Archive for the ‘Budget’ Category
Friday, August 3rd, 2007
Why wait if your kids are still living at home. Let them enjoy your new log home too! If you are near retirement age and the kids are gone, why not build it to vacation in now and retire later.
Here is a true story-
A young couple came in and we priced an Eagle II for them. After seeing the price they decided to wait to build so they could save some money. For three years they rented and were able to put $15,000 in their savings. But when they came back the price of the home had gone up $18,000, so all of the money they had saved lost all of its buying power due to inflation. Don’t wait, let’s get started today!
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Posted in Budget, Dream Home, Eagle II, Frequently Ask Questions, Luxury | No Comments »
Wednesday, May 30th, 2007
You’ve found the perfect floor plan, but it is a little over budget.
Don’t worry, there are some variations you can make to the standard package that can make it more affordable, without compromising the integrity of the package.
Our home packages come with log railings on the exterior deck and porch areas. To save some money you could convert those to our less expensive square treated baluster rail system. SAVE $500 to $2,000 per package.
Our split log homes and garages come standard with butt and pass log corners. You can certainly save money by switching to our solid log vertical corner system. SAVE $2,000 to $4,000.
The interior doors that are standard in our home packages are solid, six panel pre-hung doors. If you need to trim costs, this door can be switched to a flush, oak or birch without the panel design. SAVE $500 to $1,500.
Our packages include Pro-Line stone on the fireplace chase from the floor to the top of the chimney. You could stone only the area below the mantle and SAVE $1,000 to $2,000.
All of our standard packages pro-vide matching split log to cover the exterior rim joist of the first floor. Most companies don’t provide anything, or they just use pine boards in that area. We can deduct the matching split log there and SAVE $750 to $1,500.
Our package comes with medicine cabinets for the bathrooms; maybe you would prefer a mirror instead? That will save you a few hundred dollars per room. SAVE $200 to $600.
Our home packages come with a matching split log (half log) on the exterior upper gable ends of the home and garage, as well as dormers. You can save some money by switching these areas to a knotty pine tongue and groove or wood shingles. SAVE $500 to $2,500.
The ceilings in all of our homes as well as the exterior walls on our split log homes come with knotty pine tongue and groove planking. Convert some or all of that wood to drywall and SAVE $500 to $2,500.
If you are building on a slab, remember we have the sub floor and basement stairs included in our standard package. You can deduct those to SAVE $2,000 to $5,000.
We provide high quality insulated garage doors and windows for your garage. If your climate doesn’t require these, replace with uninsulated and SAVE $500 to $1,500.
If you are building in a temperate climate, we can change our insulated 2”x6” walls to insulated 2”x4” walls to SAVE $800 to $1,600.
We have big log tie beams included in all of our loft packages. You can deduct them and SAVE $600 to $900.
We include 30 year warranty shingles. You could substitute 20 year and SAVE $300 to $1,000.
Buy one of our 46 standard homes and make absolutely NO changes to the plan and SAVE $1,500. If a designer gets involved, this offer is null and void.
What if I want to make my log home even more luxurious?
We can solve that problem too. Click here to find out how.
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Posted in Budget, Frequently Ask Questions, Lower Cost | 1 Comment »
Monday, May 28th, 2007
Yes, log homes appreciate much faster than regular homes, so they are an excellent investment. The sooner you build the better. Building costs go up every year, and right now interest rates are very low.
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Posted in Budget, Dream Home, Frequently Ask Questions | No Comments »
Monday, April 30th, 2007
If you want a hand crafted log home, we don’t do that. What is a handcrafted log home? Handcrafted homes are very large diameter logs (actual trees) that are artfully scribed together by skilled craftsmen at a log yard, then disassembled and reassembled on your lot. They are very nice, but so is the price, figure on spending $300-$400 per square foot or more.
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Saturday, September 30th, 2006
If you will be financing your home, check with your lender. They’ll tell you how much they will loan you. This only takes ten minutes and all you have to do is ask them if they will loan you the money. This is called pre-approval. We can also refer you to a national mortgage company that some of our customers have dealt with. They specialize in financing log homes. The lending institution can also give you an idea of your monthly payment.
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Wednesday, August 30th, 2006
No problem, nowadays log homes are one of the fastest growing segments in the new home market. Most banks, credit unions or mortgage companies can see the value and are eager to lend on log homes. There are even national log lenders like M&T Mortgage, so if you are not happy with your local bank, call them at 888-539-1160. They are very easy to deal with and they do 100’s of log home mortgages every year.
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Posted in Budget, Financing, Frequently Ask Questions | No Comments »
Monday, April 3rd, 2006
It is a good idea to check with a bank to see how much they will borrow you and what your payments will be. Otherwise you might be dreaming of too big, or too small, of a log home for your budget. Also see our mortgage calculator Mortgage Calculator to see how much your monthly payment may be.
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Posted in Budget, Financing, Frequently Ask Questions | No Comments »
Wednesday, November 30th, 2005
Because it makes things go a lot easier and quicker for both of us. Some people have a smaller budget and we will try to do everything we can to get it in that budget. Some people with bigger budgets might want to add more upgrades to make their house really unique.
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Tuesday, November 30th, 1999
Pine and spruce are great woods for log homes. They are strongwood and are very warm and pleasing to the eye. Cedar is a great wood also, but is 20% to 40% more money. We don’t think it is worth the additional cost. Let’s use this as an example. You need to stain and seal the exterior. Once you do that, even using the lightest of stain, it is going to be hard to tell if your home is pine/spruce or cedar. Cedar is a little more rot resistant, but if you maintain your pine/spruce log home it is not an issue.
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Posted in Budget, Frequently Ask Questions, Full Log | No Comments »
