James Risdon, Real Estate News, March 21,  1995

Here's a quick summary of how to buy recreational land, boiled down from a talk by Rudy Nielsen, president of NIHO Land & Cattle.

Nielsen, one of the biggest buyers and sellers of vacant land in BC, says only 40 percent of his money is spent on buying land: the rest is sunk into research to make sure he buys the right land.

Nielsen first gets the legal description, including all details, such as survey notes, contour, forest cover, and forest recreational maps. From that, he gets a "gut price" of what the land is worth. He then calls local realtors and the assessment authority to get any comparables. If he still likes the deal, he makes an offer, subject to viewing the property.

Financing the purchase can be tricky for recreational spec-buying, since few financial institutions are eager to lend for this kind of stuff. However, Nielsen says "there's lots of guys with money out there that will go in with you, if you have the right deal."