Property maintenance in Seguin Township

Working where more than half the homes sit empty

Seguin Township runs 587 square kilometres from the Highway 400 corridor across to Rosseau, taking in Otter Lake, Horseshoe Lake, Manitouwaba, and the north shore of Lake Joseph. It was stitched together in 1998 from Christie, Foley, Humphrey and the village of Rosseau, and the township office in Humphrey still runs it. Here's the number that matters for your cottage: of 4,827 homes counted in the township at the last census, 2,691 had no year-round residents. That's more than half the township closed up for most of the year, which is exactly what cottage watch exists for: $99 a visit on the bi-weekly plan, with a photo report the same day.

One local thing worth knowing before you plan a project: in Seguin, a building permit is needed for any structure over 10 square metres, and decks, docks and boathouses are on the permit list too. Applications go through the township's Cloudpermit system, and on renovation and deck work I build that step into the quote instead of finding out mid-job.

Spring and fall are openings and closings season: $349 to open a typical road-access cottage, and dock in and out can be booked together. In between, the repair board covers the list on the fridge.