Cape Breton Estates: Land of the Golden Arms

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The owners of this property live in Europe but when they spent summers in Cape Breton, they operated a B&B in the #2 (Grey shingles) House. They made numerous improvements to both homes, in particular the #1 House near the river.

The #1 House (White) has a new looking wood stove, new cabinets and counters in the kitchen, a number of new windows and appears to have been insulated and to be structurally sound. Some nice new woodwork was added including an unusual wood ceiling in the kitchen. Some of the original woodwork looks restored, particularly the lovely banister on the staircase and built-in shelving with doors around the fire place in the living room. A built-in closet was added to the master bedroom. There is a coat / utility closet in the kitchen.

The cellar, while unfinished, is dry with a solid stairway down, a room height ceiling and not a whiff of mold or mildew. It is a very useable portion of the home with some built-in shelving, a workshop area and significant storage capacity. Part of the cellar is devoted to a large cistern tank which may hold water brought into the house from the well. There are a number of small windows downstairs which let light come into the lower level.

Two areas of the house need attention. The covered porch or sunroom off of the living room on the main floor has a small rotten place in the exterior wood siding that is open to the outside (about 1 inch). The other place is the bathroom upstiars which appears to be in working order but was never updated with new fixtures and decor. It is not attractive like the rest of the interior.

The #2 House has great kitchen / pantry space with updated counters, cupboards and built-ins. The 3 piece bathroom off the kichen has been nicely redone with modern fixtures and a new shower. There are also a number of new windows on the main floor including the large picture window in the living room. The upper floor has 2 bedrooms but could easily have three. An unfinished room currently used for storage is large enough to be the home's fourth bedroom at 12' 7" X 9'. A smaller storage area, partially finished, would be a nice walk-in closet or second bath.

This home needs attention - there has been a leak in the large storage room upstairs with some visible water damage - no sign of it on the lower floor, however. The vine growing all over the front of the house (it is probably Virginia Creeper) has found its way through the the roof at the peak in front and is actually growing down from the ceiling inside. This may or may not be the source of the leak. There is no evidence inside anywhere of mice or squirrels gaining entry. The roof probably needs to be replaced, not just repaired.

The parlour floor is uneven, though fairly solid to step on. This house is much warmer inside than the other house (both homes are securely closed up and locked with no air circulation) which probably indicates a lack of adequate insulation, particularly near the roof.

Finally, the cellar and foundation are in unknown condition. The outside appearance of the foundation is difficult to determine as the yard is very overgrown. The small areas that are visible appear to be rock (typical of century homes in Cape Breton) but have a substance applied over them that looks like some type of plaster. The outside entry to the cellar is boarded shut and a flashlight through the windows could not penetrate the darkness well enough to see what it is like (the electricity is off). Electrical services to the house are provided via a connection from the other home; heating is by wood stove - and space heaters when necessary.

A prospective buyer would need to determine, either hands-on or by using a house inspector, what damage the leak upstairs has caused and the condition of the foundation.

The vendor has priced this property to reflect these uncertainties. The vendor is also arranging to have the yard mowed and the fields cut as soon as possible after which it will be possible to examine the foundation of the older home. Preliminary arrangements with the property caretaker have been made to have a new roof put on this home. The owner intends to delay carrying out this plan until Spring in order to keep the offer price at a lower level. Should a prospective buyer wish to have the roof replaced (a very reasonable estimate for materials and labour is in hand) by the owner and pay the extra sum, the vendor is willing to proceed with a new roof on that basis.

NOTE: These comments concerning the condition of the homes are made in good faith and in an effort to be informative. They are not to be taken as a professional assessment or in lieu of a PCDS. A property disclosure statement by the vendors is not possible as their knowledge of the property is not current. They have had a caretaker who lives nearby keep close watch on it and attend to necessities, but have not been to the property recently and cannot therefore provide nor warrant any information regarding its condition.

• All along the sections of the River Denys that flow under or next to a road, you see cars parked and sometimes fishermen struggling in or out of their waders because the fishing is mostly good in this river. Besides a harvest of trout and other edible fish, the river that runs through this property affords a passage way to the Bras d'Or Lakes. By motor boat, the lake is about a 30 minute ride away.
• The river is located down a hill from the residences and is overpassed by an old metal rail bridge.
• Fish in the river include Brook Trout, Golden Shiner, White Sucker, White Perch, Sticklebacks, and Banded Killifish
• The owners enjoyed apples from the trees around the houses and in the meadows. Wild edibles include blueberries, raspberries and mushrooms (Chanterelles, Boletes, Meadow and Horse mushrooms and more.)
• No traffic noises intrude on this peaceful countryside. Eden road transects the acreage well away from the living area, leaving the back wood lot of approximately 60% of the property above the road and an estimated 75 acres between the road and the river. The 2 homes are very near the river which is in turn near the property boundry opposite the road. The location is approximately a 10 minute drive from the TransCanada Hwy,
• The large wood lot above the road has not been logged with the exception of the area along the road frontage (selectively cut to prevent blow down). The owners received an offer of $28,000 eight years ago from a logging company for the wood - an offer that was declined.
• While both houses are old, they have been nicely updated (one more so than the other) with large eat-in kitchens with wood stoves.
  
  

TransCanada Highway to N. Side River Denys Road to Eden Rd. Gated drive on right.

The Inverness County Web Site

A very comprehensive site. Has good links pages and a very nice photo gallery.

Port Hawkesbury Web Site

Shopping, services, community, industry, photo gallery, education, events, recreation and tourism. This town is the nearest major shopping area for residents all on the Trans Canada Highway up through Baddeck as well as south to the St. Peters area.

MacLeod Resources

MacLeod Resources quarries unique and ancient varieties of red and blue-grey marbles in River Denys, on the island of Cape Breton, Nova Scotia.