Constructing a house in rural Canada (fit in, rent, buying)

[rhbj03]

I am looking to buy a vacation property in Canada now, and am facing the decision of either:

-- buy a property with a house already on it
-- buy raw land and build later

Each has pros and cons. Some existing homes are so inexpensive they seem to cost less than the materials used to construct them. But if I buy a house now and can only be there one week a year, I fear maintenance and security headaches. On the other hand, if I build later, I have to deal with the headache of home building. Therefore I am trying to understand what it takes to build a simple house in rural Canada to facilitate this decision.

Using a 1000 software house outside Guys borough County Sherbrooke as example,

How does a resident construct a house today?
Is it easy to get approved?
What are the building codes?
Are there builders or handyman to hire?
What is the realistic cost?
Are there building material websites I can check out?
What are the utilities options?

I will be researching these, but any comments or advice are appreciated.

[jambo101]

If you are only going to be at this house 1 week a year it seems like a lot of trouble and expense when a simpler solution would be to just rent a cottage for that week.
If Sherbrooke is your destination here are some possibilities =
https://www.google.ca/search?source=...62.heHUlhj2aEU
Of course this is all presuming you are admissible into Canada.

[Zoisite]

rhbj03, I can't emphasize this enough. The first thing to do before planning and researching to buy or build a house in any given area in a foreign country is to visit the place first and become familiar with the community to see if you (and your plans) would be a good fit and acceptable with the community.

If you are talking about building or buying in Guysborough county in the town of Sherbrooke in Nova Scotia you could have difficulties with buying property or getting building permits and have other obstacles placed in your path. Sherbrooke is a heritage museum town.... do you even know what that is?

I think you would likely be considered to not be a suitable fit in a maritimes heritage town and surrounding rural land like that, therefore you would not get much, if any, acceptance and co-operation from the towns people and trades people there or about getting permits.

Seriously man, go visit places first and find out more about them and mutual suitabilities before asking questions about buying or building.

.