Buying Canadian property as an American

Very long story condensed…. I am American but spend the summers in Ontario Canada. I have toyed with the idea of buying property near the lake instead of renting a full-time spot in the campground but never pulled the trigger. I now have an opportunity to trade my old camper for a piece of land. The guy who owns the land is an old friend of mine from my childhood up here. He basically got the land when a lawyer called him to let him know his estranged father left the two parcels to him when he died and that's about all he knows about it.

The extent of his knowledge on the property is A) the boundaries because he grew up there, and B) he parked a junked motorhome on it to live in. He has zero idea of anything other than he gets a tax bill and pays it. He knows it’s his and that is the extent of his real estate knowledge. He stays off-grid as much as possible and lives simply.

We’re concocting two ideas: Either I trade him my camper outright for the first parcel of ¼ acre property he has, or he adds my name to his larger property (several acres) and we both put campers on it.

I know we have a few Ontario folks here… anyone a realtor in Ontario, or know the scene?

Don't know much about buying as a foreigner but I know it's possible or at least was recently, rich Chinese buyers gambling with Toronto property is what drove the prices there to SF-level silliness. Last I heard they were considering clamping down on foreign buyers.

I think Ontario would be happy to take your money. Certainly would not be an issue in BC, and the only clamping down I know of is efforts to prevent wealthy foreigners from buying up scarce downtown real estate and then going back to China, which leaves the city centres full of expensive empty homes. Don't think that's a problem for a patch of Ontario bush land.

Agreed.  I have the seller, the land, the cash (as trade with the trailer) , and I'm ready.  We neither one have any clue where to go or how to figure out the next step.  We went to the township office and they looked at us like we were idiots and said "we don't have any land records, you have to go to Kingston."  But they couldn't tell us WHERE in Kingston.  What office? What do I need to take?  So clueless.

I've been googling, but all it brings up is traditional things that give checklists like "get pre-approved, find a realtor, shop for houses."

I need "go to the office of the Ministry of Land-y things, show your passport, write a check for the tax, sign here," or whatever is required here.

Looks like Canada uses a land registry office, in the US it is usually a courthouse. 

Maybe call them up and see if they can give you guidance.

https://www.ontario.ca/page/land-registry-offices-lro

Where's the property? I'm going to be in that neck of the woods later this month.

Honestly, I'd write to the editors of Cottage Life. They'd probably have an article out about it :)

There should be no problem with your plan I don't know what would be involved with adding a name to a property, although legally buying part of a property may involve a severance or some sort of legal fenagleing to make it legit. Also trading something for a portion of land may still have the taxman with his hand out for some cash. 

Question. I know it is a long shot, but any chance the land in question is in Stone Mills township right on the border of Frontenac county? 

All I can think of is registering forbidden JDM goodness in Canada...

Let me know how things turn out. 

An encounter with a real estate attorney should be informative and not cost more than a few hundred bucks.  Without making that much of a commitment, you could call a real estate attorney's office and chat with whomever answers the phone.  They can probably offer you some guidance for free.

Keith Tanner said:

Where's the property? I'm going to be in that neck of the woods later this month.

Honestly, I'd write to the editors of Cottage Life. They'd probably have an article out about it :)

Near Clarendon ONT.  Near Sharbot Lake/Perth.  It's really a postage stamp of land with no utilities (but I could add electric if my solar doesn't keep up).  It's a 1/4 acre or less and I'm trading a camper worth about $3500 for it.  Just a thing to have.  It's an opportunity to own property for a signature.  The future of this campground I'm in is uncertain and I've been coming to this lake for 46 years.  I want to have a backup plan.

drsmooth said:

There should be no problem with your plan I don't know what would be involved with adding a name to a property, although legally buying part of a property may involve a severance or some sort of legal fenagleing to make it legit. Also trading something for a portion of land may still have the taxman with his hand out for some cash. 

 

Question. I know it is a long shot, but any chance the land in question is in Stone Mills township right on the border of Frontenac county? 

Close.  Frontenac county, North Frontenac township, Clarendon Station.  This neck of the woods here

In reply to Curtis :

That is a beautiful area my brothers and I almost bought a campground near there a few years ago! I have a place just south of there in Central Frontenac near the property I was mentioning. That property is in a similar situation with an old motorhome parked on it and it recently being inherited so I had to ask.

One thing I do know is parking a trailer on property even waterfront property is legal in North Frontenac not so in many parts of Ontario. You do have to pay a 200$ fee to the township for a permit. It is a good idea to do so since as of last time I checked it will be grandfathered if they ever take away the ability to do so, having paid the fee ensures you can keep it there if the rules change. 

This is right near the border of NF/SF, so who knows.  it migth be.  Come buy Tumblehome Lodge.  It will be listed soon.  :)

I'm having trouble accessing the frontenac county property map.  I think it's down.

Curtis said:

Keith Tanner said:

Where's the property? I'm going to be in that neck of the woods later this month.

Honestly, I'd write to the editors of Cottage Life. They'd probably have an article out about it :)

Near Clarendon ONT.  Near Sharbot Lake/Perth.  It's really a postage stamp of land with no utilities (but I could add electric if my solar doesn't keep up).  It's a 1/4 acre or less and I'm trading a camper worth about $3500 for it.  Just a thing to have.  It's an opportunity to own property for a signature.  The future of this campground I'm in is uncertain and I've been coming to this lake for 46 years.  I want to have a backup plan.

Nice country. I have spent some time in those woods, and there should be some good canoeing around there too. And a really fun drive from Calabogie Motorsports Park, I suspect.

I have no advice, but good luck! I can tell you that buying American property as a Canadian is not a problem, but being a resident may be making that easier.

In reply to Curtis :

I will check it out! We almost bought Ardoch Falls wilderness park not to far from Tumblehome unfortunately the stars didn't align quickly enough. BTW if the land deal falls thru Ardoch falls is really nice, more like a Provincial Park (huge private campsites) than a campground might be worth a look if you have to find a new campground, although waterfront is on the Mississippi River and Farm Lake not nearly as nice as Crotch Lake. 

captdownshift said:

All I can think of is registering forbidden JDM goodness in Canada...

 

To pay $3,500 to drive 15 year old JDM goodness = DEFINITELY WORTH IT. Yummm :D

drsmooth said:

In reply to Curtis :

... not nearly as nice as Crotch Lake. 

Not surprising that a place on Crotch Lake would be very popular...

Hope you like mosquitos.

They're the official bird of the province of Ontario. 

So soon you could have a house on Berkeley Street AND a getaway spot on Crotch Lake?

ShawnG said:

Hope you like mosquitos.

They're the official bird of the province of Ontario. 

Some of those big beefy bastards bit me up last month, I got a huge incredibly itchy welt at each bite. They're not as easy to run into as the mosquitoes in the Caribbean (not by a long shot, here they greet me in the bathroom each morning!), but per-bite they are much worse.

Thing about mosquitos - they get worse as you go north. I swear the ones in Yellowknife could drain a moose in about 30 seconds.

Blackflies.

I know a realtor that's in the Bancroft area. I don't think there will be any issues. Up around Temagami, there are more USA owners than Canadians. 

The controls that were put in place around foreign ownership were in metro Vancouver.

I would suggest using a lawyer. It will make everything go smoother. You can't both use the same lawyer.

GameboyRMH said:

So soon you could have a house on Berkeley Street AND a getaway spot on Crotch Lake?

Next I need a place where the postal code is E36M3.  I doubt I'll find Bob Costas Lane, though.

NGTD said:

I would suggest using a lawyer. It will make everything go smoother. You can't both use the same lawyer.

That advice has been given to me by someone up here.  I'm not sure I want to retain a lawyer for a property that equates to the trade of a 1992 travel trailer.  If I have to, I will, but this is basically a $2000-3000 value trade deal.

I'll see what advice I can get out of a local lawyer before opening the wallet, but I think we can do it all in Kingston on our own.