There are varying opinions on what a barndominium is, but generally speaking barndominiums are residential homes that provide an open-living concept, they are often rectangular in shape to minimize additional costs of structural and architectural angles, erected on a concrete slab without a basement and construction regularly incorporates a large garage or utility area along with the dwelling. The term can be used to define construction of a new home or traditional barns that have been retrofitted to residential homes.

Some of the more common advantages recognized are costs savings during construction, reduced construction times to build, and overall durability and flexibility of the home.

Depending on your ‘finishes’ construction costs can elevate quickly to represent similar costs to traditional homes. Some municipalities may challenge your ability to build a barndominium. Because construction is often on a concrete slab, you lose additional space that would be provided by having a basement. Finally, many traditional lenders will not offer financing. If they do, financing terms are often incurred at higher rates and/or costs and lenders unfamiliar with barndominium financing additionally will make the process extremely difficult for the borrower.

Like any new build or renovation, construction costs can vary dramatically. To establish the scope of accurate costs, you should identify a generic building print with a list of finishes that you would like to include and present them to a qualified builder who should be able to provide you with a reasonable range of prices. If you have not yet acquired your land, understand that additional cost variations to site work may affect the prices provided of just considering the cost of the home alone.

Similarly, to any residential home, qualifying for a barndominium requires a review of income, credit and down payment and assets. The two most common financing hurdles are related to whether or not a general contractor is overseeing your project vs. the home being self-built, and the completion of an appraisal that can support the value of the home depending on the area in which you intend to build or buy.

If you are building a new barndominium or renovating an existing structure, Dart Bank requires a general contractor to oversee your project. In regards to financing for a new home or an existing dwelling,income, credit and down payment requirements similar to traditional homes are utilized.

Down payments as low as 5% may be considered depending on qualifying factors such as income, credit and additional assets.