What professionals should you consult when buying a cottage

Leveraging, renting vs owning, making an investment or buying a home?
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Contrarian
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What professionals should you consult when buying a cottage

Post by Contrarian »

I dont see much point to using a real estate agent when buying. Should I use an appraiser or home inspector or both?
I dont see how an appraiser can do his job without knowing what the home inspector knows.
mikester
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Re: What professionals should you consult when buying a cott

Post by mikester »

I think the appraiser can give a good estimate of the cottage based on what she/he can see. A good part of the value will be the location, lakefront (presence of and quality of) and various other factors which don't include the condition of the building.

I suspect there are a lot of older cottage properties which would basically sell for roughly land value.

If you get the home inspection done later, you can just adjust the appraiser's estimate if you think it's appropriate.
Mike
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flywaysuzy
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Re: What professionals should you consult when buying a cott

Post by flywaysuzy »

Any wood burning appliances might need to be inspected if you are wanting to get fire insurance on the cottage. If the value is all in the land, then you may not require insurance on the building.
suzy
PrudentlyFroogle
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Re: What professionals should you consult when buying a cott

Post by PrudentlyFroogle »

If you are seasoned in real estate then there is likely no need for a realtor as you mentioned. However, I would always recommend having an inspector. I would never buy a property without it being inspected. This insures that you are getting what it looks like you are getting in my opinion.
OhGreatGuru
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Re: What professionals should you consult when buying a cott

Post by OhGreatGuru »

- A home inspector who is also qualified to look into the water supply and sewage system (or can arrange for someone to do so.)
- a land surveyor if there isn't a recent survey available (though usually you would insist the seller provide this.)
- a legal or paralegal who can look into zoning, land-use, rights of way, easements, municipal plans, etc.
flywaysuzy
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Re: What professionals should you consult when buying a cott

Post by flywaysuzy »

The amount of money you would be willing to shell out to hire all these people would hopefully be proportional to the value of the cottage and land.
suzy
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