How to finance your new Round home
Have you been looking around for a lender for a traditional fabric yurt? You're not alone. Fabric yurts are considered temporary structures in many areas, and often do not build the same type of equity as a home. Many traditional lenders shy away from yurts because they can be easily disassembled and packed up, and often do not last as long as a traditional stick-build house.
Luckily, Smiling Woods round home kits are permanent, wooden round homes that can be financed with many construction loans (or even using a HELOC for smaller kits used as cabins or ADUs). Some lenders are not familiar with panelized construction or round homes, so here are a few basics to cover with any prospective lenders:
Smiling Woods round home kits are fully engineered and insulated to meet all applicable building codes in most areas, and are built on foundations.
To enhance the chances of success when talking with local lenders, be sure to use the term "round home" instead of "yurt". "Yurt" typically is used to refer to more temporary, fabric-covered buildings not designed for permanent, year-round habitation. Our kits are yurt-inspired, but built to last generations.
Many forms of lending can be used to finance our kits, including construction loans, HELOC / home equity lines of credit (if building a second home) or other unique financing mechanisms (such as personal loans).
If you or your lender have any questions, your sales manager is available to help with financing conversations. As part of the design process, we provide stamped, engineered plans and elevations which can be used to appraise the new building.
Local banks or credit unions with a branch may be able to offer more personalized service and understand, as opposed to larger nationwide mortgage companies. A good mortgage broker can also help find financing for your dream round home.
For deposits and smaller intermediate payments, we can take credit cards for payment. Sometimes this can help save cash for the final payment and allow you to build your kit with cash on hand.