Hanzo

Thanks! I email the Canada business network today and so impressed they already offer advice. Just seen one of our dream houses near Peggy's Cove, does have commercial uses but land not big enough for kennels...so the search goes on!
I'm a little more familiar with checking zoning now but lots more to learn though! We're open to any county..(not too isolated though) so all depends on property, ease of getting license and in decent demand for dog boarding.

woodworm

I would contact the SPCA in your county and ask them how to go about a kennel license. I couldn't find anything on the government's website, so I assume it's a county by-law , but I could be wrong.

DandNHill

In Ontario it's a town/municipal bylaw. Can't say for NS but if you check the websites for the areas you're interested in you should find their specific kennel bylaw.

Hanzo

Thanks everyone!

Yes, I think the best way is find suitable houses with land and then check the by laws in that county to make sure I can set up a business before purchasing. Looks like it is more of a buyers market there so not going to rush into things.

Shirtback

Not just a business. The specific business(es) you wish to operate out of your home.

Kennel businesses can be a particularly sticky subject where I live (new ones are specifically prohibited by municipal bylaws). I had a look at a couple of random NS communities which seem to have similar bylaws/regulations.

DandNHill

I would say you need to be near Halifax for any chance of success. Maybe somewhere between the city and the airport?

Hanzo

Hi everyone!
Just a quick update following our successful trip, we're revisiting again soon! This time hoping to view a lot of houses and make a purchase if we see something special. Thanks everyone for your help so far!

Currently, we're shortlisting some properties and focusing on ones that comes with more land space in view to develop to some business opportunities. From our searches, it is a bit worrying that there houses aren't shifting and prices continues to drop...I know it is good for us buyers but worry about the main reason for this. I know it is probably not the best time of months for house sales but a lot of them has been on the market for almost half a year without being sold.

The areas we're checking out is Seabright, St Margaret's Bay areas as well as Hammond Plains and Porters Lake areas, mostly around 30mins from Halifax. Does anyone lives in the above areas? Any advice will be much appreciated. We've no kids and no plans to have them, just 2 dogs so nice places to walk them will be good!

Any tips on house buying and things to watch out for will be helpful!

Many thanks!!

BristolUK

That takes me back.

We house hunted initially online for Moncton when we were living in Montreal, South Shore.

I made up a spreadsheet allowing room for the house photo, a map of location, price, rooms any other factors - and a score out of 10 that then became a score out of 20 as 10 wasn't enough to differentiate.

As we got closer to the time of the house hunting trip, we added places coming on the market and taking them off the list as they were sold or withdrawn from sale.

Our Number One, the one we were really looking for ward to seeing - so much so that we named it - was horrible, so the first thing to say is don't get too keen or dismissive until you actually see the place.

By pure luck the house we got had aircon, something we hadn't considered but is a must.

Something else that I now realise is important relates to snow clearing. A long driveway to your garage means lots of snow to clear - just as a big lawn means a lot of grass to cut.

Is there room to pile the snow as you clear it, particularly as the gap you create will get smaller as winter goes on.

Snow piled up against the garage door means you have to clear it if the garage has a door that opens outwards.

Jamjar05

Hi Hanzo
Glad to hear that you had a successful trip. We've been here in NS since March 2007 so our 10 year anniversary coming up - time flies when you're living in the right place

Houses here are moving a lot better now than over the last few years. The areas that you are looking in are typically slower moving areas as they are on the outskirts of the HRM (Halifax Regional Municipality) and thus demand can be slower. Prices are holding up well though as our average price has stayed around the $300k mark since 2015. Again area specifics would be good to know about

>big snip<

Hanzo

Thanks so much for the tips about snow clearing! Never thought of that yet, guess initially we'll probably get so excited of the spaces we can afford to have and missed the partical things!

We did said we may get disappointed on the number 1 on our list as after doing some digging, an agent show us more photos of the house and views that weren't listed on the Ad..it wasn't good and hence the reason it still on the market so I think the photos are so professionally done that anything will look good!

dbd33

You wouldn't happen to be in the business of selling houses, would you?

Flogger

A north shore one maybe

woodworm

On the subject of house sales in NS, we have been trying to sell 2 properties since the beginning of Dec. and haven't had more than one person looking at one of them, but our realtor said that it was always slow in winter and that interest should pick up around May. So I am learning to be very patient..


If you buy here, just be aware that you can't usually re-sell it fast, they tend to sit a while before they go.

DigitalGhost

What is wrong with Vancouver just out of curiosity?

beckiwoo

We have had several threads on the topic.

Rather then focusing on my post that I wrote around 3 months ago, why don't you do a search and find out what other people think.