For some, the perfect dream home is a single-family suburban 2-storey with all the city amenities just blocks from their front door. For others, that same dream looks a little more like the quiet serenity of an acreage settled in the country away from the city landscape.
Buying an Acreage in Saskatchewan
A picturesque prairie setting, Saskatchewan is the perfect place to find the acreage property you and your family have been wishing for. If you are considering buying an acreage in Saskatchewan, though, there are some distinctive differences in the process from finding a home in the city of Saskatoon. Of course, the best way to navigate these differences is to work with a trusted local REALTOR​​® with experience in acreage real estate. But here is a quick insight into what you can expect in the process of buying an acreage property.
Getting a Mortgage for an Acreage
Often what confuses buyers most when considering whether or not to buy an acreage is that they know the mortgage lending process is vastly different for buying agricultural real estate. However, so long as you are only planning to use your acreage property as a residence and not for farming, getting a mortgage for an acreage is relatively the same as getting one for a home in the city.
In order to qualify for a mortgage for farmland, you will usually need a minimum of a 25% down payment. To buy an acreage, however, you will likely only need 5%; the same required for buying an urban home. In order to properly secure financing, you will also need a property appraisal to assess the value of the acreage—which may be different from the purchase price. A trusted mortgage professional with experience in acreage lending will be your best resource in navigating the mortgage loan process.
Acreage Utilities & Services
One of the conveniences of living in the city is the easy access to all the essential services, including water, sewage, electricity, garbage collection, and internet. With many acreage properties, however, these are not guaranteed due to their rural setting.
If you are buying an existing acreage, likely these services have already been hooked up and are ready for you to use. However, if you are buying vacant land for sale with the plan of building your dream acreage property, you will have to account for the cost of running utility lines, if they aren’t already in place. Not to mention, the cost of these services may be slightly higher depending where your acreage is located, so be sure to do plenty of research before making an offer.
Maintaining the Land
While most homes in the city sit on less than an acre of land, acreages tend to offer multiple acres of space, as the name suggests. This means more maintenance of the land, including mowing in the summer and snow removal in the winter. You will also need to be aware of the landscape of the land and how that will affect your acreage property, including drainage issues that may lead to seasonal flooding if not properly managed.
Schools & Commutability
One of the conveniences of living in the city is the ease of school access and commutability to most workplaces. When buying an acreage, you will have to be aware of how this will affect your family’s lifestyle. Will there be a bus available to bring your children to school every day or will you need to adjust your schedule to allow for driving them in? How much earlier will you need to leave to make it to the office or will you transition to a home office instead?
These are just a few of the considerations you will have to make when deciding whether or not to buy an acreage. In the end, though, it all comes down to what works best for your family’s lifestyle. And if that perfect fit is an acreage, Saskatchewan is a fantastic place to find it!
Start your search for acreage properties today!
Posted by Kent Braaten on
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