I own an energy-efficient, weather-proof dome home. Here's my advice for those who want to own a dome home too.

Pamela Voss' dome home in Texas.

Courtesy of Pamela Voss

• Pamela Voss and her husband own a geodesic dome home on 15 acres of land in eastern Texas.
• She says a dome home is worth it for the unique living space and energy efficiency. 
• But future dome homeowners should carefully research banks and insurance, Voss says.

This as-told-to essay is based on a series of conversations with Pamela Voss, who has lived in a dome home in Texas since 2021. All costs mentioned have been verified by Insider. The following has been edited for length and clarity.

When my husband and I first walked into our 4,000 square-foot Texas dome home in spring 2021, I thought to myself: "Oh my God, this is so cool."

The uniqueness of the home and our desire to live in a more rural area drew my husband and I to the home. Plus, geodesic dome homes — which are constructed out of triangle-shaped pieces — cost nearly as much as a traditional home these days, hold their value well, and will last forever.

But we've faced some obstacles to financing and insuring our energy-efficient, weather-proof dome home. Here are my top three tips for people looking to live in a dome home like ours. 

Visitors often say Voss' home looks like a "comfortable museum."

Courtesy of Pamela Voss

Find a local mortgage lender willing to finance a dome home

Do your homework on mortgage lenders upfront. Don't go with the national, big-box mortgage companies. Stay local, and call the bank ahead of time to make sure they can provide a mortgage on a geodesic dome home.

We learned this just weeks before we closed on the house, which we bought for about $450,000. We found out the big national mortgage companies wouldn't loan to us because there were no nearby comps, which are comparable properties in a similar area that can be used to comparatively determine the value of the home.

The national banks we spoke to told us we had to have three comps that have been sold in the same county within the past 12 months. Dome homes in our area aren't prevalent enough to have comps, so we fought back and asked if they could use traditional homes of a comparable price.

But these banks told us that a dome is in its own category of structure, so they could not compare a dome home with a regular single-family home. 

Luckily, we went to a local bank and were able to fast-track the approval process. Our interest rate was almost double what the big box company would've given us. We also had to do a balloon mortgage, which is a special type of loan that gives buyers an initial period of low or zero-dollar payments. At the end of the period, the buyer has to pay off the full balance in a lump sum.

We were very fortunate that we sold our previous home and had a very sizable downpayment. After all that, our mortgage on the $450,000 home was only about $100,000, which we paid back after our initial two-year period. 

To avoid the same headache we went through, find a small company. They can do some more clever, unique things with your loan. 

Hire a trustworthy inspector who can ensure the dome home is leak-proof and safe

After you've found a way to finance your dome home, find a good inspector, because if you're buying a previously-owned dome home, you have no idea how it was built.

You need a good inspector so that you're not buying a house that has existing water damage, forcing you to replace all the wood. Sometimes, skylights and windows in dome homes can leak at the edges because of how they are built.

Keep in mind that many dome homes also need a cupola, which is a gazebo-like structure at the highest point of the dome. These are built to prevent water from leaking onto the roof and then down all the angles and getting into the house. 

We are fortunate to have a home built by an engineer, so there were no corners cut. For instance, our insulation is six inches thicker than it needs to be for code.

Voss' 4,000 square foot dome home initially cost about $450,000.

Courtesy of Pamela Voss

Look for home insurance companies that aren't afraid of insuring a unique structure

Our homeowner's insurance initially went sky-high when we bought our dome home, with national companies quoting us about $4,500 a year.  

I found that some home insurance companies are afraid of domes because they're unfamiliar with them. Some companies were just concerned about the roof, or the skylights leaking. One company even told us that the trees on our property were so tall that it was a hazard.

This experience taught me to find insurance companies that insure unique structures. Now, I use the Texas Farm Bureau, where I only pay $3,123 a year — several hundred dollars lower than the state average of $3,875.

After you take these steps, you can reap the benefits of the dome's safety and energy efficiency.

Geodesic dome homes like ours are incredibly sturdy. They can withstand extreme weather events like tornadoes pretty well. Because we live in Texas, this is really important.

And despite navigating a complicated mortgage and insurance process, we've actually saved money. Our energy bill is nearly 30% less than our previous home. During the hot summer months we pay about $400, and in the spring and fall our bill is between $200-$300. That's thanks to the dome shape, which is incredibly energy-efficient. We need just one AC unit for the entire home.

Plus, the uniqueness of the home is a huge selling point. The dome home has been a super fun decorating challenge for me. Multiple people have even said our home looks like a comfortable museum.

Visitors always come in and say, "Oh, my God, I had no idea it was gonna look like this inside. This is so cool."

Read the original article on Business Insider

from All Content from Business Insider https://www.businessinsider.com/i-live-in-a-dome-tips-buying-mortgage-insurance-2023-8
via gqrds