With years of experience helping people buy and sell suburban homes, Oakville realtor Sue Heddle also has knowledge and expertise when it comes to purchasing or selling a rural home or property. For many people, the thought of living away from a city with more space to enjoy can be quite appealing. However, if you’re thinking of buying a home in a rural area, there are plenty of things you need to consider first.
Rural real estate transactions include many factors you may not typically think about. Things like quality of roads or access to your property, productivity of the soil, utility access such as water and electricity as well as more modern considerations such as the reliability of high speed internet.
8 Questions To Ask When You’re Considering A Rural Real Estate Purchase
Regardless of where you are looking to buy, location matters. In rural purchases, you may not be looking for a walkability factor, but proximity to the nearest town, where dwellings are located on the property and what type of road the house is located on all factor in to the appeal of a rural location.
Specifically, here are 10 questions to ask when you’re thinking about purchasing a rural property.
1. Is the water safe to drink? Rural properties can draw water from private wells, which may be contaminated with minerals or even chemicals. Insist on a water test before making an offer.
2. Is there an adequate septic system? Houses constructed in rural areas are equipped with a leach field designed to collect sewage and water waste. The size of the system depends on the size of the house. However, if there has been any extensions or large renovations, be sure to get confirmation that the leach field was extended as well.
3. Is the house located on a private road? If so, you may need to factor in thousands of dollars in expenses each year to handle your share of plowing, maintenance and paving.
4. How often do you lose power and for how long? Rural areas are often the last to be restored if a power line goes down. If being without power for days could be a reality, be sure to factor in the cost of a back-up generator into your overall costs of buying a new home.
5. What will accessibility be like in the winter? With our cold and snowy Canadian winters, make sure that surrounding roads will be safe to drive on and plowed regularly.
6. Where are the boundary lines? If the properties you’re looking at will have several acres or more, it can be tough to tell where your property starts and ends. Ask when a proper survey has last been completed and if you aren’t satisfied with what’s available, have a property surveyed completed before you buy to avoid future disputes.
7. What are restrictions and zoning ordinances? Before you buy, find out what you are and aren’t allowed to do and whether the property is deemed A1, A2 or greenspace.
8. Will there be any items included with the sale? If so, a detailed list needs to be a part of the real estate contract. Items may include things like gates, portable sheds, fence posts, or miscellaneous equipment.
Finding A Realtor Experienced In Rural Real Estate Transactions
With so many nuances and unique information that can be involved in a rural real estate transaction, you need an experienced realtor on your side to help you get the results you want. Sue Heddle Homes can take all your needs into consideration and help you navigate a successful purchase or sale. To find out more about our award winning client services, contact us. We’d be happy to speak with you to discuss your next move.
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