Q: I am interested in a well built (already had an inspection) round home. I have 70 percent for a down payment and still cannot find financing for the remaining 30 percent. Any advice? Thank you so much!
A: Finding financing for a unique home can be a challenge! We haven't got a specific suggestion for a lender or a financing avenue to explore, but there is an industry guide with a lookup tool that might help.
Scotsman Guide lender look-up tool
The “Prime Niches Search Engine” comes from the Scotsman Guide. According to their mission statement, “Scotsman Guide Media's mission is to be the leading provider of information, resources and tools for professionals in the mortgage industry.”
How it works
Under “Basic search criteria” you will need to provide your state and loan amount (this info is required). Under the section “Advanced search criteria” you will select “purchase” for loan purpose field, and "few comps" under the “Property Types” field and see if there are any lenders returned when you click “search” at the bottom of the page.
If that doesn’t work…
If the Prime Niches Search Engine does not return any results, finding a lender will be a manual process: calling all available lenders and asking if they finance "unusual" properties. Your best bet in this regard is finding a lender who write loans for their own books (known as “portfolio lenders”).
Talk to the seller
Also, if the property was financed before (or ever) you might ask the seller about the party who wrote any previous loans. You should also research other unusual properties in or near your location (or anywhere) and reach out to those folks for some guidance.
