Buying an earth sheltered home

[Bfly Farmer]

Hi Everyone!

I am hoping there may be someone here who could give us some advice. We are looking at purchasing an earth sheltered home. It was built in 1983, cement and steel construction, and what appears from the inside to be a type of corrogated steel roof supported by steam beams with 12" of soil/grass covering it. Also, if it makes a difference, we are located in Northern Virginia.

1. Is there any particular "problems" we should look for while inspecting the house?

2. Any estimates as to how long a green roof lasts? Basically, are we going to have to expect to repair/replace any time soon?

3. Any suggestions on how to find a qualified home inspector?

4. Any other advise or suggestions for resources?

Thank you in advance! I will admit we are pretty clueless and trying to get up to speed as quickly as possible.

[Hoop]

An earth sheltered home is eminently practical. Unfortunately, they are another non-traditional building type. Loan officers get that wierd look when the words "earth sheltered home" (or any other non traditional type home) are heard.

Talk to your bank loan officer before proceeding any further. If they don't throw you out of the office, great, proceed to step 2.

Get an appraisal from the banks list of "approved" appraisers. Any good appraiser will spot any shortcoming in the place.

Then hire a building inspector. Your bank probably has a list of "approved" inspectors. Chances are good they have seen very few earth sheltered houses. But they will be able to tell if the building has any faults (mold, structural deficiencies, etc).

Quite likely, any lending agency will want a bevy of inspections on a non-traditional house prior to them forking over any money. They only want to make sure their investment in your house is relatively "safe".

Best of luck

[Shadow]

I have had experence with two earth sheltered homes; both built in the early 1980s both done by codes tons of money spent on moisture barriers and insulation. After finished they were effecent but required so much ventalation you ended up pumping most of the heating or cooling out to get fresh air in. If they are up on a hill and the ground water is lower and flowing away they work ok but both of these eventually had moisture barrier problems. Both required huge exclavation jobs and new barrier systems for the moisture, from the ground one was fixed and one never was really any better and was eventually bulldozed and a new traditional home built on the land. Me personally would never buy a 25 year old home in a hole its about to leak and nothing is gong to be cheap to fix or easy if it can be repaired. As for the roof if the water barrer is good it is ok but if not removing all that dirt and insulation and barrer and replacing it will cost and it may not be aparent just looking at it from the inside. Good luck if you buy but in my opinion run.

[Shadow]

She said the second home I was talking about was no longer there it had been torn down down and a tradional home built there also. Mabey someone bought it and tore it down just for the view property, don't know but still tells me I do not want one that is that old.

[texican]

If I were buying an earth sheltered home, I'd want to do the inspection after a long rainy period... not during a drought.

[Wanderer0101]

I would also want a strutural engineer's report.

[Silvercreek Farmer]

Perhaps there is another one in the area built by the same builder, maybe you could talk to the owners and see how they like it. I would imagine that the earth houses may sell at a discount due to the fact that they may be hard to sell in the future as well as the possiblity of unforseen problems. If you are paying market rates you may be paying too much.

[Bfly Farmer]

Thank you everyone for the advice. It is much appreciated!

We talked to our loan officer when we first started considering the house and they are all on board. The current price is well below market value. In fact, they have not had a single bite and have lowered the price four times. We would in fact be getting the property just a little over the value of just the land.

Thanks for the suggestion of talking to another homeowner. In fact, there is an almost identical house a mile down the road. The two were built within a year of each other.

Unfortunately, we are in the middle of a drought so we may not have the ability of doing the inspection during a wet period.

Thanks again!

[kabri]

That actually sounds like a good deal, if nothing major shows up on inspection. We have neighbors in a similar house and they've had zero problems here in rainy W. WA. However, they have a conventional tar roof with skylights that open (screened) for ventilation in summer and that works extremely well. If rest of land is desirable, I'd go for it! (if it were me )

[Silvercreek Farmer]

Originally Posted by Bfly Farmer

We would in fact be getting the property just a little over the value of just the land.

Sounds like a winner to me, worst case senario, you scrape the house and start over. If they have come down that much, you may want to offer even less, they may bite.

[sidepasser]

Make sure you can get the home insured and if you can, find out if there will be any exclusions (there may be since the house is "underground") because the bank or loaning agency will require insurance....

just a thought..(and get a termite inspection!).

[blue gecko]

When you look at the home, look very closely for signs (and smells) of mildew. Ventilation and water are your worst enemies and can be major problems down the road. Likely as not if this house has problems the sign are already there or are being covered up.

Have the house checked for radon gas as well.

Was it built by a professional builder or the home owner? Experience can make a huge difference in the way this house will hold up. If they vaporbarriered the exterior concrete, put in a most excellent french drain, insulated it (preferably on the exterior of the walls), properly wired it and have a good ventilation system then you may be looking at a really good deal. Keep in mind however that it will be hard to resell.

[Bfly Farmer]

Thanks for the input. We sent a letter to the owners down the road who have a similar house. Based on the architecture and timeframe, it appears both houses were designed/built by the same people. We have posed the various questions ya'll have suggested to them to see what insight they may be willing to share.

I have set aside some time tomorrow to visit the county's records office to see what info I can find out. I was told that the original building permits and blueprints are on file for public viewing. I should be able to find out who built the house and some other info on the structure.

Insurance complications didn't occur to us. So thanks for that suggestion! My husband is going to call our current agent tomorrow morning. Hopefully that will go as smoothly as it did with the bank.

As for resale, we are not concerned. We are hoping to buy once and stay put which is why we have been so careful with all of the research of the area, zoning, and the particular properties. Also, we are in one of the fastest growing counties in the US so worse come to worse, the property itself will continue to grow in value.

The current owners are having trouble selling because they have no clue how to market the home and to whom. In all of the ads it calls the house a ranch and they have been targeting those in the new McMansions. You have no clue it is an earth sheltered home until you pull in the drive. In fact, in the five months it has been on the market, we are the only ones who have shown any interest. People just don't know what they are missing. Our first visit was on a 95F, humid day. We stepped into the non-air conditioned garage and were chilly. Had me convinced!

Once againe, thanks!

[blue gecko]

If you get this Bfly Farmer you know that we just have to have PICS!

[Bfly Farmer]

You have got a deal.

[BillHoo]

Put a digital video camera in there at night and see if there are any spiritual vortices manifesting when no one is there. Trolls and goblins may reclaim the property if it's been unoccupied for a while.

[ellebeaux]

Are you looking in Greene County?

[Bfly Farmer]

Originally Posted by BillHoo

Trolls and goblins may reclaim the property if it's been unoccupied for a while.

Ha! My husband would love that, but let's hope that is not the case!

Ellebeaux, we are in Loudoun County, just a bit further north in the state. I have been through Greene numerous times. It is a beautiful area.

[ellebeaux]

Oh, my house is in Greene County, it is a beautiful place - I was just wondering because it's growing by leaps and bounds. We're getting a WAL-MART!

[RosewoodfarmVA]

Just a thought...If the roof goes bad why not tear it off and build a conventional house on top, using the old house as a basement?