What are the downsides to living in an unconventional home?

[nsl]

I've always been interested in A frames, underground homes, and stuff like this;
2821 Henderson Rd # NONE, Clinton, AR 72031 | MLS #17023772 | Zillow
If the area is good, and there are no problems with the inspection , what are the downfalls of such a place?

 

[D1dad]

None that I can see. Appears to be a lot of bang for the buck.

 

[jamesspo]

The only thing I could think of would be ability to sell, particularly in a case where you'd need to sell quickly. But of course, something properly priced will move, regardless. The key, as always, is to make sure you're buying at a good price relative to the market. Get an appraisal done to compare to other homes in the area. They should take into account the unique nature of the home when doing that.

 

[Macfrommichigan]

If you buy a Chevy truck and later wish to sell, there will be many potential buyers. If you buy a Smart car and later wish to sell, there will be a small number of potential buyers.

 

[gwsmallwood]

Yeah, what they said. I've always liked the oddities too, though.

 

[Avvatar]

Growing up, a friend lived in an underground house. I can tell you that it was very much like any other home. The temperature was VERY steady. This dropped the heating/cooking costs. No natural lighting. Which TO ME is a big deal. My wife could care less. YMMV.

As far as the Clinton exams goes, if you built a deck around the sliding windows, that would be really neat. That run is huge, shallow, and has two faucets. I don't know how I feel about it.

 

[Seraphim]

Growing up, a friend lived in an underground house. I can tell you that it was very much like any other home. The temperature was VERY steady. This dropped the heating/cooking costs. No natural lighting. Which TO ME is a big deal. My wife could care less. YMMV.

And I'm betting your friend never had any problems with zombie invasions living underground like that. Am I right?

 

[Avvatar]

Not a single zombie in THEIR lair! NO SIR!

Of course, her dad had a shotgun so it's hard to say for sure.

 

[redfalconf35]

One other thing to consider with unique homes is how cheap repair and replacements are. If, for example, your house was built using uncommon materials and uncommon dimensions, how hard is it going to be to replace/remodel/repair when the time comes?

In my quick glance at the linked house, my first thought is that roofing is going to be an absolute nightmare. On the other hand, at least it's a nightmare at 10 feet up, rather than a nightmare at 30 feet up like some more conventional houses.

 

[Toothpick]

I'd live there. No neighbors close by. Room to play.

 

[Hoka Hey]

That's a little funky, but not unconventional. Love the shop.

The challenge with most truly unconventional buildings, whether earth sheltered, Straw Bale, Cordwood masonry, etc, is moisture management. Needs to be tailored to the climate. And building permits are a pain.

 

[Avvatar]

Mmmmm... straw bale...

 

[DC_MPA]

And they might be willing to make a deal with you.

We've got our traditional newer house on the market in a major developing area of Tulsa suburbs. New paint, new renovated kitchen, new hardware, new roof, new AC, leaving all appliances including the washer and dryer and we've dropped the price and still can't get anyone who's serious to look at it. Every property is that way. We went 2 years of if you listed your house it was sold same week, sometimes same day. All of a sudden there hasn't been a house sell in the area in 45 days.

Agents around here all say it's freakishly slow right now and you aren't far from me. Might be able to swing a nice deal on that property. I worry we are about to have another housing bubble. Problem with this one will be interest rates having no room to get lower before banks won't even lend on them anymore.

 

[dpm802]

Have you actually seen this property in person? It looks great on paper, but there's nothing that can beat an eyeball examination.

Besides the regular housing code inspection, look into the history of the house. Was it designed by an actual architect, and constructed by a professional builder? Or was it slapped together by an amateur handyman wannabe who just made things up and improvised as he went along?

It doesn't look that unconventional to me.
The outside shape is a little odd, but not really unusual.

The price seems too good to be true. I don't know what the Arkansas real estate market is like, but on the East Coast you couldn't buy the land alone for so little money.

 

[AlphaFrank75]

Have you actually seen this property in person? It looks great on paper, but there's nothing that can beat an eyeball examination.

This BIG TIME. Having done two long distance moves I've done hours upon hours of internet browsing for potential homes. The No. 1 thing I learned is pictures lie or at the very minimum don't tell the whole truth.

 

[dpm802]

The decorating scheme seems a bit off.

The interior walls cover every color in the pastel rainbow, with no particular rhyme or reason to tie it all together.

And the exterior seems to be purple paint over cinder blocks.

But that is all easy enough to change.

 

[StillShaving]

My first reaction is that it has little-to-no curb appeal. It looks like the kind of place many guys would happy with, but too unconventional looking for most women, so future resale might be more difficult. I like it, but I would not buy unless it was in a good location.

From a functional point of view, the exterior design might be a plus. It looks low maintenance in that there would be very little to paint and the painted surfaces are protected making them last longer. But every 20-30 years there would be a relatively big expense in replacing all those shingles, since the sides look to have about twice the area of the roof. I like that there are no gutters and the overhang + concrete below should mean that water entry should not be a problem (assuming those concrete pads slope away from the foundation).

 

[nsl]

Have you actually seen this property in person? It looks great on paper, but there's nothing that can beat an eyeball examination.

Besides the regular housing code inspection, look into the history of the house. Was it designed by an actual architect, and constructed by a professional builder? Or was it slapped together by an amateur handyman wannabe who just made things up and improvised as he went along?

It doesn't look that unconventional to me.
The outside shape is a little odd, but not really unusual.

The price seems too good to be true. I don't know what the Arkansas real estate market is like, but on the East Coast you couldn't buy the land alone for so little money.

Arkansas is at best a 2nd world country, but more likely a 3rd world country in most areas.
I highly doubt an architect was involved in almost any home construction in this area.

 

[AlphaFrank75]

Arkansas is at best a 2nd world country, but more likely a 3rd world country in most areas.
I highly doubt an architect was involved in almost any home construction in this area.

Was this even a necessary statement to make??? No. Any skilled team of carpenters and other tradesmen can put together a perfectly constructed, well built home without any input of an architect.

 

[Edcculus]

It looks like a product of the 70s, but other than that, looks like a nice home. The insides need a major paint job, but everything else looks fairly well updated. I'd rethink that entry stair area, and do some landscaping around the house itself. I think the size of the property, and that great garage would make up for the slightly dated/strange style of the house exterior.

As far as really unconventional stuff goes, that can be a crapshoot. I've really wanted to do solar on my roof, however I know this is not the house I'm going to be spending the next 30 years of my life in. I'm not really sure how potential buyers down the road would feel about being tied into the solar power thing, so I'm putting that dream on hold for a while.