superfox21

I would be grateful if someone could advise me about the building/planning rules in New Brunswick.

I am planning to open a small riding school and I am thinking about buying a house with land and then building the required facilities ie. stables and indoor riding arena (approx 20x40m) as there don't seem to be many properties with existing buildings large enough to convert.

Is land rated in some way as in UK eg. Agricultural, brown field, outstanding natural beauty etc.? If so, does Equine business come under Agricultural? (in UK it does not but in other European countries eg. Holland, it does)

Obviously this is totally subject to a particular property but I would like to make sure I'm asking the right questions when I'm making enquiries!

Once again, any help and advice offered is greatly appreciated

clynnog

I'm in Ottawa in the 'town and country planning' consulting field (with the emphasis on town) so the regs are a bit dif't to NB. Typically, in Ontario in an agricultural zoning area you can run an equestrian centre etc. Often the biggest hurdles are well and septic capacity and access to the electrical grid.

In NB, I believe that the county often runs the planning reg's and not the individual towns. Where in NB are you thinking?

At most local government planning dept's they should be able to help you. Often their zoning by-laws are available on line on their websites. There is often a minimum lot size regulation for equine facilities such as you are contemplating.

R I C H

Here are a few basic things to consider:

Any development on your land will be subject to a cap - ie only a certain % of the land can be built on. You'll need to check what this proportion is with the city under who's jurisdiction the property you're interested in.

Land is classified in a variety of ways, some classifications will permit home run businesses such as the one you propose, some won't. Again it'll be specific to whatever property/land you have in mind.

In BC a riding school equestrian business does not get farm/agricultural classification. The rule may differ in NB, but you'll need to check. Farm status reduces your city taxes, permits farm related purchases to be PST (provincial sales tax) free and a few other benefits. In order to qualify for farm status you need to show income that can be directly attributed to farming. With regard to horses, this means breeding and/or training (buying, training and selling, not just training on behalf of someone else) for profit.

pennyhp

One thing I do know about Canada in general compared to the U, is that in england a friend took 3 years getting pp to build a 40X60 outdoor menage and my firend in Ontario just had to pick up permit to build her coverall.

Yes there is different zonings and so on, but its a lot easier than blighty. Especially if you are outside city limits.

superfox21

Great thanks again for useful info

Will check out some local NB websites for zoning by-laws and percentages....

Cheers

Surrey Expat

What permits are required depend on use. If an arena is open to the public, more stringent rules apply. To be classified as an ag business you need to be raising horses, not boarding, as RICH said. If you are boarding, likelihood is you would be considered a commercial enterprise. Different rules apply.

You need to talk to the building department in the jurisdiction you plan on living. That's the only way to be sure. Phone them and ask. The building code will be consistent all over NB, however the way building permits are issued and for what may well vary with each city and municipality across the province.

MB-Realtor

Get a Realtor who specialises in your area of interest to act as your Buyers Agent. They will do the vast majority of the investigation for you.

Get a good lawyer. Get a good accountant.

Make sure the due diligence is comprehensive if you are buying an existing business.

If you are in a rural area make doubley sure that none of your advisor's have any conflict of interest in the property you are looking at.

Ask lots of questions, in writing, get the answers in writing.

Surrey Expat

We tried a couple or real estate agents who were supposed to know the ag industry, neither could answer any of the questions we asked. One told me how much he was learning working with me - that was the last day he worked with me. Neither of them even knew the different soil types in the area, anything about the natural drainage or climate.

In the end we found a property that was suitable by our own investigations using the MLS web site, local contacts and the Ministry of Agriculture (who even did site visits with us). The information we needed was all available through the ag dept & the city. It is just knowing what information you want to gather.

If you are unfamiliar with the equine industry in Canada, I would suggest visiting some establishments near to where you want to set up shop, meeting with trade associations and going to a shows. These are the people who are more likely to be able to help and give you some inside info. For us the realtor filled in the offer paperwork, the lawyer did the rest.

When buying an existing business, unless you have a thorough knowledge of interpreting accounts & financials you may want to find a business adviser who can help you. A management accountant may be able to help. The problem here some accounts do do not always give a true reflection of the business, many other factors need to be considered. Unless the business is incorporated, accounts may not even exist and if they do they are rarely audited, just figures reported by the business operator.

superfox21

Thank you once again for excellent advice

Butch Cassidy

Welcome

superfox21

Thanks Butch

dbd33

See if you can find the poster Tiaribbon. She ran a riding school in Hampshire before moving to Canada and then set up a trail ride place in Ontario. She brought some horses with her and set up her facility on her own; her husband arrived after the air conditioned tractor with a CD player. Another poster here mentioned that she'd packed in the trail riding but I don't know that for sure. She's in ON, not NB, but must have lots of directly relevant experience.

superfox21

Thank you I will see if I can find her

msheridaneh

I just moved to New Brunswick and one thing I can say, for sure, is that there are a lot of provincial variations regarding licencing, real estate, etc. I also know someone here who has horses and is building a new home so that she doesn't have to stable them separately from where she lives. Feel free to email me at [email protected] if you want to talk about the Fredericton area. I can also recommend a FABULOUS realtor, if you don't already have someone with whom you're working. Good luck!

MB-Realtor

When you get your Real Estate licence, it allows you to deal in all forms of Real Estate, but all you have covered in any detail is residential, You do a small bit of Commercial and hardly anything on Farms.

For any speciality (other than residential) a normal Real estate agent could be worse than useless. In fact I would go so far as to say that if they don't know what they are talking about they are a Liability Case waiting to happen. My Broker will simply not let us trade Commercial or Farms unless we have the appropriate qualifications.

In the more populated areas you will find Brokerages that specialize in Commercial, and some that specialize in Farms. DO NOT use anybody who does not have qualifications or experience, I should have made that clearer in my first post.