a LOT to consider

Carolyn and Chris McIntyre bought their slice of paradise on a whim. They were on their way to Carolyn’s dad’s place in Minden, Ont., when Chris started scrolling through MLS listings on his phone and came across a lot on Belmont Lake, an hour’s drive east of Peterborough. The McIntyres had friends on Belmont—where most cottages were listed at $300,000 or more—and loved it. As for the lot, it was on a tiny bay with lots of privacy and came equipped with a dock, an outhouse, and even a small bunkie that could house the family of five during construction. And at $147,000, the price was right.

So they went for it. Chris then put in some calls—to the local planning and development office and to their friends down the shore—to make sure they’d actually be able to build there. But beyond that, “it wasn’t really well thought out,” admits Carolyn.

Two years later, they’ve just managed to get electricity—a process that cost $10,000, and involved having Bell move several poles to make way for electrical wires and getting neighbours to sign off on having the new lines cross their land.

“Nobody anticipated it would take that long,” says Carolyn. “We haven’t even built anything yet, and there have already been a lot of expenses.” The couple has encountered other unexpected bumps. They are still waiting for approval on their first building permit application by the municipality, which sent them to the local Crowe Valley Conservation Authority. Since the property is on a flood plain, Crowe Valley requires a land survey to determine its elevation; too low and they’ll need to truck in