Is a Barndominium for you?
Late one afternoon this past week, I received a call from a woman living in the Houston area. She and her husband live in their RV full-time, and wanted to purchase a few acres in the hill country to live a few months a year when they are not traveling. Their wish list was simple: 5-10 acres, around $100,000, RV friendly roads, ag or wildlife exemption, and pleasant views (live oaks and/or water). Oh, and they wanted to build a barndominium as their main residence.
What’s a barndominium? Increasingly popular in the last decade, a barndominium combines a barn or workshop with human living quarters all in the same structure. Typically, they are constructed of metal, but they can also be built of stone or lumber.
In simple terms, these are metal buildings that have an inside living quarter. These are very affordable, energy-efficient and low maintenance homes. You’ll find that many of these models feature:
- Energy-efficient windows
- Stained concrete floors
- Engineered concrete slabs
- Spray foam insulation
- Plumbing
- 9 feet ceilings
Think of a warehouse that has a beautiful front porch and a little masonry in the front of the building. A warehouse on the outside is normally boring and plain, but as houses, these are very affordable to make. This is the same concept, but when you own a barndominium, you’ll be able to enjoy a beautiful, low cost home that has had the exterior upgraded greatly from what a warehouse would look like.
Well, I had never assisted a client who wanted to build a barndominium before, so I did what I always do in these circumstances – I put on my ‘research hat’ and got to work. First a search for all properties that met their other criteria, then dozens of phone calls and emails. From past experience, I know that deed restrictions are not always as firm as they seem, so in addition to reading the deed restrictions to each neighborhood, I called listing agents, POA & HOA presidents and architectural review heads to find out which of the dozens of properties would (1) allow barndominiums as the main residence and (2) if allowed, what the restrictions on the building would be.
Out of the 20+ properties I researched, I found 5 communities that allowed barndominiums, with varying restrictions. All have a minimum living quarters square footage. Others required partial stone exteriors, or RV access on the rear of the building. A few other acreages had no deed restrictions – but they also had no ag or wildlife exemptions.
Throughout the process, I compiled my findings in a spreadsheet and shared this with my buyer couple.
Within a week, they had narrowed their list down to (6) favorites, and then I took to the road, previewing each property from Bertram to Johnson City to find out if the surrounding area had any negatives, and if the property looked as good in person as it did in the photos.
After that day, two more properties were eliminated, and it was time for them to make the long drive from Houston and see their top picks in person.
We met on a crisp, ‘blue sky’ Monday afternoon and proceeded to visit the first 3 properties, which were all located in the same subdivision. One of those was truly a beautiful lot, but the steep drop in elevation posed stiff building challenges. Then we headed over to another subdivision. This one proved to be the jackpot – plentiful oak trees, 30 mile views of the hill country, 3-5 acre tracts, central water (no need to drill a well), and a community ag exemption. They had many lots to choose from, and by the next day, they had decided on one and signed the contract.
(And for those who think you can’t negotiate with builders/developers – you definitely can!)
I love the plot they chose – it has no steep elevation where the driveway will be, but still has some beautiful curves in the land, gorgeous oaks, and backs to a ranch with views for miles.
This couple knew what they wanted, I thoroughly researched every property within a 60 mile radius, and then we negotiated a very satisfactory sales price with the seller on a great piece of land.
I’m so happy for this couple!