Log and Timber Home Living Annual Buyers Guide 2017

dpeak@aimmedia.com Whoever said, “You can’t have it all,” obviously didn’t live in a log home. Where else can you combine a historic lineage, solid construction, timeless design and organic building materials in one drop-dead gorgeous package? I dare say, nowhere. I wish I could tell you that designing and building your own slice of log home paradise is straightforward and linear. The fact is, it’s not. Each decision you will make impacts another. For example, the look you want (knotty timbers vs. clear grain; small diameter vs. oversized logs) will influence which wood species you choose. That choice impacts who your log home manufacturer or handcrafter will be. Your design and how you site your house on your property will directly impact your long-term maintenance, as will your choice of…

Log homes may be viewed as a quintessentially American style of housing, but they weren’t born here. Historically speaking, the log cabin’s roots can be traced to Scandinavia and Eastern Europe as far back as 3500 B.C. The method was well-suited to these areas, as trees were plentiful and grew ramrod straight and tall. With a few sharp tools and a lot of sweat, a family could erect their own rudimentary log home in a matter of days. As settlers flooded the New World, they brought these traditions with them. And like Northern and Eastern Europe, they found North America to be a treasure trove of raw material ripe for the taking. Log cabins began popping up all over what is now the Northeastern United States and Canada. Even then,…

THE COVER OF THE 2017 LOG HOME Living Annual Buyer’s Guide states that you’ve found THE #1 resource to help you plan, design and build your dream home. That’s not just a hollow slogan. For 33 years, people have subscribed to Log Home Living to guide them along the path to log home ownership. But just because this issue has the info you need, doesn’t mean it’s all there is. Outside of these pages (whether you’re reading our print or digital editions), we offer you additional resources, both live and virtual. For starters, you can attend one of our Log & Timber Home Shows and/or the Log & Timber University, where you can meet the people who actually design, manufacture and build the most amazing log homes you’ve ever seen…

Most log home buyers finance their purchase. The tax write-off alone makes getting a mortgage enticing even for those rare few who can pay cash. But how do you determine how much house you can afford, and how much of that will come from the bank? When you’re ready to buy your log home, calculate your target budget by adding your assets and how much you can borrow. It’s that simple. However, even though interest rates are still hovering at historical lows, the days of “no money down/no equity required” and so-called “exotic loans” are long gone. Like everyone else, banks need to protect their investments and doing so means reducing risk with sizeable down payments and proof of real collateral. “Money is still readily available for qualified buyers,” according…

Tom Coronato from Citizens Bank has helped scores of buyers secure log home loans by helping them put together a complete picture of their current financial positions. Here’s what he says he and other lenders need to help you qualify for cash: ■ A 700+ credit score is ideal ■ Two years of W2, 1099 and full 1040 (federal, not state) forms, both personal and business, plus K-1 form (if applicable) ■ Thirty days of paystubs or monthly pension advisements ■ Your Social Security or pension award letter ■ Two months of complete bank statements for accounts, including savings, checking, stocks, etc. — every page, not just the summary ■ Your most recent quarterly 401k statement and/or other retirement accounts ■ A letter of explanation on any negative credit (if…

If you’ve purchased a home in the past 40 years, you likely recall terms like TILA (the Truth in Lending Act) and RESPA (the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act). But as of August 1, 2015, these processes and forms that have been around since the mid-1970s were replaced with something called the TRID, which stands for the “TILA-RESPA Integrated Disclosure” rule. In addition, the previous use of the Good Faith Estimate and Truth in Lending disclosures were eliminated in favor of a new single Loan Estimate form, or “LE,” and the HUD-1 Settlement Statement was replaced by the Closing Disclosure, or “CD.” All of these changes sprung from the Dodd-Frank Act passed in 2010 by President Obama, which placed major regulations on the banking industry in the hopes of preventing…