Update on buying a Lake House

Wow, where to begin. There have been lots of ups and downs over the past 2 weeks. After thinking about the Horne Lake Timberframe cabin for several days we finally gave our heads a shake. Too many stairs for us to negotiate as we get older and older we are gonna get! Also we would've had to spend more money than we wanted to. Need money for cruising. lol

So, we decided to downsize our ideas and purchase a condo downtown Nanaimo. It would be close to Kristi and Jason and would be easy to leave for our winter adventures in the USA. However, we hit a snag after we submitted an offer that was accepted.  One of the conditions was we get an exemption for Freya ... the strata council declined. The owners of the apartment were very upset and tried to have this changed through another meeting but when all was said and done ... can you imagine Ray meeting up with the one naysayer, who happens to be the President of the Strata, probably several times a week in the one and only elevator! Not a good situation. The condo had a fabulous view over Nanaimo Harbour though.




I kept looking at other options for us, but all of the condo's have dog policies listing small dogs or none. There were some nice houses with views but usually with lots of stairs as well. I happened upon a lakehouse listing on Lake Cowichan and while researching this Ray found a second listing for sale by owner. The day we found the listing, she had decided not to list by herself anymore and took the listing down two days later. That is how close we came to missing this opportunity. Our realtor tried to contact her ... he was unable to make contact. I happened to notice her contact info on the FSBO website and sent her a note. She replied and called us. Yeah. Ray and I love timberframe homes. They remind us of the cozy feel we had living in our log house in the Queen Charlotte Islands.

Two days later we were on the ferry over to Nanaimo and then down to Cowichan Lake with our son-in-law Jason to check out the house as he is a ticketed carpenter. A beautiful timberframe house, with city water, sewer , hydro and 3 minutes drive to the local pub, not to mention right on the lake with your own dock. Fabulous. Unfortunately the weather was raining when we toured the house so the pictures are not the best, but the house was still filled with light on a gloomy day.

Ray and I had decided that if we did not buy something that was a "destination" we would not see much of our kids with their busy lives for the next 20 years. I know they will come and see us here! You apparently can catch fish right off the dock, or drive 3 minutes away, next to the pub and get launched into the Cowichan River to go tubing. The owner used to flyfish right off the dock and catch trout. Great for Ray. The motorhome will fit into the driveway and they have even put in a connection to the sewer for an RV already.

Front view of the house.

View of the house from the dock. There is only a postage size piece of lawn for me to mow. Very little yard maintenance needed.

View from the dock in the summer.

It has 3 master bedrooms with ensuite bathrooms, 2 on upper floor and this one on the main floor.



The loft with the other two bedrooms.



A lovely timberframe gazebo on the sundeck. Great for me as I do not like to sit in the hot sun.



The basement is totally unfinished although they have had all the wood sprayed with an anti-mildew chemical in case the lake ever floods the home. Unlikely, but the husband who unfortunately died 18 months ago, was an engineer and built the house to withstand anything.  He has pre-plumbed for infloor hot water heating, the components/controller is there already purchased, it just needs to be hooked up. The chimney was installed in preparation for a woodstove. This would add another 1450 feet on top of the 2400 sq ft we already have finished on the top two floors. We plan to finish this area as Kristi and Jason's space as well as Garrett and Kat's when they come to visit. Who wants to hang out with the "old folks" all the time. Of course if I am cooking they will be upstairs! lol

 The electric forced air furnace is suspended, I imagine in case the basement floods. As I said built by an engineer.

The owner recently installed the heat pump and yard irrigation system last summer. This house is located in a gated, 9 lot bare land strata development, with only 1 empty lot to be sold still. You own the property and house but just pay for maintenance for keeping up the road, the security gate and landscape across the road. No problem having a dog. There is a gate across the road from the driveway that leads to a park and campground so lots of space to walk Freya. Here is a view of the park's beach next door that you can access off-season (no dogs in the summer of course).



With the death of the owner's husband, there were still quite a few things not finished as this had been an 8 year project so far at the time of his death. The kitchen cupboards did not get put in until last winter, she spent 8 years with just the appliances!

Ray and I negotiated a price with the owner and it was accepted ... the old fashioned way with a handshake until paperwork could be filled out. After talking with her in depth, we realized that one of the "subject to" clauses was a big one. She had yet to get her occupancy permit and only had the temporary one that was issued back in 2008. The owner had tried for the last year to get one from the Lake Cowichan District Office to no avail. The original person who approved the temporary occupancy no longer works there, the new person won't sign for one as he did not issue the original one. There is a "small town politics" situation going on here me thinks! She is at her wits end and very upset. After a lengthly conversation, the owner agreed to get our realtor involved and pay commision so he could sort out this as the "Remax Team" have a "bigger fist" to handle such problems and was more than Ray and I could deal with. Without the occupancy permit we cannot buy the house. Unacceptable! She told us her husband would be pleased that we are buying his dream house as we appreciate all the work that was put into it.

So we wait patiently (NOT!) for this to get sorted out. As it stands we do not take possession of this house until May 15th and conditions do not have to come off until March 31st or so. That gives everyone more time to get this sorted out. The owner is going out of country for the month of April so this will all have to be worked out by the end of March.

Meanwhile, I finally have the "Grant of Probate" so I will be putting Dad's house up for sale at the end of the month. I want the trees to green up, plant some flowers in the pots in the front and generally make it look welcoming. Sunny days would certainly help. My realtor said the best months for selling are April and May anyways and I am in no hurry to leave until we can move into the lakehouse anyways.

After this 2 day adventure, Ray is pretty sore and is having a bunch of downtime in bed with me waiting on him ... lunch honey!

So stay tuned ....