Buying a mökki

[MagicJ]

Looking to buy a lakeside mökki somewhere along the road between Mäntyhärju, Mikkeli and Pieksämäki (wife's family have a place in Haukivuori). Just initial research as will seek advice from the family later, and not looking to buy until the snow's cleared anyway.

What should i be aware of ie: getting checks done of the lake to ensure it's not closed to swimming due to algae.

Costs of hooking up electric if cottage is without it.

Pros and cons and comparative costs re buying a place or buying land and building a cottage.

Are there specific sites for buying a mökki other than generic property sites like etuovi, especially if you know any local agents to the area.

Any particular areas people would recommend in the region?

More questions to follow but i suppose property sites in the area would be most beneficial at this early stage so i can get a feel for pricing/areas/size of plot and property.

Any tales of your experiences buying a mökki would be useful and interesting too.

Thanks.

[kharnynb]

I'm a bit east of that area (savonlinna) and i can shed some light on the area if needed.

Depending how far you are willing to go to the east, Rantasalmi is a very nice area with some basic shops at the village.

Get a cottage that is on Saimaa, not on a small "own lake" and you won't have to worry about swimming water quality.

Electricity is a crapshoot, it can be cheapish (5000 euros) or practically impossible depending on location.

Other than that, it's keeping an eye out on oikotie and tori.fi(etälä-savo/asunnot/loma-asunnot).

If you can give a price range, i can probally tell you what kind of cottage you can get, depending on location.

[Upphew]

Get a cottage that is on Saimaa, not on a small "own lake" and you won't have to worry about swimming water quality.

Saimaa has nasty habit of increasing prices a lot. Like 20k for plot with own beach and 70k if the water reads Saimaa.

Electricity is a crapshoot, it can be cheapish (5000 euros) or practically impossible depending on location.

http://www.ese.fi/documents/key20131106 ... 1.2012.pdf
If one doesn't have transformer nearby... Ive heard 20000e that got negotiated to 10000 as the non binding quote was 7000. That was some years ago though and not in that area. Also those prices seem to be vat0%, which is illegal way to give prices for consumers, so if you order now, you'll get a nice discount

[MagicJ]

If you can give a price range, i can probally tell you what kind of cottage you can get, depending on location.

Probably something like this, although further west nearer the family place.

http://www.tori.fi/vi/8592705.htm

[kharnynb]

That far to the center of the area, that'll be a hard one to crack.

The prices go up about a euro per meter west from kerimäki ;D
Anything near a city bigger than 30k people will be unaffordable, and that area is square in the middle of the mikkeli, varkaus, kuopio, yväskylä "block".

Unless you want to drop atleast double that, you're gonna end up with a bare essentials mökki.
-no water, no electric, probally on an island and tiny.

[tuulen]

Maybe this could do something for you, or maybe not, but it is worth a look.

http://www.metsa.fi/sivustot/metsa/en/Sivut/Home.aspx

I bought land from Metsähallitus in northern Finland, and it turned out to be a great deal.

The land plots Metsähallitus sells could be pre-approved for rakennusoikeus, the construction permit you need.

[kharnynb]

That's how we added to our möki.

The problem is, the area he wants to buy, just a smallish plot is 70k and up.

200 km east and you only pay about 20k-40k

[MagicJ]

@kharnynb

Fair enough

No, just trying to figure out what's what. Starting with the ideal property type and location and then working backwards from there. Will be better to get something 'basic' and add to it ourselves over the years. We just want our own lake front with a sauna (old rules re close to lake) and access to electricity without having to pay for installation.

@tuulen

Land is an option i'd consider but i'm pretty hopeless at DIY/construction so it would mean paying someone to do it, thus adding to the cost.

[AnnikaL]

Our experience of buying a mökki was that it was very straightforward, we found some we liked the look of and arranged with various agents to view, when we decided which one we liked we did the offer (actually, we visited two more times and then offered), which I think involved a few rounds of negotiation but only really took 10 minutes. Once the deal was struck, we paid a deposit, then not long after the full amount, and signed some papers. For all properties we looked at, the estate agents all seemed very open to answering our questions, or asking previous owners. I even believe we received honest replies It pays to do your own independent research too, of course. So, that was my experience if its any help to you.

[Rosamunda]

Networking is important as a lot of properties never get onto the internet as they are sold privately or advertised on the grapevine only. Not easy if you live down here though.

[kharnynb]

If you have your mind on that area, the best thing to do, according to a finnish friend, is to check the smaller lakes between road 6 and 72 (triangle mikkeli, varkaus, pieksämäki).
These are less popular, since they don't allow boat traffic to the same degree as saimaa or päjiänne

[tuulen]

@tuulen

Land is an option i'd consider but i'm pretty hopeless at DIY/construction so it would mean paying someone to do it, thus adding to the cost.

Yes, construction costs money, but then you can get just what you want, and the good news is that undeveloped land includes low taxes, which then gives you time to think about what you want and how to go about doing that. Unfortunately, Metsähallitus may or may not have anything available in the area you are interested in, but Metsähallitus does offer some really attractive deals.

And if you have something really nice built, then it will retain its financial value, meaning that you will lose nothing.

[MagicJ]

Ha. I was just gathering ideas for myself and assumed being close to my better half's family was the plan. Nope. She doesn't care about that so we're free to look anywhere, so a 2-2.5hr drive from stadi is preferable, ideas, suggestions and further advice gratefully received.

[kharnynb]

that driving distance puts you just in mikkeli, still on the short side if you are looking for a good buy.

if you can stretch it to 3-4 hours drive, i'd suggest looking in the sulkava/rantasalmi area.

[kharnynb]

http://asunnot.oikotie.fi/myytavat-loma ... my_kartta1

http://asunnot.oikotie.fi/myytavat-loma ... my_kartta1

http://asunnot.oikotie.fi/myytavat-loma ... my_kartta1