Stay in touch with NIHO!

Our sales personnel will be happy to assist you in making your offer. Contact our office by phoning (604) 606-7900 or via e-mail to [email protected]. Please note that all property sales are on a first come, first served basis. We require a formal written offer to purchase the property, and our acceptance, before we will remove the property from the market for you. Should your first offer be rejected, our sales personnel will be able to provide you with assistance in creating a new offer which may be more acceptable.

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When the surveyors originally surveyed parcels of land in BC for the early homesteaders they used a compass and a chain. A chain is a measuring device that used to be made out of metal, now nylon, and is usually about 300 feet long

A chain is also a measurement. One chain equals 66 feet. The surveyor would measure his distances by stretching the chain along the ground measuring 4 chains at a time.

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A forest cover map represents an 11.2 km x 14.6 km area, and can show you the species, averages ages and heights of  the trees in the area. These maps are made from air photos by interpretation and already have all the typing and interpretation completed from the air photo. This map will interpret exactly what the air photo shows you but the codes on the map are explained and easy to read through a legend at the bottom of the map.

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The majority of NIHO’s property boundaries date back to the original surveyors of British Columbia.

In 1874, the Federal Free Homestead Act allowed settlers to buy their homesteads from the crown for about $1.00/acre, if they cleared, fenced, and resided on the land for 3 years. After the homesteader found a parcel of land he wished to homestead he would request a surveyor to come out and formally define his boundaries. The surveyors would then first establish the corner post and then the 

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Please note that the following is meant as a guideline only, and is not meant to represent legal advice. In purchasing any property, NIHO strongly advises seeking advice from a notary public or lawyer. 

What taxation is payable when a non-resident purchases land?

There is a Property Transfer Tax, or a PTT, which both Canadian residents and non-residents have to pay. This is payable when the sale transaction is registered at a Land Title office.

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The climate of British Columbia varies greatly, influenced by latitude, the province’s mountainous topography and distance from the Pacific Ocean. This diversity causes wide variations in average hours of sunshine, rainfall, snow and temperatures, sometimes over remarkably short distances.

For example, the average yearly precipitation in White Rock, a small community just south of Vancouver, is 1,092 millimetres (43 inches). Less than 50 kilometres (30 miles) away in North Vancouver, the North Shore mountains force clouds to rise and release their moisture,

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You can get natural freshwater access on a property through several different sources. You can get water from lakes, rivers, and creeks on your property.

It is strongly suggested that you disinfect water from BC’s lakes, rivers, creek, and shallow wells.

Drinking water is disinfected to kill disease-causing micro-organisms (bacteria, viruses and parasites) which may be in it.

Many different diseases are spread by drinking water contaminated by micro-organisms,

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Financing for real estate deals can be obtained through your bank or credit union. NIHO does offer limited financing for select properties only – click here for more details.

Sometimes the banks or trust companies will not finance certain properties, such as recreational or developable land. In that case, private individuals and specializing mortgage companies may be able to help you.

Do you have any other questions related to financing?

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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.

Sewer and Municipal Water services are offered through municipal governments, and they usually do not offer services beyond their boundaries.

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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.

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