Mid-Winter House Purchase - Daft?
 

We're moving to Edmonton in late January and considering whether to buy a house asap or rent for a while. We have visited several times, and we have friends there, so we think we have a good idea which neighbourhoods we would look in. We have previously lived in BC for a few years, and eastern USA for three (all in rented homes), so we're not complete novices. And we've been watching mls.ca and comfree for a year or so.

Has anyone experienced buying a house in mid-winter? Are there factors that would only become apparent in summer? We had planned to rent for 6 months, but it seems that - in Edmonton at least - buying might be easier and cheaper than renting at the moment. In a buyers' market, we might be able to get somewhere quite quickly.

Andy

Re: Mid-Winter House Purchase - Daft?
 

I bought a house in Montreal in February 2000.

Lots of snow on the roof/garden in fact everywhere. (how does an inspector look at a roof covered in snow)

Also did not know until it warmed up that we had 1 hell of a nest of some insect (looked like huge ants in the walls in the basement) which had kept itself quite all winter.

Not saying that it isn't a good idea to buy in the winter as we almost did it again in NS in January. You may even get a good deal as i guess it's not the best time for everyone to be buying.

Re: Mid-Winter House Purchase - Daft?
 

It poses problems with the inspection process, but on the other hand prices can be negotiated lower in the winter...sellers are usually heavily motivated.

We bought in January. Couldnt inspect the roof too well, but at least you will know if the eavestroughs leak. Had no idea what the yard was like other than a few pictures. Didnt really realise we had quite so much to be honest.

Re: Mid-Winter House Purchase - Daft?
 

Yes, we did it too. The house we bought we viewed and put an offer in in February. Each time we viewed it the garden was burried under snow. I woukd say that the main issue is that part of the value oif a house is in the landscaping and its hard to judge that under snow. When we moved into our house and the snow had melted we were a bit dissapointed with the garden. It did have grass but it was in really bad shape and we discovered we had a lot more landscaping to do than we had hoped.

So, if you do do it, make sure the vendors are able to show you some recent pictures of their garden in the summer so you know you dont just have a load of builders rubble under that layer of snow!

Re: Mid-Winter House Purchase - Daft?
 

We bought in a January, moved in the February. They couldn't get the removal truck near the door and we didn't know that the house came with an old fashioned plough and a post hole digger until the snow melted.

Re: Mid-Winter House Purchase - Daft?
 

Thanks for all this advice. It has been suggested (in a PM) that I might try renting with an option to buy. Is this a common arrangement? Is it formal, or just something I might offer on a vacant home for sale?

Re: Mid-Winter House Purchase - Daft?
 

It's an arrangement mentioned on here from time to time. The attraction from the point of view of the seller is that the price of the house is fixed at the beginning of the rental contract, this means that if prices drop the seller is protected. If you think, as I do, that house prices are about to plummet then you would steer well clear of any such deal.

Re: Mid-Winter House Purchase - Daft?
 

We bought our house in Oakville in mid-winter. The inspector was not able to check the roof, although we knew it to be quite new, nor could he test the AC (fortunately it worked).

We moved in at Easter, in the middle of an ice storm. That is definitely not something I would wish to do again.

Re: Mid-Winter House Purchase - Daft?
 

Just to note that if anyone ever buys a house in the winter and the roof looks like it should have more snow then it probably means that the roof is not insulated...it's not a big job to insulate a roof in most houses but it is something to bear in mind. (It could also be uninsulated throught the whole house).

Re: Mid-Winter House Purchase - Daft?
 

Or that it has southern exposure...

Re: Mid-Winter House Purchase - Daft?
 

There are lots of occasions throughout a winter when our house has no snow on the roof.

Snow in Alberta and the rest of the prairies is quite dry and any sort of good wind will remove it from a roof.

Lack of snow on a roof is not necessarily a good indicator of lack of insulation in the attic.

I would be very suspect of a any place that has a lot of icicles hanging from the eaves at any point in the winter rather than a lack of snow on the roof.

Re: Mid-Winter House Purchase - Daft?
 

Your inspecation should tell you all that gubbings.

R.

Re: Mid-Winter House Purchase - Daft?
 

Or it's a grow-op. :rofl:

I don't really buy that argument though. It could have less snow because the people who live there have the furnace on 24/7 and like the house at 80 degrees all winter.

Re: Mid-Winter House Purchase - Daft?
 

Surely, though, if the roof space is properly insulated, the heat from the house shouldn't get into it. At least not enough to melt the snow off the roof.

Re: Mid-Winter House Purchase - Daft?
 

But that would prove Livermanl's point.

It shouldn't matter how hot you keep the inside of the house it should under no circumstances be melting the snow on the roof.