Building in the Country

Had reported Mar 25 that I had purchased a property in the country and we would be building. We did get possession of the land on April 1 and actually I had thought we would be further down the road by now than we are. We were able to get the approach put in and get the gate up so the nieghbors sheep don't escape. We did get our building plans and have started to price things out. In order to apply for a building permit there are a few other hoops you have to jump through. Along with providing 2 copies of the plans you also need a septic permit from the health authority. That is underway. It required hiring a septic contractor and doing test holes. They then spec the size of the tank and field etc and specify the location as well as put in a plan of the septic layout. The cost of doing that was between $750 (with $200 going to the health authority) and $1200. We had hoped to delay this for awhile because we dont intend to put the septic in till later this fall, but we needed the licence now. We also needed to apply to the Home owner protection office for a owner builder permit to build our own house. $425 plus we have been waiting a couple of weeks so far to get the approval. The homeowner protection office licences builders and gives permission to people to build there own home. This is unique to BC I think. Check out their website at www.HPO.bc.ca for a list of the regulations. During this time we have been trying to get quotes and we hope to be in a position to apply for a permit by Jun 1 and be building by July. The hay is now over 3 feet high so we hope to find someone to cut and bale it. Should be an interesting summer