Purchase of our dream little estate
During the winter of 2019-2020, together with Marc's brother and his girlfriend, we were looking for a large piece of land that we could divide and each build a house. Our research was located in the south of Québec, either in the Eastern Townships, central Québec province or Chaudière-Appalaches. The goal for Marc and I being to eventually leave the Saguenay region because a little too far north for our taste. And Guy and Jackie's goal was to leave the Montreal area. We were therefore in search mode on the internet. But very large land that we have the right to divide in two lots is extremely rare. The laws on the protection of agricultural land are very strict in this regard. During the winter though, we found some interesting land in the above-mentioned regions. In the spring, COVID 19 breaks up, but does not prevent us from leaving for a weekend, at the end of May, to visit a few targeted sites in Chaudière-Appalaches. Marc and I hit the road on Friday morning, May 22. We have 4 pieces of land on our list. The first two are of no interest once there, the third is interesting but with caveats. It is around 4:00 pm when we arrive at the 4th one.
And it is literally love at first sight! It is located on Route 277, at the eastern end of Saint-Malachie.
Here are the photos of the ad.
Et la barrière à l'entrée de la propriété est déjà en place.
As the ad mentions, it's an area of 463,000 sq. ft., a little over 10 acres.
And the gate at the entrance to the property is already in place.
Le chemin se rend jusqu'au bord de la rivière Etchemin où le terrain la longe sur 1200 pi.
A gravel path starting from the road has already been laid out, bordered by a guardrail.
The pathway goes to the edge of the Etchemin river where the land runs along it for 1200 ft.
À l'extrémité du lac nous pouvons apercevoir un joli petit pont.
Going down the path from the road, immediately on our right appears a pretty lake with an island in the middle, planted with young weeping willows.
At the end of the lake we can see a nice little bridge.
View of the lake from the bridge.
The land, which is generally fairly flat, is made up of a beautiful mixed forest.
On the other side of the river, it's wild nature.
We were therefore charmed by this dream spot.
We immediately gave Guy and Jackie a phone call asking them to come join us the next morning. We politely asked the owners of the land if we could spend the night there in our small camper. They accepted right away. Marc called their real estate agent to make an appointment the next morning around 10:00 am. Guy and Jackie arrived around 9:00 am and we gave them a tour before the real estate agent arrived. They both fell in love with the place!
Google Map image of the property, this gives a good idea of the size of the lake, and we can clearly see the Etchemin river to the south, as well as the path that goes down close to the river. The only compromise we made was that the 277 is a regional road where cars pass by at 90 km/h. But our houses will be built along the river, with, in between, the forest that will reduce the noise of the road.
As the price of the land was relatively high, but its area was quite large, we thought to include another partner in the transaction. We knew that one of Marc's sisters, Louise, would probably be open to the idea. As soon as we returned to Saguenay, we went directly to her home. We told her and her husband Michel about the project, and they were so enthusiastics they said yes right away. We therefore find ourselves 6 partners (3 couples) in the project. We made a formal purchase offer, but conditional on being able to divide the land into 4 lots. The 4th one will be used to build a small guest cottage, because the family is large and the yearly family reunions can now be held here!
Back there on May 30 with Louise and Michel to show them around the place.
A duck family took possession of the lake.
Louise and Michel are very happy to be part of the team!
Gaétan (the former owner) had already started to landscape the edge of the path with about fifty young oaks.
We must celebrate this purchase ! Thus, Guy pops the cork of a good Champagne bottle !
The aperitif at the river ..... "in" the river for Michel.
Before being sure of being able to divide the land, there are a lot of steps to be taken, with the MRC, the municipality, hire a land surveyor, etc ... France and Gaétan, the current owners, are very friendly and agree that we would go camping on the lot a few times even if the transaction is not yet completed.
Ici, un Pic flamboyant mâle.
Lise takes the opportunity to discover the local birds.
Here, a male Northern flicker.
There, two female Three-toad woodpeckers vie for territory.
Officially owners from August 7, 2020!
en guise de chalet en attendant de se construire.
We bought a large trailer to serve as a cabin until we build our house.
The two neighbors get to know each other.
The very day we went to the notary, we installed a small dock by the lake to facilitate swimming.
Jackie thinks this is the perfect place to have coffee in the morning.
se sentir chez elle dans la roulotte.
It didn't take long for Coquine to feel at home in the trailer.
est passé au-dessus de nos têtes.
On August 8, a magnificent Bald Eagle passed over our heads.
pour débarquer dans l'ile.
On August 13, the guys were building another dock
to get on the island.
A selfie with the guys in the background !
Then bringing down dead trees.
He is very proud of his new chainsaw!
Ya pas à dire que les enfants se sont bien amusés dans le lac !
Remarquez le "matelas soufflé" fabriqué par Jackie avec des poches de viniers !
In mid-August, we had some visitors.
Our niece Marie-Ève, her partner Francis and their three adorable daughters.
Needless to say that the kids had a great time swimming in the lake! Notice the "inflatable mattress" made by Jackie with wine bags!
nous ont aussi rendu visite.
Marie (Marc's sister) and her husband Pierre also visited us.
It was quite a crowd to play with Sheeva, who never get tired of chasing a toy or a wood branch.
We walk all along the bank of the river
to reach the end of the property and plant a marker.
You can see the landmark behind Michel and Louise.
On ne sait jamais quel oiseau rare on peut rencontrer !
Lise never leaves her binoculars behind ...
You never know what rare bird you might meet!
The well-deserved aperitif .... two meters apart!
Unless we are from the same family!
Après avoir creusé jusqu'à 500 pi. sans trouver d'eau, il a fallu faire de la fracturation. Et là, l'eau a jailli ! Ouf !
Today's a big day, the digging of the well !
After digging up to 500 ft. without finding any water, hydraulic fracturing had to be done. And then water spurted out ! Phew!
500 ft. deep, that's a long hose!
And here's finally the precious liquid!
September 5/6, 2020, Labor Day weekend
nos trois petits enfants ont eu droit à leur cadeau de fête la même journée.
We had made a few invitations to our children to come over on Labor Day weekend. Most of them came with their kids.
Since we hadn't seen them for quite a while due to COVID, our three grandkids got their birthday present on the same day.
pour qu'il l'aperçoive de loin en arrivant.
We had installed Nijoh's Velociraptor on the island,
so that he could see it from afar when he arrived.
avec son tout nouveau kayak en bois fabriqué par son papi Marc.
It was his big sister Kahëlee who took him to the island
with her brand new wooden kayak made by her grandpa Marc.
He runs to his Velociraptor.
And give it a big kiss!
While Kahëlee is enjoying her boat,
Louévan shows his new LEGO game to his brother.
On a fait un petit accroc à la distanciation....mais on était dehors.
Family photo with Julie and the kids, including Pompon the dog.
We made a small hitch in the distancing measures ... but we were outside.
On a fait un petit accroc à la distanciation....mais pour moins de 15 min.
Another family photo includint 2 dogs, Apache and Cheeva.
We made a small hitch in the distancing measures ... but for less than 15 min.
Otherwise, everyone is quite "distanced".
Not always that easy with the kids...
Each family eat separately.
In the evening, music around the fire. The two brothers.
Aunt Nicole was there too !
puis faire une entrée sur le terrain de Michel et Louise, et aussi de niveler un endroit à l'orée du bois
où nous installerons de façon permanente notre roulotte.
Today we hired Marco Cadorette, a digger virtuoso, to do the excavation for the small family cabin,
then to make an entrance on the land of Michel and Louise, and also to level a place
at the edge of the wood where we will permanently install our trailer.
The work in progress in Michel and Louise's driveway.
Clearing at the edge of the woods ...
Under the astonished eyes of a Red-breasted Nuthatch.
To each his own toy!
The excavation of the cabin is going well.
Michel's driveway as well.
devant les mangeoires nouvellement installées.
The location for the trailer takes shape
in front of the newly installed feeders.
n'impressionnent pas les Mésanges à tête noire.
Machinery and noise do not impress Black-capped Chickadees.
Unrolling the drain isn't as easy as it sounds.
With the help of the girls, we made it happen!
As the truck loads arrive, they are spreaded over.
This time under the watchful eye of a White-breasted Nuthatch.
It's around 4:30 p.m. that we can finally move the trailer to its new location.
It took a little flick of the digger arm to install it between the two large trees.
The location of the cabin is starting to take shape and the maple trees are striking !
We burn tree branches !
While Jackie and Guy finish cutting the last trees on the spot where they will build their house.
On Gaétan's advice, we weed the small oaks.
Gaétan came to help us, with his digger, taking out of the woods the tree trunks that Marc and Michel had cut down,
and stack them all together before bringing in the portable sawmill.
We hired a man with a portable sawmill to come and make nice lumber with our trees.
Pour cela nous achetons des rouleaux de géotextile et les coupons en bandelettes pour emmailloter les arbres.
Still on Gaétan's advice, we "dress" the small oaks for the winter, to prevent them from being eaten by the deers.
For this we buy rolls of geotextile and cut them in strips to wrap up the trees.
Nous profitons d'une journée ensoleillée exceptionnellement chaude pour la saison.
Puis nous sommes revenus au Saguenay pour y passer l'hiver, confinés à cause de la COVID 19 !
The next day, we did the same with the small weeping willows on the island.
We are enjoying an exceptionally warm sunny day for the season.
Then we came back to Saguenay to spend the winter, confined because of COVID 19!
 |  |  |
