Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: Financing

[Buzz Burrell (72253.2101]

Mac asked

>When he asked who in the group was considering alternative building 
>technologies, everyone raised their hands.  He then went on to explain 
>that receiving financing for a house incorporating alternative building 
>technologies would be very difficult.  The problem is that loans are 
>made based on the appraised value of a home and appraisals are based on 
>recent sales in the area of comparable homes.  And since there are 
>almost no sales of comparable homes, they can9t give a loan for 
>non-conventional housing.

>What have any of you done to creatively finance "experimental" building 
>methods?  THis could be a real sticking point for a number of households 
>in our group.

Congratulations!  Having everyone in your group raise thier hands when asked if
they wanted to do something better than the ticky tack that is contributing to
the deforestation and pollution of our planet is an excellent sign.  Now all you
need is a better mortgage broker.

There are comps.  He just didn't know of any.  Obtaining a comp on a straw bale
house or whatever is definitly harder than for a stick built house, but then
cohousing itself isn't about doing whats easiest, is it?  Getting a mortgage on
a quality house is a lot easier than attending 3 years of meetings just for the
opportunity of building one!

When you get to the point of actually needing a mortgage, post the question
again, and I would be happy to offer a few suggestions.  In the meantime,
"experimental" might not be the best choice of words.  Adobe has been used for
approximately 5,000 years, while stick built was invented about 80 years ago.
To this day, less than 15% of the worlds population lives in wood frame houses.

Very glad to hear you have a good group in Durango.  Do what you think is right;
in the long run, its easier.

Take Care,

Buzz Burrell
Paonia, CO