What’s under your home?
We always think about what’s in our potential new home, but what about the land it sits on? What lies underground and could there be anything beneath your next Nanaimo home that you should be aware of? Here are a few things you should know about before you buy!
But first, it’s important to understand land ownership in Canada. When you buy a home, it’s called “fee simple” ownership which is the highest form of home ownership. Meaning, that you own it forever, you can do with as you wish within city laws, and it will forever be passed to your heirs until it’s sold to someone else. There is a catch, and that is that if your home sits on crown land, which 94% of BC properties do, then it’s truly owned by the monarch and governed by the Canadian Government. When you look at your title, you may have certain non-financial charges such as undersurface rights, which give the crown the rights to anything under the surface of the land your home sits on.
In Nanaimo, one particular non-financial charge pops up often, M76300 called "Exceptions and Reservations" owned by the Esquimalt and Nanaimo Railway Company. Coal Mining was the main resource for Nanaimo from the mid 1800’s to the mid 1900’s and a railroad was built to support the industry in the 1800’s. As compensation, E&N was given a belt of land in Nanaimo along the railway line. This land has since been sold off with this encumbrance remaining on title. It doesn’t carry much significance but can be a little bit of a surprise! It means the E&N has the right to make changes like removing trees on your land, for the purpose of the railroad or stations. The reason it’s not an area of concern is that the land has mostly all be developed and very likely won’t be used for building out this dormant railroad. The charge also claims any minerals in the land, like oil. So, if you were to find some you could owe the railway line compensation. Since I’m not a lawyer though, I would strongly recommend you have these and any charges on title looked by one.
Mine shafts
As I mentioned, Nanaimo was a mining town for over 100 years with mine shafts throughout the city. Now, many neighbourhoods sit on top of Coal mines. If it’s known, this will usually be something you will see come up on a property disclosure statement, but the best way to find out is to check out the mining map of Nanaimo. If the home in question is in the area of a coal mine and if it is, you can check with the city to be certain. From there you could have a geotechnical engineer assess the risk of subsidence, or the sudden (or slow) lowering of elevation, like a sinkhole. You can also contact the Ministry of Energy and Mines (250-952-0732). In October of 2013 while working on a utility line it was discovered that a coal mine had collapsed under the surface of Pine Street in downtown Nanaimo. This left a huge void underground which could have easily led to a sinkhole, so the road was shut down for extensive repairs.
Buried Oil Tanks
If you’re buying a home in an older part of Nanaimo, then it may be super important to check for something else hidden underground and that’s buried oil tanks. When homes started using natural gas for heating, underground oil storage tanks (UST’s) were filled with sand and or/ capped off. The problem is if an old tank erodes, some of the leftover oil can seep into the surrounding soil and water, causing contamination that can spread a super long distance. If you do a scan of the property and discover a UST it should be removed, and the soil tested. Remediation can cost thousands, if not hundreds of thousands of dollars so make sure you’ve done all you can to check for the presence of a buried oil tank before you buy! Have a scan done if you’re home was built before 1970, just to be safe.
Archeological Sites
Finally, in Nanaimo and the surrounding areas on Vancouver Island, it’s not unheard of to discover archeological or burial sites. Some examples are in Saanich in October of 2022 when construction workers discovered Thousands of years old Bison bones. Another example is in Craig Bay in Parksville where the excavation uncovered indigenous human remains. Overall, there are over 62,000 archeological sites across BC with more uncovered every year. If you ever encounter a home on an archeological site, proceed with caution as there will be a host of development and usage restrictions under the Heritage Conservation Act. And if you ever discover an artifact or remains, leave them where they are and contact the province right away. I will leave all the information in the video description as well.
If you’re interested in seeing what an archeological site looks like in Nanaimo, you can pay a visit to Petroglyph Provincial Park in the South end of the city, any time! Here you’ll see ancient stone carvings depicting mythological sea creatures, human figures, and animals that are symbolic of the spiritual and cultural history of the Coast Salish and Snuneymuxw First Nations.[3]
I hope this has helped you understand just some of the things that may be awaiting you under your next Nanaimo home. Your trusted realtor can help guide you through all of the above circumstances that you may come across during your home search here on Vancouver Island.
