Articles Tagged:

money matters

A tribute to all the fireplaces we never used... and the one we're putting in our new log home. Fireplace design & placement ideas that helped me...you too!

Dream of living in a log home? There are lots of reasons that old log homes can be a joy to live in, but they can also be the source of frustration & headaches.

luxury-home

If money were no object, which posh amenities would be on your wish list? Here are the things that Jim & I have talked about including in our dream home...

Log home financing doesn't come easy these days! photo by lumaxart on Flickr

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.

There are a number of factors which can ultimately increase (or decrease) the costs associated with building your new home. Some things to keep in mind...

Yes, log homes are actually safer against fires than traditional stick-frame homes. See why...

Did you know you can build a log home for less than $11,000? One man built the log home of his dreams for under $11,000! You can build a cheap log home, too. Here's how.

log-home-financing

Log home lending is different for some banks than taking out a mortgage for a tract house or other conventional housing structure. Knowing what avenues to take when seeking log home financing will make your goals of obtaining a mortgage for your log home an easier, happier journey.

One of the biggest hang-ups in the process of finding a bank to finance our log home was the 'draw schedule'. The draw schedule is that unique timeline that spells out exactly when the logs themselves will be paid for, when the next installment of payments will be doled out by the bank, etc. It became difficult to get the bank and the log home company to agree on when the actual money would exchange hands. Here's how it went for us.

We qualify for the loans, but there just aren't enough log homes that have been sold recently around here for the banks to use as 'comps' in order to determine a fair appraisal value for our proposed log home. They're coming in way lower than we can build this log home for. And the banks won't budge.

We built a log cabin that is CLOSE to our dream log home, but a few things are lacking. Here are a few things that we would do differently if we were to build a log home again.

Here I summarize our personal experience with log home financing, as well as provide information and tips that will hopefully help you finance your log home.

Need more space in your log home?... Consider a walk out basement! Here are some great reasons to consider building a log home with a basement, plus tips for building your basement while still staying within your log home budget.

Despite the fact that the Log Cabin Society of Michigan has been trying for the past 10 years to get a log cabin featured on a U.S. postage stamp -- no no avail -- the U.S. Mint has decided to put a log cabin on the U.S. penny!

It's been about 2 years since we started the process of building our log home. We had the land picked out, the bank picked out, the GC picked out, the builder picked out, the logs picked out, the floorplan designed the way we wanted it, and we even started clearing the land. Then why isn't our log home done yet? Why haven't we even raised the first log yet?

The first official sign that construction is about to take place on our new log home site: the posting of the Building Permit! But it was a day of highs and lows, thanks to a series of tornadoes that hit in Williamson County the night before.

We got our Building Permit today. Who knew the cost for a Building Permit in Williamson County TN could be so much?... $9,177! It's mostly due to the county's Privilege Tax. And boy do we feel privileged to live in Franklin, TN!

This past Fall was a very difficult time for us to try & get a log home construction loan to build our new log home. There were several reasons for this -- all spelled out here.