Almost Canadian

Hi all

Have any of you looked into this ? If so, how have you got on ? It is possible to organise from this side of the pond (subject to appropriate research trips) so that the house is ready for your arrival ?

Are there any particular pitfalls peculiar to Canada ? :scared:

Thanks for any replies

third time lucky

[QUOTE=Dying to leave England]

Hi. We did exactly this. Went to Canmore on holiday/recce and looked at show homes and talked to developers. We arranged to do as much as possible at the time and the rest was done by fax and courier. Everything was pretty much ok except for the developer/builders failure to meet deadlines. Fortunately we had family to stay with in Calgary, but it was very frustrating. You probably should have a lawyer involved and have compensation clauses built into the contract. It was worth it in the end. A new house with your choices in it.

Almost Canadian

[QUOTE=third time lucky]
Thanks for the reply

How bad were the overruns ? We planned to leave here 2 months after house is completed to avoid these problems - obviously not good if the overruns were more than 2 months

How did you find the quality of build ? How were quality checks carried out during the process ? Is there an equivalent of the NHBC 10 year guarantee ?

How did you decide on the developer builder ? How easy was it to obtain references/testimonials from the developer's previous customers ?

Sorry for all the questions - we are pretty much being forced into this route due to the unavailability of rental homes to fit our situation (we own 2 large dogs that will be coming with us) and it was not something that we seriously considered on past research trips.

Here's looking forward to at least another research trip to sort this issue out

third time lucky

[QUOTE=Dying to leave England][QUOTE=third time lucky]


Dear DTLE,
Our over run was 2 to 3 months. Excuses were mostly lack of skilled tradesmen due to massive building boom. Some subbies were demanding more than our developer was willing to pay so they had to wait their turn.
Calgary, at the time, was apparantly just as bad.
The quality of build was very high. Our dev. was Riverdale Homes. w

Alberta_Rose

Pardon me if I'm missing something, but in what way did not being able to find an appropriate rental mean that you had to have a house built rather than buy a ready-made one? Just curious.

Almost Canadian

No problem

We have no way at all of having our dogs cared for when we first land. That being the case we thought that it would be possible for us to go on a research trip (whilst our dogs are in kennels over here), find an area/developer that we were happy with, have the house built (as you probably know they come virtually finished - so you can move straight in - appliances supplied, decorated and carpeted). Once house is complete, we can then arrive with dogs.

If we came with the dogs but no house, the pressure would then be on to find and move into a house whilst the dogs are in kennels over the pond. Too much stress for us - which is why we were planning on renting first for 6-12 months - unfortunately this looks like a no-no due to lack of rentals that will accept dogs.

third time lucky

[QUOTE=third time lucky][QUOTE=Dying to leave England][QUOTE=third time lucky]


Dear DTLE,
Our over run was 2 to 3 months. Excuses were mostly lack of skilled tradesmen due to massive building boom. Some subbies were demanding more than our developer was willing to pay so they had to wait their turn.
Calgary, at the time, was apparantly just as bad.
The quality of build was very high. Our dev. was Riverdale Homes. (To continue) We chose them because they had the most suitable house and prices. They also did everything they could to help us. All provinces have building inspectors to check on progress build. Take that with a grain of salt.
We were also close enough near completion to keep an eye on everything.
We were required to make payments in stages. (three, I think) And then a final closing payment. We had some upgrades to figure in, as often the basic was very basic. They supplied our appliances, good quality, cheaper than we could find anywhere locally. Weather can be a factor. We didn't get our driveway laid until the following spring. The back deck was ready for our hot-tub though!!
Any thing else we can help with, feel free.

Almost Canadian

[QUOTE=third time lucky][QUOTE=third time lucky][QUOTE=Dying to leave England] Fantastic

The quality of the supplied appliances was of concern to us - we thought that, if they were good enough to last 18 months or so then that was sufficient and we could always buy to replace at a later date.

If you don't mind me asking - how did you fund it ? Did you have sufficient funds to buy outright or did you need a mortgage ? If a mortgage was needed, how did you go about proving salary etc ? We have heard that it is possible to get a mortgage for a new build based on a UK salary which we find amazing. We are looking at a house in the region of $250 - $300 and will probably have sufficient funds only to require a 40% or so mortgage.

Please feel free to PM me if you don't want to answer the above "for all to see"

steve of 5-0

Here in Canada, you must think in terms of "Spain or Greece with snow" when it come to tradesmen committing to tasks agreed with the client/customer.
As nothing happens from Nov. to April because of freezing temps`.
Every one wants a tradesmen in the Spring and the tradesmen know this and "cherry pick" the work! All the people here are very nice but, because the life here is uncomplicated, some only work when they have too!

Alberta_Rose

I do see your logic, now you've explained it to me (I thought I WAS probably being dim)

I think it's a good idea actually, bit late for us though now!

Interesting thread ..... sorry to interrupt

steve of 5-0

to continue-

www.mls.ca give the best source of housing prices.
99% of housing is wood product.
One can build from new or have a modular home delivered new and sighted they come in 2, 3, 4 pieces with all the white goods and stuff in the price.
You need to make sure that if you are in the sticks that your drilled well and septic tank are installed correctly. Drilled well and parts average $25 a foot plus $2000. Septic around $1500 installed.

Almost Canadian

No problem

You've been more than helpful to me in the past on other forums (the clue is in the first words of my screen name.

How did you go about finding accomodation for your dog (rental) ?

Jingle

[QUOTE=third time lucky][QUOTE=third time lucky][QUOTE=Dying to leave England] Hi TTL - another curious eavesdropper - are you living in Three Sisters MV? We looked at properties there last year but were slightly put off as it looked as though all our neighbours might be just vacationers? We are back in Canmore in October - one more look before we decide .... there/Calgary/Cochrane??

Regards, J

Almost Canadian

I was a carpenter (who retrained as a solicitor) In light of the above I am seriously considering working as a legal eagle throughout the winter and then as a chippy when weather permits !!!

Almost Canadian

We are looking at Calgary and surrounding areas. Frantically researching on the net but, as this never occured to us before, have done no research in country. Just weighing up the options at the moment and will make a final decision on our final research trip (planned for next spring)