Novel idea to blunt housing crisis

Canada’s housing crunch is getting worse, not just in the big cities but even in rural areas. Once upon a time so called fixer-uppers were a dime a dozen, mostly old farm houses where the owners had sold and the house, barn and a few acres severed off.

Depending on your ability, there was always something out there for you to buy and renovate. Ask anyone living in the area and they could probably name at least a couple of abandoned houses. Many were so overgrown by trees, bushes and weeds it was hard to know they were even there.

At the time when many Quebecers were buying in Eastern Ontario to get out of the province, we bought our first house, a fixer upper estimated at about 200 years old by a curator, on 18 acres with an old Quebec style barn. Rented out for many years at minimal rent, it had been gutted of trim and stairway molding. After ripping off layers of siding both inside and out, re-wiring, installing an airtight stove and perma-chinking the huge logs, it became one of the warmest, most welcoming homes I have ever stepped foot in.

Thirty years ago this past June 29, we sold the log house and bought another fixer upper, a newer one built about 1886, on 200 acres with a machinery shed and two hip roof barns, located just down the road. Many had looked at this house but rejected it.

Sometime in its past the massive brick chimney had been slung on two steel bars attached to the huge beams either side of it. As time passed, the house sunk in the middle until the slant downwards was clearly noticeable. At that point some cedar uprights had been added to stop any further collapse. The problems didn’t stop there by any means but we bought for the land and the barns.

Over the years, the influx of Quebecers continues in waves, depending on the politics of the time and many old farm houses were bought and renovated increasing their values immensely.

Next came the flippers, buying a run down house, fixing it up and reselling it as soon as repairs and redecorating were completed. We know of one couple with three kids who did this for years, living in a house while working on it then selling their primary residence after a year.

Many cash croppers now buy farms and demolish the house and barns due to damage done by prior tenants. One person claimed the renters had done more damage to the house than what they paid in rent.

The latest trend is retired (or semi-retired) farmers buying inexpensive houses, renovating them if necessary, and renting them, keeping a close eye on who they lease to. Some locals estimate that almost half the houses in Williamstown are leased.

Recently, a small three bedroom house in the village, new roof, windows, doors and furnace in the past three years sold for $179,000 within three days of listing. Its problems are lower than normal ceilings (unless you expose the beams) and proximity to both schools and an arena for those who like peace and quiet.

Our son has several friends from school, now married and with families, who have been looking for fixer uppers on a few acres for years. They always have the same request, if he hears of one to let them know. Unfortunately when they do exist their location is a closely guarded secret, usually only available to other family members.

What the country needs is a source of fixer uppers in the $200,000 range that young families can put their sweat equity into and make something of. Maybe unfinished new construction needing gyprock, plaster, sanding, flooring etc?

A $500,000 to $700,000 home is not a beginner property by any means and that is what the governments are proposing be built.

A friend told our son, he and his wife are pretty much resolved to never owning their own house and renting for the rest of their lives. As the saying goes, the rich get richer and the poor get poorer.

Angela Dorie is an agricultural writer and a Jersey farmer near Cornwall.