Excerpt:
Want to live in a geodesic home or a reproduction of a medieval castle? Jumbo borrowers shopping for offbeat homes may face challenges in getting a mortgage.
Kristi Gillis and her husband, Bill Hollars, bought a geodesic home in Montera, Calif., for $700,000 last fall. The couple was preapproved by a major bank for a jumbo mortgage, but when they told their lender they planned to buy the domed home, the bank withdrew the financing. Every lender they contacted refused to discuss a loan because of the house’s unusual shape. “What was upsetting is that we thought we’d done everything right,” Gillis said. “We both were pretty shocked, and even the agents involved were surprised.” (They did finally get a loan)
“An artsy person who lives outside the box will look at one house and think it’s stunning,” said Karen J. Mann, a Discovery Bay, Calif.-based appraiser who covers the San Francisco, Silicon Valley and Sacramento communities. “When an appraiser looks at it, it’s about what’s the norm for the area.
My comment: And the appraisals can be nightmares!! Fortunately, we can google the address and see the house before re-negotiating the fee or Just Say No!
Link to original article: http://www.marketwatch.com/story/quirky-houses-can-make-lenders-nervous-2013-07-02?siteid=rss
I have been absent for some time, but now I remember why I used to love this web site. Thanks , I will try and check back more frequently. How frequently you update your site?