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Salt Spring Island Real Estate

MLS homes for sale by Scott Simmons

Salt Spring Island Buying tips

Scott’s Salt Spring Buying Tips

I can help you negotiate the best price on any Salt Spring Island home for sale (use the mortgage calculator to help you work out your budget). But, before you make an offer to purchase a specific Salt Spring home, I can:

  • Talk to all the neighbours before the offer to purchase.
  • Find out about the seller’s motivation to sell their Salt spring property.  As your agent, I can tell you everything!  For instance, I will try to discover the real reason they want to sell their property.  Are the sellers fishing for a high price or are they serious about selling their Salt Spring property?    Information about a seller’s motivation might be valuable to a buyer.  The listing agent cannot tell you about the seller’s motivation to sell because of dual agency law (unless they have permission to reveal this information).
  • Reveal how much the seller still owes on the home.

Following is a list of things to explore with experts in each area.   (Note:  The following items are not part of the home inspection.)

The “Mike Holmes rule” – Check the building permits!

  • I can get a letter from the sellers giving us the right to check the building permits.
  • Is the house built to the British Columbia building code standard? If you can see “not to code” work – what else might be there that you can’t see?
  • Did the owner obtain all necessary building permits?  (Electrical, propane, fireplaces and septic fields require their own permits.)
  • The Sewerage System Regulations where totally changed in 2006.  Does this house comply with the most recent regulations? OWRPBrochure2008
  • Has there been any work done in the last 60 days?  If so, ask for paid receipts. HowBCsBuildersLienActAffectsOwners
  • Is the house built to the plan on file?
  • Has the house passed all inspections?
  • Is the home heated with wood? Can you get a copy of the WETT inspection report? Wood heating guide
  • Are there outbuildings on the property? Any building over 108 sq. ft. needs a building permit.

Who was the Salt Spring architect or designer of the Salt Spring property?

  • Do they have the home plans on file?
  • What are their thoughts on possible renos or additions?
  • Was a structural engineer consulted when the home was built? Guidelines for Professional Structural Engineering Services for Part 9 Buildings
  • Who built the Salt Spring home?  (If the house is less than 25 years old, this is usually easy to find out.)
  • What is the builder’s reputation? Was it built by a License Builder?
  • Are they still building homes on the island?
  • Is this the only house they have built on the island?
  • Can you meet with the Salt Spring builder and have them walk you through the home they built?
  • Is there a warranty on the house? Information from the Homeowners Protection Office BuyingANewHome HPO

Check for special problems often found in British Columbia, such as:

  • Moisture in the house
  • Wood eating Powder Post Beetles
  • Mold & mildew Mold guide
  • Wood rot
  • Ask for a survey.
  • In British Columbia, you do not get a real property report from the seller.
  • In BC you can buy title insurance.
  • Check out the property lines and the setbacks of your potential property.
  • Are there any geotechnical issues? Is the home in Development permit area 6? Development Permit area 6
  • Always check the zoning of the property and the surrounding properties.
  • Does the property have a Conservation Covenant on it; Natural Area Tax Exemption Program (NATEP)
  • Is it in a water catchment area?
  • Is it conforming to zoning or is it non-conforming?  (Never, ever assume zoning can be changed on Salt Spring!)

If the property is on the waterfront:

  • In Canada, you do not own the beach. Rather, the property ends at the high water mark. Designing Your Dock or Boat Launch
  • Does the property have sensitive shoreline status? PDA 3 shoreline
  • If it’s low bank, is the beach leased out to a clam operation?
  • Is it a “party beach” during the summer or a tranquil beach all year round?

A lot of Salt Spring houses have septic systems. Info about septic systems OWRPBrochure2008  Check the following:

  • Does the septic system work properly (or at all)?
  • Has the tank been pumped out in the last 5 years?
  • If the house has been enlarged, has the septic system been upgraded as well? Do they call bedrooms “offices” or “dens?” (Septic systems were sized by the number of bedrooms.)
  • Can you see or smell surface effluent?
  • Is it a gravity or pump system? How old is the pump?

Is the Salt Spring property serviced by a well? BC Ground Water Protection Regulation GWPR_private_well_owners  link to Ministry of Environment water protection and Sustainably Branch  If so:

  • Has the water been tested recently?
  • Is the water sanitized?  How to chlorinate a well.  If so, with what? Maybe a UV Water Sterilizer such as this one from Mouat’s Home Hardware – 5 GPM UV Water Sterilizer Filter (prices subject to change)
  • Is it a shallow well or deep well?
  • Is there a water storage system?
  • Does the well produce water in the dry summer months?
  • How many wells are in the area?
  • Is there a water license? Have the annual rentals fees been paid? Any outstanding annual rentals or fees become the responsibility of the new landowner.  This form has to be filled out and sent to the provincial government; change_holder Water ACT
  • How close is the septic field? Is it uphill or downhill from the well? septic tank how to find
  • What about the neighbor’s septic field? How close is it? Is it within 30 meters? If it is this is a red flag.
  • Is there arsenic in the water?  Yes, you read that right – there is arsenic on Salt Spring!!! arsenic in groundwater

Does the house have vermiculite insulation?

  • Vermiculite ore, produced by the Libby Mine in Montana from the 1920′s to 1990, was sold as Zonolite® Attic Insulation and WILL contain amphibole asbestos.  If the house has vermiculite insulation it “has to” be tested.  I, Scott Simmons, could not sleep at night knowing your house was not tested.  A few years ago buyers had a home I had listed tested.  The test came back positive.  The sellers decided to fire me and hire a new agent that did not know the home had failed a test.  I sent the new agent an email stating my concerns.   The home sold I do not know if the new buyers knew.  If it ends up in court I have a copy of that email.  This made me sad knowing someone would sink that low to save 15k or so when selling a home for hundreds of thousands of dollars.  It will cost $15,000-$20,000 to professionally remove if it’s in the house.  Not all vermiculite has asbestos, but I was told by the testing company that 99% of tests are positive. Here is a copy of the Safe Work Practices for handling asbestos pdf from Work Safe BC. From the Vancouver Sun, Feb 2013 Asbestos safety often ignored in B.C pdf  and this  Asbestos Tougher sanctions needed for rule abusers pdf
  • Check for buried oil tanks.
  • I know of 7 sites from old gas stations, dump sites and or fuel storage sites on Salt Spring.  4 have been or are up for sale.   One had no disclosure they hired a brand new agent to list the property.  By law, the vendor must complete a site profile form and provide it to the purchaser prior to completion of the sale.  More info here at the Ministry of Environment site.    This is extremely important if you are looking at one of these sites.  In the future remediation cost are going to go up and up.  Caveat emptor.
  • How does any possible future development or possible right of ways affect this lot or house? What does the Official Community Plan (OCP) Bylaw #434 say about the area?
  • What could happen in the future in this neighborhood?
  • Check the Land Use Bylaw #355 and see what pertains to this property ssbylbaselu0355
  • If it is a view property, do you “own the view?”
  • If not, who does?
  • Will they allow you to trim the trees?
  • Can you buy a Restrictive Covenant on their property? EASEMENTS, COVENANTS AND SIMILAR RIGHTS

Is it farmland is it in the ALR? Link to the Agricultural Land Commission site.   Farm Classification Brochure

Is GST owed on the sale of the property?  This is a grey area usually just new lots and new homes have GST but as a Realtor that has worked in a resort area, I know that vacation rental homes can have GST or if the property is owned by a corporation it might have GST owing at the time of the sale.

 

What is the upside? What are they missing? Is there a hidden value that the owners don’t see?  This is what an experienced agent hunts for.  Each year I drive approx 30 – 50,000 km and I rarely if ever leave the island.

Don’t buy a house on Salt Spring Island without benefiting from my Salt Spring specific real estate knowledge.  As a Realtor, I’m working for you and want to make sure you buy the right Salt Spring home, not the wrong house.

I have noticed a trend.  Those that spend time doing research make a better purchase than those that do not.

In the army, we had an old saying “Time spent in reconnaissance is seldom wasted“.

 

Cheers

Scott Simmons

Categories

CRITICAL BUYING INFO

Two things buyers should know before they offer:

Price History

Total time on market

Forms for the new BC Real Estate rules
Disclosure-of-Representation-in-Trading-Services
Agreement-Regarding-Conflict-of-Interest-Between-Clients
Disclosure-of-Risks-to-Unrepresented-Parties
PrivacyNoticeandConsent

Salt Spring Island Property Search

up to 500k

500k-899k

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Salt Spring Real Estate Market Report

If you are looking for Salt Spring Island Real Estate it would be well worth your time to check out my Salt Spring Market Report pages.

To help you search for a Salt Spring home for sale I have two systems you can use.  One is a map based mobile search system for tablets and/or phones. This system works really well if you are on Salt Spring, as it will automatically show you properties as you drive around the island.

The other system is a data base (Advanced MLS system or PCS) for laptops or desktops.

These two systems display information in real time, which allows you to view new listings within one second of them coming on the market. You will also find the “sold” prices of homes, as well as other useful information.

Radio Real Estate Shows

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Salt Spring home face lift

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June 16, 2018 By Scott Simmons Leave a Comment

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Salt Spring Island Trust Land Use Zoning bylaw 355

February 17, 2018 By Scott Simmons Leave a Comment

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January 26, 2018 By Scott Simmons Leave a Comment

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July 12, 2018 By Scott Simmons 2 Comments

Is Salt Spring in the middle of a housing crisis?  It all depends on who you talk to and what one defines as a crisis. If you move to Salt Spring and have limited funds and are looking to rent a home at about $1000 per month your probably out of luck.  There are basically […]

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January 23, 2017 By Scott Simmons Leave a Comment

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May 11, 2016 By Scott Simmons Leave a Comment

This was just posted on the Salt Spring exchange in 4 parts.  I have permission from John Gauld the author to publish this document on my Salt Spring web site;   SSI is known as a community that questions conventional practices and is creative and innovative in its response to community challenges. Perhaps the up-coming […]

Salt Spring’s new SSIWPA PAC

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Does the home get sunlight?

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What are “aggregate days on the market”? On the Victoria Real Estate board an agent can “Re-List” a property for a mere $25 fee.  An example would be if a home has been listed on the board for 180 days the listing can be taken off the market and then “Re-Listed” and appear to be […]

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