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!
money matters
Old Log Homes: Pros And Cons Of Living In Old Style Log Homes
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 and headaches. Here are the pros and cons of living in an old log home.
New Home Design & Must-Have “Necessities”… If Money Were No Object
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 – Banks Are Balking At The Last Minute
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 […]
New Home Building Costs: Things That Affect The Price Of Your New Log Home
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…
Revealed: Log Homes Survive Fires Better Than Stick Frame Homes
Yes, log homes are actually safer against fires than traditional stick-frame homes. See why…
How To Build A Cheap Log Home
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.
How To Finance Your Log Home
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.
How Draw Schedules Affect The Financing Of Your Log Home
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.
Log Home Financing (Or Lack Thereof) Halts Our Log Home Construction Plans
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.
If We Could Build Our Log Home Over Again… Some Things We Would Do Differently
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.
How To Obtain Log Home Financing In The Midst Of A Mortgage Crisis… Here’s What Worked For Us
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.
Reasons To Add A Basement To Your Log Home, Plus How To Build A Basement On A Budget
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.
Log Cabins On U.S. Pennies And Stamps
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!
All These Delays & Changes May Actually Be A GOOD Thing…
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?
Personal Highs Matched With Regional Lows
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.
Williamson County TN Building Permits & Fees: What You Need To Know
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!
Now Is NOT A Good Time To Get A Log Home Construction Loan
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.
Where We Are Now On This Log Home Roller Coaster Ride…
No, we haven’t secured our log home loan yet. But the good news is… time is on our side. Because the mortgage rates have already come down since our previous closing date in October of 2007, and they are projected to drop even more in the coming months.
Log Home Insurance: Little-Known Facts About Insuring A Log Home
Before we could close on our construction loan with the bank, we had to submit proof of ‘builder’s risk insurance’ to the loan officer. We THOUGH there would be a simple builder’s risk type of policy from the insurance companies that would cover things like ‘theft of materials’, ‘new construction theft’, and ‘dwelling under construction. What we found was most insurance companies wanted you to buy a complete homeowner’s policy with them instead.
Digging A Well: What You Need To Know
Little known facts about wells and water usage. Here’s everything we’ve learned about digging a well, including proposed costs to dig a well in Williamson County, Tennessee.
Golden Eagle Log Home Company Estimates The True Cost To Build A Log Home
Golden Eagle Log Homes chose to face the facts and state upfront the ‘true’ cost to build one of their log homes. This is what appeared in one of their ads in Log Home Living magazine.
Can You Build A Log Home For $150/SF?… Apparently In Middle Tennessee You Can’t!
This article is one of the few in which we have actually vented our yearlong frustrations in dealing with finding a general contractor to build our home, topped off with some of the runaround we’ve received from the banks who seem unwilling to finance log homes in this area.
How Long Do Things Last? What’s The Life Expectancy Of Home Components?
Have you given any thought to just how long those things that you’re installing are going to last? I have. Recently the National Association of Home Builders — NAHB — shed some light on the life expectancy of common components inside a home. Have a look…
Estimating How Much Things Will Cost
Get-a-Quote is the largest free construction estimating database on the Internet. See why it’s great… and not so great.
How To Track Your Expenses & Plan A Budget
After Jim dismissed the old-fashioned ‘manual’ way of creating a budget — by writing figures on forms — I went on the hunt for something along the lines of an Excel spreadsheet that could be used to track quotes, estimates, expenses and bids from contractors. I found it!
Budgeting The Details Of Your New Home
If there’s one thing we’ve learned about building & financing a log home… it’s the fact that it gets a little scary when you start to consider all of the ‘unknowns’. This might help…
Log Home Lenders… A Few Things We Learned
We learned quickly that getting a loan for a log home is quite different than getting a loan for a traditional ‘stick-built’ home. Odds are, even if you qualify for a traditional home mortgage, you might not qualify right away for a loan to build a log home. When we were trying to obtain a loan to build our log home, these are the banks and mortgage lenders that we personally approached for a construction loan, and highlights from our experiences with each of them.
How To Calculate Sizes & Spaces When Estimating Building & Remodeling Costs
Sometimes you need to know what the total area is — in contractor’s terms — before you can estimate the cost of a project. This is easy to do…
