yurt living

[YurtGirl]

One problem in lending is absolutely getting comparable properties to back up a loan amount, but there are more yurt properties all the time. Kalapana, Hawaiian Acres, Oceanview, Honoka'a... The yurt that I started out in here in Hawaiian Acres sold about a year ago for 90k, property valued at 40k. That was before cesspool, catchment, plumbing or electric. I believe the new owner got financed. The Kalapana yurts sold as well, I'm not sure if that was with financing or not. As I've said, it really is about educating the people you need to work with, lenders, appraisers, etc. If you can provide them with the numbers (engineering specs, comparable properties) and the information that they need, you will be giving them the tools they need to break through old paradigms. I have spoken with many lenders and companies in the business of helping people build homes. Many are very interested and open to learning about them and that is key. It isn't a shut and dry "NO YURTS" policy. It does take more work than a traditional structure in that area though. Same with insuring a yurt. Creativity and willingness to jump through some extra hoops will go a long way. As is posted here, simply claiming the yurt as an architecturally designed house is one way around it. An appraiser going to the property and being given the facts on the weight/wind capacity, durability estimates and the various other information that is key to any structure, is much different than an appraiser going to a property and, without the information at hand, applying old 'yurt stereotypes' to this structure. It's common and aggravating, these old stereotypes... "It's a tent" Well, no, actually, it's very far from being a tent. An extremely strong wooden infrastructure is the main element of a yurt. The exterior material lasts longer than many contemporary materials even though it is flexible. "It's temporary" Not as temporary as you might think, with the capability to replace the exterior material we begin to see a much longer span of usability. "They're easy to break into" No, actually, they are rather difficult to break into, with a latticework wall that goes from door to door, a person would have to cut the vinyl and make several cuts to the 3" thick lattice with a saw to get in, which would place them in danger of the structural integrity holding up once they get in. A traditional house often just takes one rock through the window. If people really want to stick with their old paradigms, then often there is no amount of explanation that can break them out of their comfort zone. A yurt is a yurt and it isn't my aim to claim that they are more than what they are, but often they don't get the credit they deserve due to closed minds and a refusal to take these structures on their own terms. It is my aim to facilitate an open mind to the many uses of these amazing structures. As I've said, yurts have been around for over 1000 years. Something's right here.