A hectacre is a measurement of land. 1 Hectare equals 107,639 square feet, and equals 2.79 acres.

  

Crown land is the property owned by the Province. The majority of land in British Columbia is Crown land. Provincial Crown land includes provincial parks and other protected areas, Crown forest lands and non-forested Crown land. The majority of provincial Crown land, about 59 million hectares, is public forest land.

  

While Crown land is not available for residential cabins in remote areas, they do from time to time put Crown land on the market. Crown lands are sold at appraised market value, and the majority of the properties are listed through MLS (Multiple Listing Services). Information on Crown Land for sale is available through the Ministry of Agriculture and Land.

You may also apply for tenure for a lease or a license to use Crown Land. A lease grants you exclusive rights for the purpose defined in the tenure, has a fixed term, and is a registerable interest which may be mortgaged. It requires a survey. A lease requires a survey. A license of occupation grants non-exclusive use for the purpose described, is not a registerable interest, and does not require a survey.

Applications for tenure may be made by Canadian citizen, permanent residents of Canada, companies, not-for-profit organizations, and governments. At this time, foreign residents may not apply for tenure.

  

Many of the properties that Niho offers lies well beyond where traditional services can offer their services, and you should keep this in mind when deciding what type of property you wish to purchase.

If you are looking at living on your property, you will need to consider water, power, sewer, phone, and cable.

  

How can I get financing for a recreational property?

There are several ways in which you can obtain financing for a recreational property.

The first is to approach your bank or credit union for a loan. However, most financial institutions view raw land as more of a risk than a residential purchase. Banks normally will request around 50% of a down payment, and will look at your Total Debt Ration to determine if they will approve the loan. Credit Unions are a little better, they will only request a 25% down payment. 

You can arrange a private mortgage through third parties. They will normally expect a 20-25% down payment, and expect interest rate to be higher than that of a bank. For example, on a case by case basis, NIHO Land & Cattle Company offers financing for people wishing to purchase their properties.Click here to see our terms.

 
If you already own a house, you can redo a first mortgage to gain access to your equity, or take out a second mortgage to purchase your dream property.

Another way to finance a property is to explore your line of credit options at your local financial institution, especially if you are only looking to put a down payment on a property.

If you are looking at a piece of land with a house on it,  and if you have year round access, then it's a different story. Many lenders will treat these types of properties the same as a residential property. CMHC and Mortgage Intelligence both have specific programs to deal with these specific properties.