- One of our most top
requested types of homes to talk about, is a barndominium. So today we're going to be
talking about the five lies that people tell you about barndominiums, because I get this request so much, and there's a good reason why I don't really talk about them. Because they're not really
what you think they are. They're nothing like your
grandma's condominium. That's for sure. First things first,
what is a barndominium? As cute as they are, they're just a metal building or a barn that looks like a barn on the outside and in the inside, it is a
beautiful, spectacular home. Barndominiums have grown in popularity, especially in the last couple of years. And you see a lot of them
around areas of Texas, Oklahoma and Louisiana. In the Southern states, they
seem to be very popular, but they're growing in popularity throughout the United States. And again, most people are looking for them as an affordable housing option. But I think you might
be sorely disappointed because they're not
necessarily as affordable as you may think. Timberlyne.com has barndominiums
from barns to homes, to commercial real estate. They have a decade of experience
as leaders and innovators in the timber frame and
post beam industries. Whether you dream of a
rustic post and beam barn for your horse or majestic
timber frame home, together, they will unlock your vision to create the structure with by beauty and sustainability and strength of wood. This will give you the
more traditional type of barndominium type of home that most people are
looking for right now. Now, the first thing that most people don't understand when
you have a barndominium and what makes it not necessarily the most affordable option, is the foundation itself. The foundation has to be
set for a metal building because they are a metal building. They have to have the steel frames and they have to be
able to have the weight of a metal building. So, the amount of concrete
that you would need for a foundation, is going to be a lot
more than it would be, for the typical home. Another thing is you're gonna want to have a soil compaction tests and an engineered type of foundation. Some metal building
companies will tell you that you do not need to
have a soil compaction or that extra type of concrete, but I promise you don't
listen to necessarily a metal framing building company. Listen to an engineer
that knows about framing for a barndominium or a
metal type building itself. You wanna make sure that
you have that in place and have the right foundation because the foundation of your house is going to be the thing that
holds your whole home together for the lifetime of it. If you're gonna have a
metal building like this, you wanna make sure that has
the right type of foundation. I can't iterate that enough. And I know that it seems cheaper when you listen to some
companies and they tell you, you don't need that, but you're gonna be regretting
that decision later on down the road when you're having problems with the foundation and you're
having to have that repaired and nobody wants to
have to deal with that. Foundation repairs can
cost you tens of thousands of dollars in the future. Just go ahead and invest that money now, if you are planning on
doing a barndominium. Don't go cheap on a foundation. Here's another barndominium website that you may wanna look at, mortonbuildings.com. They can make it from a small garage to a elaborate workshop
for your next home. A residential building
designed and constructed by Morton is one of a kind. Just like each one of their customers from the foundation to the roof, in all aspects of energy efficiency, Morton buildings are
customed to fit your needs. The Morton advantage means
that every component used, is designed and tested, manufactured and constructed
to the maximum strength and integrity of Morton's building system. They also examine your individual needs to make sure your residential building is designed to stand up to loads that will require it to
carry it through a life time. Now, another thing you should know, if you're planning on
building a barndominium, is plan on a budget. Now, I know that sounds like, of course, you're gonna plan on a budget. In many cases like my clients, they're building a metal building first, and then they're gonna
turn it into a home. Budget all that out, because you may find out
that if you had worked with an actual designer of those specific types of barndominiums, you might've actually
saved yourself some money because of the fact that they already know how to design it with the
metal building in mind. Because a lot of times you
have something in your head and you think it's gonna
be costing you a lot less, then once the metal
building is put together, and you're trying to turn it into a home and ends up costing them a lot more. But if you had had a designer
that understands barndominiums and turning metal buildings into homes, you would have saved yourself
like tens of thousands of dollars when it comes to
where the plumbing needs to go, where wall needs to go, and how much of your
installation you're gonna need. Hire yourself a designer that understands barndominiums first. Don't go cheap. And not only that you'll be
spending a lot more money than you originally planned on. Nobody likes spending more money. I don't like spending more money. My grandma doesn't like
spending more money. That's not what I want you to
do with my inheritance please. The resale value of a barndominium has yet to be established. You'll have to contact a
real estate professional to know the actual value of barndominiums and how they resale. If you're unsure over the barndominium that you currently have, you can always contact an appraiser to know the true value of
the resale of your home. All right, before you even decide, I'm putting together a barndominium
in your plans together. Take those plans and bring
it to your local county or parish here in Louisiana and see if you're going to be allowed to have a permit to build
it in the first place. I know it's a very
popular type of building, but it doesn't necessarily mean that it's going to be allowed
in your specific area. Then once you get your plans approved, go ahead and take that to
your local loan officer and see what kind of loan that you can do. So there's new construction loans when it comes to metal buildings, but they might have a
different type of plan that might work out best for you. Something called an interim loan would be a great way to start with putting
together a metal building and turning it into a house. So that way you'll have
certain kinds of draws that are pulled out during the time that your home is being built. This will roll in the land
and the building itself into one loan after it's
completely finished. But that way, all that isn't put up front
by you or your lender, and then the person walks off the job. Most lenders aren't
going to do that anyways, but if you were planning on paying cash, make sure that you have
some kind of draw system where not all the money is paid upfront. I've already seen it or
talked to somebody recently that they had paid in cash and it took them almost three years to have their barndominium finished. That brings me to my other point, though, if you are working with a company that does do barndominiums, make sure you can see other projects as they have completed
in your specific area. Asked if you can see any kind of reviews that they have had and ask if you can tour one of their current projects to see how far along they are, and if this is something
you really want to do. And lastly, look on the internet. Like the internet is full of knowledge when it comes to anybody in a business and you can find the good,
the bad and the ugly, all over all social media sites with any company that's building anything. It doesn't have to be
necessarily a barndominium. It could be a tiny home, any kind of home. When it comes to construction, Facebook seems to be the best
place to find the best reviews on builders. Local Facebook groups
even seem to be better. They seem to dish out
the most dirt on people. Now here's some words you'd
never want to hear from me say, but I'm just gonna go ahead and say it. HOAs and restrictions. When you have a piece of
land that you've purchased, you're gonna wanna
check to see if your HOA allows for a barndominium. Even though it's considered
a home on the inside and the county approves it, that doesn't necessarily mean
that the HOA will approve it. So, check with them as well. And it's no matter how old
the piece of property is. And you've heard it for years. You're still gonna wanna check with some local title company to see if there is any filed restrictions on the piece of land, because nothing would be worse, is somebody from some
HOA to knock on your door and tell you that you
have to tear it down, or you're gonna be fined to high heaven. And I know you've owned the land forever, and you're gonna be able to do it, no, trust me, it happens. It's happened and it will happen again. If they don't like it and they
don't want you to have it, they're gonna make sure you remove it. Today barndominium builders such as SteelCo Buildings
offer steel frame buildings in any size, from everything, from a small storage space to a home. Check out these floor plans to see how versatile steel frame building can be. The price is shown next
to design or what you pay if you wanna purchase a
set of building drawings to build your own plan. Interior build-out is best provided by an experienced local
housing builder contractor. SteelCo does not generally
provide these services with their customers. These plans serve the purpose of enabling an interior
build-out construction process, utilizing the local resources
in ordinary contracted by the homeowner themselves. Here's a lie that people tell you, but it actually is a good thing for you if you're planning on
building a barndominium. They'll tell you that the
insurance on them is higher and it couldn't be further from the truth because actually the
insurance for a barndominium here in Louisiana, I don't know about other states, but in Louisiana, is
actually the same amount as it would be for any
other housing structure, as long as it meets their
certain requirements and able insure just like a regular house. So, if you planned on getting
a 2000 square foot house, it would cost you exactly
the same as it would for a 2000 square foot barndominium. Good to know, right? Now, those rates would change
if it was a two story or not. I don't know why. Now, I was able to talk to another couple who has already built their barndominium and they said that they
did have a small issue with getting homeowners insurance. So find out that ahead of time as well. How hard is it going to be able for you to get homeowners insurance? They were able to go through
progressive and get insurance, but it was kind of a
little bit of a hassle. The coverage is exactly the same as it would be for a standard home. And they were able to get the contents and the outside of the building covered. But just check that ahead of time, especially in your specific area. That is something you're
just gonna want to have to budget for. One of the biggest advantages
of owning a barndominium in places like Texas and Oklahoma, and some other states as well, is that it's considered
an agricultural building even though it's technically a house. They still consider it
an architectural building that is considered a barn. So they give you a tax break. So, if you're considering this to kind of offset your property taxes, this would be really good. But, again, you're gonna have to find
out how many acres of land that is required to be with
that barndominium itself in order for it to be considered an agricultural piece of
property to offset those taxes. Again, proper prior planning prevents, I won't say the next word, performance. (chuckles) That's what my dad always says. If you're truly looking
for that barn wood look, you may want to check out DCBuilding.com. They have beautiful
homes and lots of reviews on the internet. You can check them out @dcbuilding.com. This would be the high end of homes that you would do in a
barndominium type style. On their website they have everything you could possibly need to know about their specific
types of barndominiums. They have a full gallery with floor plans and building kits. Barndominiums are energy efficient. They can actually save
you a lot on your taxes. They're aesthetically super cute, but that doesn't mean they're
going to be affordable. Maybe they should make
barndominium into condominiums. I could make a fortune and it doesn't mean that the people that are
putting in your metal building know what they're talking about when especially, if you're planning on
living there full time. If you wanna watch another video about lies home-builders tell you, go ahead and click this video right here. My name is Kristina Smallhorn, your real estate whisperer, because good real estate
information matters.
