Cob That A Bank Will Finance

Hi Yall,

I am considering using cob to build, but I have a concern, namely resale.  As much as I want to settle down somewhere I know that the realities of work and family may dictate otherwise.  Life happens.  And I feel nervous about putting pretty much my whole savings into a home which, nice as it might be, I will only be able to sell to cash buyers.

I wonder if there is a solution:  Specifically, I recall reading at some point that some similar natural homes--I think they were adobe, but if they were not then I know that this is done with hempcrete--some similar natural homes are made with a wood frame, partly so that the house counts as being a stick frame home when it comes time to sell it.  The hempcrete or adobe or whatno just counts as another kind of cladding or insulation, I guess.  

Is this done at all with cob?  And if so, does it work?  And is there somewhere I can read more about it?  

Thanks!  

John, you ask a lot of questions, can i ask where you are located because that may influence any answers?
Some comments;
- Resale of a properly built house should never be an issue.
- In Australia most houses are sold with bank finance.
- What type or size of land are you considering?
- Have you considered a movable house?
- Could you build an ablution block?

Hi John,
you may want to try to contact Alex Sumerall who seems to be deeply engrossed in the world of cob and has a cob house himself. He owns the website  https://www.thiscobhouse.com/.

Hi John

John, you ask a lot of questions, can i ask where you are located because that may influence any answers?
Some comments;
- Resale of a properly built house should never be an issue.
- In Australia most houses are sold with bank finance.
- What type or size of land are you considering?
- Have you considered a movable house?
- Could you build an ablution block?

Sorry for the delay in getting back to you!  

1) Can you say more about what "properly built" means?  I know there are guidelines for cob homes in the 2021 building code, is this what you are referring to?  

2) I'm in the USA.  As far as I know most homes here are sold with bank financing as well.  Thus my concern.  

3) Land would likely be 0.5-2 acres.  

4) I have concerns about movable houses.  I'm going by Corinne Segura here, who says that most tiny homes on wheels aren't really built up to the standards that I would want, and even if one was there's still the issue that driving down the highway with a home built in a more-or-less conventional manner...it puts a lot more stress on the home than a typical "built in place" home would have.  So not an avenue I'm interested in pursuing.

5) Are you suggesting an ablution block as a sort of trial run?  I do think something of the sort would make sense...  

Annie Collins wrote:Hi John,
you may want to try to contact Alex Sumerall who seems to be deeply engrossed in the world of cob and has a cob house himself. He owns the website  https://www.thiscobhouse.com/.

You know my concerns about being able to sell a cob home came up after watching one of his videos, actually.  He seemed to be saying that banks just won't finance a loan for a cob home, even a completed one.  It's been a month or so so unfortunatly I'm not sure which video I saw where I think he said this...

Sorry for the delay in getting back to you!  

1) Can you say more about what "properly built" means?  I know there are guidelines for cob homes in the 2021 building code, is this what you are referring to?  

2) I'm in the USA.  As far as I know most homes here are sold with bank financing as well.  Thus my concern.  

3) Land would likely be 0.5-2 acres.  

4) I have concerns about movable houses.  I'm going by Corinne Segura here, who says that most tiny homes on wheels aren't really built up to the standards that I would want, and even if one was there's still the issue that driving down the highway with a home built in a more-or-less conventional manner...it puts a lot more stress on the home than a typical "built in place" home would have.  So not an avenue I'm interested in pursuing.

5) Are you suggesting an ablution block as a sort of trial run?  I do think something of the sort would make sense...  

ANSWERS  after numbers
1 I am reffering to codes
2 In Australia, earth homes are always bank financed if done properly.
3
4 Moveable homes may include prefabricated homes
5 Building a ablution block / bathroom would be a good simple project to start with. You can always make it a bit bigger to sleep in in the short term.

John, do you prefer to have quality, heatlhy, fireproof house or just piece of mind that you can resell it? Please take into consideration that building a custom structure from custom materials will take a great part of your life to build it and finish.
Have you checked Faswall blocks?
Where are you located?