Comments on: No home loan with no utilities

By: angelie thune

angelie thune — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 00:55:46 +0000

This is a super article and I really enjoyed reading all the comments.. my family is in the same situation.. we paid cash for everything : land, septic, and an awesome well (20gpm) .. and solar- and then learned that there is no help for us off grid.. and it would cost 80k to bring power to our property! yea- that’s not going to happen. So- we are now scratching our heads thinking of building a cob home.. but even that costs some $$$! I keep looking for lender/finance info for off grid- if I something, I’ll be sure to share.

By: stone knobs

stone knobs — Fri, 16 Sep 2011 04:34:13 +0000

We are in the process of buying a cabin that is off grid.

By: Darren

Darren — Tue, 06 Sep 2011 00:40:14 +0000

Same issues here in Reno, NV. I have private financing but when we tried to refi last year through a bank to help out our credit and get a better interest rate we had a 30 year “veteran” appraiser that dropped the value of our home 20% because it was off grid and then another 20% for being rural. Really? The reality is that we have a power station which should be a 20% increase in the value of our property since we don’t have a power bill (with the exception of winter with diesel for the generator) The problem lies in resale as a broker friend told me. 99.999% of people don’t want to live off the grid as they think they have to pedal a bike to flush to toilet…really I was asked that… but the point is the house is a tough sell to the majority of buyers out there especially in this economy. We’ve been trying to sell for almost 2 years now. We are down at the low value Mr. Veteran Appraiser gave us and we still have few showings and most people get turned off by the off grid. Ignorance is bliss. I won’t let this stop me in the future though. My next home after I move and finish school will be off grid even if I have to get one in town and tell the power company to cut my line. :) Spread the word and maybe someday we’ll be the majority.

By: Moni

Moni — Sun, 03 Jul 2011 17:58:27 +0000

We are also off the grid. Going on the grid is not an option for us because we are 4 miles from the nearest single lane paved road and 45 minutes outside of the nearest town. Our nearest neighbor is about 1/4 mile away, and all our neighbors are off the grid. We have satellite everything – hughesnet for internet, DirecTV, and GlobalStar for telephone (eVoice is great for receiving messages at home). We tried to refinance last fall to a lower interest rate. The lender made us jump through several hoops, which we did. Then told us that they couldn’t give us a loan because we were off the grid. We are currently trying to refinance with our current lender, and the appraiser told us even though the lender had given us the loan we currently have in the past, they may not give it to us now because rules have chanced and they may not be able to give us a lower interest rate because we are off the grid! In this day and age, when there is supposedly an energy crisis – you would think that they would help more people become off the grid instead of putting stumbling blocks for them to do so. Maybe we should all write President Obama letters to let him know that this situation is happening. Also, watch the movie “To Big to Fail” – the banks were given bailouts in order to help people out with financing homes. Instead they used the money to give themselves huge bonuses and golden parachutes. It is very frustrating.

By: vanessa

vanessa — Tue, 30 Nov 2010 23:52:46 +0000

All the comments were helpful. I am off grid, generator back up with propane, we have no land lines at all, plus we have our water delivered. Can’t or rather haven’t found any help to refiance. Here we are in sunny az., and loving our life and yet,…..how do we get fiancing?

By: lrm

lrm — Thu, 19 Aug 2010 00:32:34 +0000

Are we just trying to be environmentally friendly? Or are we also wanting to create a different economy and different standards for living our lives?

By: lrm

lrm — Thu, 19 Aug 2010 00:31:22 +0000

Couldn’t one simly build a dwelling w/’on grid’ options, and then add the off grid after or at the same time? ie, use the off grid as the mainstay, but still have the on grid for better financing options?

I mean, it’s not ideal, but then again, the last thing I want to see is the ‘go green’ absorbed into the consumer matrix. Solar already has begun-and guess what? if you have money, you can have solar, o r a prius or organic food, or…etc etc etc.

I personally think it’s good that conventional loans are not yet available for off-grid. The system WILL eat any form of beneficial, well, anything….Plus, housing costs are insane, and are not a reflection of standard of living requirements for employment, etc.

Anyway, short rant aside, why not put out the extra money up front to have ‘on grid’ to appease lenders? If it means you get a great rate, and also have higher resale value, refinance options, etc., then it probably ends up a better option. Add your off grid over time as you can afford it, or somehow add it as you build or rennovate.

Obviously, this is a simlistic thought-details would need to be worked out. But you know that saying ‘don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater, now’….Things are not usually black or white.

By: bmc

bmc — Sat, 17 Apr 2010 08:20:39 +0000

Same story in Hawaii.. only I didn’t know till it was too late.. owner financing soon to be a gift back to the owner

By: Scott

Scott — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 22:44:39 +0000

Hi Brenda-
I fall into the same category. Off grid home, w/generator backup. 34+ acres in calaveras county. I have a manufactured home which makes it even harder. I, also, am stuck with a construction loan. I contact my banker every few months. And get the same ‘no alternative’ for my loan. My construction loan is through Umpuq Bank.
I actually have started to take the time to write to state legislature and the federal government, as well. I never receive much of response.
If you are a conventional home, which it sounds like you are, you may want to give umpqua bank a call.

By: Kirk

Kirk — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 00:03:35 +0000

We are using Compass Bank’s special portfolio perm loan for our off grid home construction in Placitas, NM Kirk

By: Ross

Ross — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 14:29:35 +0000

We are in the process of buying a cabin that is off grid. The best option is to get a “portfolio” loan which is investor back and not backed by Freddie/Fanny Mae. They do not have to follow the strict guidelines as the big banks. they lend based on business case. With that said your down/ltv may be up to 40% opposed to the usual 20% or less. The interest rate is the same as a normal loan. Call local borkers and ask for someone who does a portfolio loan.

By: Jedon Thompson

Jedon Thompson — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 01:02:16 +0000

We are very close to getting our final from the county for our off-grid house on 97 acres no too far from Hopland, it’s a few hours east up in the foothills. We are having the same issues getting comps and a loan so if you have had any luck please let me know! Right now we have a hard money construction loan.

By: Marie

Marie — Sun, 17 May 2009 13:54:16 +0000

For what it’s worth, we have the same problem in Canada. I just wrote a few nasty letters about the environmental impact of CIBC. (They still won’t give us a mortgage, though. Go figure.)

By: Brenda Reed

Brenda Reed — Sat, 16 May 2009 01:59:16 +0000

Thank you Selina for posting. This is confirmation that this oversight needs to be addressed. Living sustainably and renewably is a benefit to us and to the rest of the world.

By: Brenda Reed

Brenda Reed — Sat, 16 May 2009 01:55:48 +0000

Hi Kathleen,
A sub-prime at only 1% higher would be acceptable to us, but it still seems very unfair considering that we are not asking for money to refi the land, that’s already paid off, we are asking to refi the house. I like your attitude that eventually they will figure out that its their power that will go out, not ours. The sad thing is that lenders think that off-grid is a risk (which is how they justify loaning at a higher rate) and my power is more reliable than people who are dependent on the grid. I’ll check out Northwest Farm Credit Services. Thanks for responding.