StihlyinEly
Addicted to ArboristSite
I will be heating all winter with wood eventually, in the northern parts of Quebec... could be quite a bit. This spring/summer will be mostly clearing a 200'x200' area for a house.
That's potentially a good bit more wood than I'd imagined. How large are the biggest trunk diameters on the land you'll be clearing, and what types of wood? I cut up 9-10 loggers cords per year of hardwood for home heating where I live, and you are quite a bit farther north, though I'd bet your new home will be much more energy efficient than my 100-year-old one. Either the 250 or 270 will eat up that much wood annually for years if it's properly cared for, but if your lot is thick with trees and/or you are tackling larger trees, either of those saws could be iffy.
Another reason I ask is that it's a good idea to resist the temptation to put a longer bar on a smaller saw. Looks good on paper, but often enough the saw doesn't have the muscle to really handle it. Unless you are into tackling a muffler modification (which isn't that hard and has been detailed on AS many times but may be more than you feel like doing) to add power to the saw, I'd say you'd want to pull an 18-inch bar with .325 chain tops for the 270, and a 16-inch on the 250. I'm talking hardwoods here. You can get away with a little more bar in softwoods like pine.
Regarding the brush cutter, with two- and three-man teams, I've helped clear lots that size of some pretty thick brush just using long-handled pruners and bow saws. And even if you don't want to go that route, your brush-cutter probably would be a one-time expense unless you've got more clearing in mind, so you may want to look at renting a brush cutter for a day to get all the brush out and then clearing it after returning the cutter. One day's rental rate will save you a lot of money over buying. That money could potentially be put toward a better/larger saw (IF the trees on your lot require a bigger saw) or just left in the budget for other things.
Just more food for thought.