I told myself that I wasn’t going to be negative — especially about any one company — when it came to talking about all the hoops we’ve had to jump through in order to get our log home financed.
But let me just say this: We’ve had a change of heart about a couple of banks recently.
Some of the details are mentioned here…
Log Home Financing Isn’t Easy These Days
It’s funny how things change with banks when it comes right down to the wire.
During the last 2 weeks leading up to our closing date with the bank, we were having some last-minute delays — for no reason (that we could tell).
It wasn’t until we called our rep at the bank 3 days before closing that he decided to tell us, “Well, um… you’ll have to come up with an extra $30,000 at closing.”
When we asked why, he replied: “Your final appraisal came back much less than the initial appraisal.”
Say what?!
Just when were you going to tell us about this, Sir? And just how do you expect us to come up with an extra $30,000 in the matter of a few days?!
We had already committed over $10,000 in closing costs to cover what they (a “traditional” bank) would not cover toward the down-payment to Honest Abe for the logs, along with other starting costs (such as the preliminary clearing of the land, putting in the culvert).
In fact, in a very roundabout way, this bank also made us agree to front the cost of anything that took place prior to the home itself being dried in. That included approximately $50,000 for the excavation and foundation work for the basement, driveway, etc.
What a joke.
We immediately started the process of shopping banks again. Like I said, we started getting bad vibes a few weeks earlier. We should’ve sensed something like this was about to happen. But we didn’t.
By the way, this is exactly what happened to a friend of ours — in another state — but not with a log home. The day before their closing, they were told the final appraisal came in about $20,000 less, too! They had to scramble to come up with thousands of dollars in order to close.
We’re guessing this is just a disgusting sales tactic that the banks are playing on homeowners these days — to help them dig themselves out of all the bad loans they provided in the recent past. In effect, we have to pay the price for their mistakes. It’s a sign of the times, my friends.
Fortunately, we had previously gotten a good lead from our General Contractor about a mortgage broker he’s worked with before who’s gotten good loans for other log home owners. The draw schedules have been fair. Everyone (sub-contrators) got paid on time. Site inspections were timely. So we had already started the process with them. The best deal she found was with CitiBank. Who knew they’d be interested in financing a log home?!
We’ll see how this goes…
UPDATE: That didn’t work out either.
Lynnette Walczak
I like to help people find unique ways to do things in order to save time & money -- so I frequently write about "outside the box" ideas that most wouldn't think of. As a lifelong dog owner, I often share my best tips for living with and training dogs. I worked in Higher Ed several years until switching gears to pursue things I was more passionate about. I've worked at a vet, in a photo lab, and at a zoo -- to name a few. I enjoy the outdoors via bicycle, motorcycle, Jeep, or RV. You can always find me at the corner of Good News & Fun Times as publisher of The Fun Times Guide (32 fun & helpful websites).
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