home loans for wooden houses

hi guys

i am thinking of building a wooden/log home and was wondering if there was any bank that would concider giving a morgage for it. Also has anyone got first had experiance of this

Sounds like a 'specialist property' to me and it may well be the subject of some non-standard T&Cs when it comes to a loan.

I bought such a specialist property (thatched cottage) six years ago and lost my initial loan approval at the lender's survey stage when they discovered it had a 'non standard roof' - despite the property address specifically mentioning thatch. Be careful of that even if you name your place 'the wooden house'!!

My broker at the time earned her money by having to go back and search the market for lenders who could replace my then bog-standard FTB 95% loan-approval. The closest she came was 90%, but some lenders would only go as high as 70%. It was a scramble to locate the extra several thou v.quickly to prevent the sale falling through.

I think you had better phone around or go online seeking a list of what each lender would classify as a 'specialist' and see what they are prepared to lend in these circumstances.

Hi dbrady01
I have indeed first hand experience of log homes - I built/live in one. I am also a mortgage broker by the way. There are a number of lenders who will finance - but the bigger problems arise in relation to fire insurance and engineers. If you wish to pm me, i can give you some contact names in a couple of the banks, and in the fire insurance area.
As an aside, and speaking from bitter experience, be sure that your engineer/architect is 100% comfortable with the method of construction. Ours had some large mental leaps in terms of materials, and at the end of the day, the engineer has to sign off on the house and confirm to a bank that its subject to planning and building regulations.