The OP did specify BC ................. and it would be darn near impossible to find that kind of place for that amount of money.

You would be looking at $2 million to $3 million or more!

A recreational property with a 4 bedroom house (described as "cabin" as usual here) on an ½ acre lake waterfront about 25 km from our property was sold for $1 million in 2013.


Just as I could sell my house in Vancouver and buy 3 in Halifax


I drool every time I look at real estate in Nova Scotia!

When we saw that this place was being foreclosed we were driving past to 25 acres we had in the country. We had got as far as arranging for someone to erect a Viceroy house there (I'd previously lived in a Viceroy house and had been suitably impressed). We were coming from a house where we had cut off the roof and added a floor so we were not entirely naïve about building. I suppose that was around four years ago.

Issues we had to deal with included:

- negotiation with the Conservation Authority over possible changes to drainage due to the house
- permit for the septic system
- cost of power connection, it's either so much per pole or an astronomical amount to have buried cable
- need to buy the land for cash (banks don't lend on unimproved land) leaving no cash for anything else

It was a daunting project but one I think we could have completed (though not for $200 a square foot). We changed direction because Foreclosure Farm offered more land, closer in, than we had thought possible. We subsequently sold the 25 acres and someone is just now building on it. I would not be surprised if it took them that 3 years to get all the permissions in place.

1. Maybe the OP.might consider NS
2. What's stopping you from moving to NS?

He would certainly find property one heck of a lot cheaper in NS than here!


As to what is stopping us ........ mainly the fact that everything that we need and all our interests and friends are here in BC. I addition, it would put more pressure on daughter and s-i-l if we moved over there, in addition to the pressure they're under from his side.

We have our support group(s) here, would have to start from scratch

and TBH ........ I don't like much of the weather over in NS, I much prefer being in banana land

In the fire zone, loads of people had no coverage and folks already buying a house in those areas could not buy insurance of they were 10km or closer to an active fire. If we have a rumble in the ground, cannot buy earthquake insurance for something like 60 days after the last rumble.

We can now buy flood insurance in parts of Canada. There is also provincial aid for uninsured flood losses. It is very limited and only available to those who could not buy flood insurance. Insurable losses are not covered by the provincial emergency aid program.
https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/s...ial-assistance

If my small terraced house in Bristol had sold without delays I could have bought three detached houses here.

As it was, I had to make do with two.

we've had flood and earthquake insurance for at least 30 years or as soon as it became available ........... we are not down near a river or on a flood plain, but are covered in case a torrent comes pouring down from the higher streets around.


TBH ............ I've never understood how someone could or would build, or buy, a house on a flood plain. It only seems to make sense that a flood plain might well flood reasonably regularly!!

Two types of flood insurance in Canada. The type that covers for sewer backup and burst pipes, which has been around for a long time. Overland flood insurance, which covers for major events, such as rivers bursting their banks is a new concept in Canada in the last year or so. Not all insurers offer it, premiums are pretty hefty too.

Flood and storm surge premiums are the result of calculations in another league of complication compared to other domestic and small commercial risks. They depend on statistical data from multiple sources, data which is constantly being refined. Accordingly, there's much more scope in this area for premium variation between companies and between renewals at the same company than there is for other types of coverage. Even before commercial considerations are taken into account. If multiple insurers cover your location it's well worth getting them all to quote.

I live in a place like that now.

Bushfires are of course a huge risk. The farmers around us all equip their properties and spend a huge amount of time each year before bushfire season prepping to "actively defend" but of course that involves things like constructing fire breaks, etc and having your own massive supply of stored water. All that takes $$$$$$.

You also need to make sure you know your escape routes (and have multiple escape routes in different directions) like the back of your hand.

A lot of people screw up if they get caught up in a bushfire by going up to higher ground - bushfires spread easily up. You need to go DOWN to lower ground. I used to be in our volunteer bushfire brigade and that was a common way people got killed - hilly area, they needed to flee, guessed wrong and went up the hill instead of down.

City folk don't understand the risk; you aren't in danger when the flames arrive, the danger point arrives way before that. Wind blowing the embers etc your house will be on fire way before the main fire wall arrives.

Anyways where I live we do get a lot of big-city types buying "holiday homes" thinking they are going to be in a low-maintenance idyllic setting only to, after a few months, realise the huge amount of labour involved in living in the country and they stop coming and sell up pretty quick or just leave the place to rot.

One big-city couple actually bought an enormous rainwater tank on someone's farm and converted it into a studio flat with all mod-cons - including a washer and kitchen. Looked beautiful and they did a great job. But they got bored real fast and sold within the year. Tried first at big-city prices and that didn't fly at all.

Yep, the Disaster Financial Assistance program (DFA) is only available when the province has declared a disaster and only to uninsurable losses. Declaration of a disaster is done on a case-by-case basis and even 10 homes being wiped off the map may not be deemed a disaster, dependant on individual circumstances and financial impact. The municipality will likely be doing everything they can though, to present the case to the Province for a disaster to be declared.

It’s worth asking an insurer if they cover overland flooding, a quick check on your postcode will soon answer that. DFA also has a financial cap and only covers the necessities of life. If your $5k Italian leather sofa was ruined, you’re getting coverage for the best value replacement so you don’t have to sit on the floor. It isn’t really a “build back better” scenario for private residents (infrastructure, maybe), but more of a helping hand to get back on your feet and get used to your new normal.

Also, I am a Local FireSmart representative & can help communities become officially recognized as FireSmart. Spurred on to do this as I work in emergency management and live in a place outside of the city with no municipal fire protection. This year was very worrying due to having a couple of hours of rain, a couple of times in something like 3 months.

I guess though that now the OP has opened this can of worms and not returned since, they’re not that interested anymore...

Thank you everyone for the detailed responses. Much appreciated, this has been very informative. Thank you for the websites - i have had a look at some of them and they are very insightful.

Thank you again