss as to when trades turn up - most have so much work they seem to juggle jobs by working for a day or two, then moving on somewhere else for a few days before returning. It seems to make a weeks worth of work (interior painting, for example), get stretched out over 3 weeks.

The cost of building is determining the cost of buying - building costs have risen, therefore replacement/purchase costs are affected. Hard to say how the 2 compare - if you want a bespoke custom built house you have to suck up the cost and pay for it. If you're willing to compromise and/or don't want the hassle of building, then there are some very nice quality newish houses here on the market that appear to reflect similar $sq/ft building costs.

Hope that helps answer your questions....?

Thanks for taking the time to give us some comprehensive answers to our many questions

Deal with an established Contractor, we did, the experiance was painless, others did not, ended up taking nearly 2 years to complete, ended up in Court, lost $160,000 to a contractor who did not pay Sub Trades, couple came very close to divorce.

Ask the Real Estate Agents who they would use.