# Went to Newfoundland for a week and bought a house!



## marina628 (Dec 14, 2010)

Hey Guys ,
As thread says I left for Newfoundland last week and got back last night and on the 2nd day there I bought a house in the town my parents live.House was ready to go so here is how the newfies do it , we went to gander together with seller and the lawyer did the paperwork and we transferred the funds from our account to the sellers at the bank.The seller paid the lawyer his fees from his account and then we went together to change over the utilities and taxes.So here is what $80,000 gets you in my town , I got a 2000 sq ft sidesplit with a separate 24x28 garage and a 20x24 'wood house'. Everything was built in 1992 and it is on the waterfront about 1 acre of land.House came fully furnished even with bedding ,we did go to Gander last Saturday and bought New beds for 2 rooms and a new sofa set plus a couple A/C units.We were going to order all new windows but we found out in February the local building supplies store has 30% sale and since we got that huge 24x28 garage we are going to wait and do the order then.Next summer going 'home' to reno a bathroom to make it safe for me ,put in the new windows and do the new window coverings.To celebrate we ordered 20 lobsters @ $5.00 a pound and my Aunt made us a bunch of home made tarts.We are going to paint the entire house in 'moonshine' a Benjamin Moore color , fitting for Newfoundland and my parents are going to handle getting a local guy to paint for us.Next summer we are going back for a month and getting a bunch done .House is very well built excellent condition but we need to decorate it our way as dusty rose and hunter green is not for me lol


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## andrewf (Mar 1, 2010)

Congrats! Sounds like your dollar goes very far in Nfld, at least for real estate--anything imported can get pricey. Sounds like a good buy. You could not even build that house for what you paid.


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## marina628 (Dec 14, 2010)

It is an hour to drive to Gander which is growing day by day , only thing that I found was difficult to get a good lettuce , bought 3 and the insides were all bad , had to make Greek salads or Caesar Salads .But our town has stores ,gas stations , beer stores and most importantly high speed internet


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## Jon_Snow (May 20, 2009)

Living in southwest BC, I am completely unfamiliar with such cheap real estate prices. I am all about eliminating debt these days and investing in dividend payers, but if such prices ever made their way to the pacific, I just might have to indulge as well. Congrats Marina.


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## humble_pie (Jun 7, 2009)

ooh mille félicitations

i want to live there too, is that "wood house" a separate house on the property that u might consider renting out?

it would be cmfport east

marina was the person who taught me what a flake really is. It's a large wooden structure in the yard - sort of a glorified clothesline - on which you hang your fish to dry in the sun

actually i think dusty rose & hunter green are a nice combo

it must be the sweetest little house in the world

.


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## marina628 (Dec 14, 2010)

humble_pie said:


> ooh mille félicitations
> 
> i want to live there too, is that "wood house" a separate house on the property that u might consider renting out?
> 
> ...


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## marina628 (Dec 14, 2010)

This is taken from the back yard.


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## kcowan (Jul 1, 2010)

My wife`s friends sister bought an oceanfront place in the Gaspe Peninsula for $90k. She moved from Victoria to enjoy her retirement there. She lasted for 2 winters then moved back, letting the bank take it.

Hopefully your experience will be happier. For one thing, you can continue to work and play on the internet. Congratulations, Marina.


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## humble_pie (Jun 7, 2009)

O I C 

it's a real wood house each:

EDIT: def the rose & green carpets have to go:


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## marina628 (Dec 14, 2010)

My sister lives there and parents and many extended family ,this is home to us although we left 28 years ago.We plan to do summers in Newfoundland and winters in Caribbean with part of year in Ontario .Seven years until our youngest is done school ,she loves Newfoundland and Antigua so always option of her continuing her studies in one of these two place.


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## Nemo2 (Mar 1, 2012)

marina628 said:


> .We plan to do summers in Newfoundland.


So that's like July 04 -05 inclusive? :wink:


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## FrugalTrader (Oct 13, 2008)

Housing gets expensive once you enter the main metro regions (ie. St. John's and area). Congrats on buying what sounds like a great vacation property!


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## Daniel A. (Mar 20, 2011)

Good on you I've thought about the East Coast late spring till late fall, winters naturally somewhere warm.

How do your costs compare to Ontario ie hydro, fuel oil, gas, food.


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## My Own Advisor (Sep 24, 2012)

@marina628,

Congrats! Sounds awesome.


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## marina628 (Dec 14, 2010)

My nephew paid $500,000 in St.Johns for a 1900 sq ft 3 bedroom 2 bathroom in May so yes the Island is very expensive in places.My property taxes is $1300 a year including the Water and Sewer costs ,insurance about $1000 and utilities for the year will be about $3000 .Lobster is $5.00 a pound there ,groceries seem about the same , produce a bit higher but I think meats are actually cheaper ,bought a nice T-Bone for $7.00 in Dominion.Temperature was 24 -31 degrees but on the water you get a nice breeze in evening.


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## humble_pie (Jun 7, 2009)

marina! how about growing vegetables, start em under cloche tunnels or even a polycarbonate greenhouse, then grow on later in an open plot ...

if you & family are not on the land in march & april to start the plants, there must be nurseries where you could buy flats of young plants in early june? 

next thing you know i'll be pestering you for Aunt's berry tart recipe. I believe you said once there's an iconic newfie berry, not quite brambleberry or thimbleberry or boysenberry but something like ... yum ...


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## marina628 (Dec 14, 2010)

Humble my parents live nearby and they have plenty of land and have had a garden for years .Partridge Berries and Bakeapples probably what we talked about.There is 2 more pieces of land and homes to the right of my property one day I would probably consider purchasing ,they belong to my uncle and Aunt.If we did that we will turn the two homes into rentals ,many Europeans vacation in the area and on VRBO they get $1000+ a week for similar homes.


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## Ponderling (Mar 1, 2013)

I have a pal who has a basic vacation property on Little Burnt Bay, 5 inutes north of Lewisporte, the old harbour for Gander. 

Basic cabin - two bedrooms, and kitchen and living dining, and front deck.
Has had a generator in the shed out back, and propane for kitchen stove and gas refridgerator and hot water tank in the past with prior owner.
Artesian drinking and (presently unheated) bathing water. Septic field.
Wood stove, and tons of birch and other mixed hardwoods to fuel it on the property.
Shared gated driveway with neighbour.

No municipal services, so no taxes. Bought for under $30K five years ago. 

He has long term health issues, and wanted a place for the family to get away to for say 3-4 weeks per summer. 
First, being in the GTA he looked at Moskoka. No, I don't want a mortgage bigger tha the one on the prime dwelling.
So looked further afield and found the Rock, where property is bought free and clear with one cheque from your chequing account. 

Sounds like you an=ded an even better deal on your recent purchase.


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## marina628 (Dec 14, 2010)

Update on my beautiful house in Newfoundland :
We need a new furnace as ours is kaput ,we planned to eventually upgrade this when we built our addition on but now we have to deal with it now so last week we had to push up the design plans so what we do with heating can be modified into the new part .Only a $20,000 -$30,000 expense lol BTW we considered getting rid of the wood burning part but my father has the wood house filled with wood so he said unless we were having a bonfire we need to keep the wood option.


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## KaeJS (Sep 28, 2010)

Marina, can I please see some pictures of the house?

Why am I living in Ontario when I could buy a house outright in NL and live off the fish?

That landscape picture is beautiful.


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## marina628 (Dec 14, 2010)

KaeJS said:


> Marina, can I please see some pictures of the house?
> 
> Why am I living in Ontario when I could buy a house outright in NL and live off the fish?
> 
> That landscape picture is beautiful.


Kaejs I am at hospital today with my brother but will be happy to share some later when I have access to my photos.You wont live on fish but in our town we are 1 hour from Gander no jobs in the community but many people commute and car pool to Gander.We do not need to work there so not an issue for us .These places are great for people who already made their money not for a young person like yourself ,you will get bored and it will cost you too much money to live there lol.
One thing that is on my mind though is the nearest hospital is 30 minutes away and only a Doctor who lives in community .I would never feel comfortable to live there year round myself but in summer months we will.Wood Stove not so bad it is $7500 installed .


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## KaeJS (Sep 28, 2010)

Yes, unfortunately there is always a reason for low house prices.

You pay for it in other ways.

I am still definitely interested in your pictures. Hope your brother is well.


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