A log cabin is no doubt one of the most beautiful home options available today. Wooden building structures have definitely made a comeback and will be staying for a long time. Contemporary log homes have evolved from simple logs or timbers that have been stacked one after another. Nowadays, you can find a wide variety of log cabins with different structural and architectural designs and concepts. Owning a log cabin is an exciting venture but it can also be extremely challenging at the same time. Thus, what exactly do you need to know when owning a log house?
Log Cabin Basic Planning
Before you can purchase or construct a beautiful wooden home, you need to go through the important details such as log home construction loans, mortgages, log home insurances, financing primers, the cabin mortgage loan processes, and land buying. All of these are technicalities that some people find troublesome and difficult to deal with. However, these are all necessities that you need to face and deal with if you want to be a log cabin owner.
Buying Land for your Log Home
One of the first steps toward log cabin ownership is buying land to put up your dream log house. Unless you already have a parcel of land or a bigger estate or property for the log home, this is a basic consideration for aspiring log home owners. The location is a primary factor in choosing and buying land for your wooden home. You need to choose if you want land deep in the forest, a lakefront property, or just the usual wooden acreage for hiking and roaming. You can check out government auctions for lands, public land sales, and even seized property listings.
About Log Cabin Financing
This would mainly depend on your financial capacity and budget to finance the log home construction and ownership but there are available financing options to choose from. How do you finance a log house? Can you really afford to own or to build a wooden home in your desired location?
Here are some of the things you need to consider when it comes to financing a log house:
* Free Credit Report. Check and prepare for your annual credit report, which you can actually get for free. Knowing your credit report allows you to know and examine your credit standing as well as address certain relevant financial issues that may take place. You can also check for errors and have them corrected in case you find some mistakes in your credit report. This is also a chance for you to see if there are options you can take in order to improve your credit score and make you eligible for a loan to finance your log cabin.
* Construction Loans. One of the most important financial assistances you can get is a construction loan, which is generally paying for the log house down payment. The rule of thumb is to pay a large down payment in order for you to have a much smaller mortgage on a monthly basis. In paying for the log home equity, it is best to secure at least 20% so that you can skip the PMI or private mortgage insurance.
* Log Home Lenders. You can establish a relationship and try applying for financial assistance from log home lenders. There are several factors that may affect your cabin mortgage loan and some log home lenders require a pre-qualification phase for applicants, especially when granting sizeable loans. You can check your local log home lenders and personally inquire about their requirements since different lenders may have their own terms and conditions.
* Log Home Insurance. Both the cabin builders and cabin buyers can secure a log home insurance, especially in covering and addressing certain issues during the construction or purchase period. Nowadays, there are various types of log cabin insurance with different coverage in order to cater to the specific needs and preferences of the insurance holder.
Log Home Design and Concept
Bespoke log cabins are becoming popular in today’s home buying industry. More and more people are into the healthy lifestyle that living in a residential log house can offer. The design and concept of your log house is an important factor and an exciting one as well. This is where you can explore different layouts, designs, and preferences that you want to integrate into the overall construction of your log house. People oftentimes just want to skip the technicalities and go straight to designing their log home.
Check out some salient pointers in designing the log cabin of your dreams:
* Establish the Best Location
Once you have bought your land, it is time to find the best place for your property in order to set up and construct the log cabin. A good quality cabin design should be efficiently harmonious with your chosen site or you can modify its design in order to adapt to the existing local conditions. Choose a location that takes advantage of the available scenery around you, for instance, a spectacular mountain view, river, or lake outside.
* Choose the Log Cabin Style
The style of the log house generally depends on the log style you choose. There are 2 main categories or types of log available; namely milled and handcrafted logs. Milled logs are usually shaped with the use of machines and tools, resulting in uniform aesthetics without any tapers. Handcrafted logs, on the other hand, are manufactured from complete logs that are shaped from the tree with long lengths and large diameter. This type requires intensive labour to process and specialty tools or heavy equipment to install and move.
Owning a log cabin is not a piece of cake because it requires you to deal with numerous factors from buying land to choosing the best cabin design. Do your research first before venturing into this project that is no doubt a lucrative investment.
