Wells Fargo Does Domes

[Peggy]

I decided to post a new topic in this forum, since my previous post did not seem to register (http://bbs.monolithic.com/viewtopic.php ... highlight=).

My experience with getting my dome completed has been the far side of nightmarish, but I have managed to do it - and believe me, if I can do it, anyone can do it! Not only have I done a conventional mortgage, but I just refinanced through Wells Fargo.

Melinda South at Monolithic gave me this info for Wendy Cambe, and she put me in touch with a local branch:

Wendy Cambe
WELLS FARGO HOME MORTGAGE
Washington State
253-568-2012
wendy.cambe@wellsfargo.com

There are other members of this board who have gotten loans from the banks for residences; perhaps they can post their contacts as well.

P.S. - I do not have a/c; in this heat wave (101 degrees), I have opened the windows at night (upstairs still not done, so no upper ventilation), and closed them with shades drawn during the day, and it has topped a comfy 76 degrees inside the dome. Well worth the effort to jump through hoops with the bank.

[Rosholdt]

Wells Fargo, Wendy Cambe established our dome mortgage, after it was completed. She used comparable domes from other states. This is highly unusual and they were the only lenders who accommodated us in this way. I thank her very much for her personal knowledge and liking dome homes.

However, the original challenge (problem) is getting a construction loan. This is only possible if you have a contractor finance the construction and it is this contractor's record which stands as good for a bank to back, not the future owner. Once the dome is completed, then such wonderful people as Wendy could setup a final mortgage based on the credit history and means of the "to be" owners.

We got a second mortgage from another home to finance the first $40K start of our first 40 ft. diameter dome. This money prepared the site (cleared away trees, installed well, septic, driveway road, etc) and paid for the complete dome shell (airform, insulation, rebar, shotcrete, etc). We did most all the work ourselves. This is how we got around not having a construction loan to start.

[Terry]

We have the plan and the land and the water and the electricity. What we do not have is a construction loan. we have all the permits but the bank has no comparable houses. What this means is that any appraisal will come in 50,000 or so below construction costs. We have an experienced contractor and several example homes in Central Iowa but I cannot expect the contractor to finance it also...so we shall sell our current house and then try to find a building loan for the 25% we cannot finance ourselves. We have already invested one third of the total cost.

It is just a fact of life but I will be happy when the benefits of the MD home start becoming obvious to banks and the green people. If anyone knows a financial institution that will loan based on the real value of the construction... we have already invested 90,000 in land and water and electricity and septic and permits... and we need to sell our current 300,000K + house just to build our 220,000 DOME. We will only need about $75,000 mortgage when the dust settles... Crazy this economy.

After investing about $300,000 including 3 acres of very desireable land etc, the appraisers give the value of the finished Dome home and garage less than $200,000 because there is no history of buy-sell valuation despite the incredibly low operating expense of the dome. Very frustrating.

[timbau]

We have the plan and the land and the water and the electricity. What we do not have is a construction loan. we have all the permits but the bank has no comparable houses. What this means is that any appraisal will come in 50,000 or so below construction costs. We have an experienced contractor and several example homes in Central Iowa but I cannot expect the contractor to finance it also...so we shall sell our current house and then try to find a building loan for the 25% we cannot finance ourselves. We have already invested one third of the total cost.

It is just a fact of life but I will be happy when the benefits of the MD home start becoming obvious to banks and the green people. If anyone knows a financial institution that will loan based on the real value of the construction... we have already invested 90,000 in land and water and electricity and septic and permits... and we need to sell our current 300,000K + house just to build our 220,000 DOME. We will only need about $75,000 mortgage when the dust settles... Crazy this economy.

After investing about $300,000 including 3 acres of very desireable land etc, the appraisers give the value of the finished Dome home and garage less than $200,000 because there is no history of buy-sell valuation despite the incredibly low operating expense of the dome. Very frustrating.

If you notice banks are always very short sighted....

If folks need money they don't want to lend. If they don't need the money you can get all you want.

I remember buying my first home and all the hoops I had to jump through just to give them a warm and fuzzy. The Good Lord has truly bless us though out the years and we are still able to keep our house even though work for a displaced IT person is hard to find. I know your frustration and feel your pain. Common sense is in short supply these days. How else could folks with no money/income be able to buy homes they couldn't really afford in the first place....

Is there a way that you could get some credit cards and have just the shell built first? Pay off the cards and then use them again to get the interior finished? I believe there is a story of a gentleman who did just that.

Just a thought ....