This two-story bamboo home (www.luxuo.com) is perfect for withstanding earthquakes and hurricanes. A bamboo resort on the Cook Islands outlasted three hurricanes, tidal waves, and 170 mph winds.  Originally designed for the tropics, bamboo homes are now available with insulation, making them suitable for any climate. The 2,500 square foot home above was built on the Big Island of Hawaii in just eight days.

If a bamboo homes isn’t your style, how about a log cabin?

No? Then how about a dude ranch or a hexagonal home?

If your dream home is unique or unusual, stop and consider two things before you proceed.

The Trouble with a Unique House

1) If you aren’t an all-cash buyer, you could hit a snag with it comes to financing. Your lender will order an appraisal report to establish value. Ideally, they want to see five comparable homes within five miles that have sold within the last six months.

If the appraiser cannot find another house like yours or has to travel 20 miles to do so, the underwriter might reject your loan, regardless of perfect credit, high income, low debt ratio, and good down payment.

If you don’t need a loan, then consider another possible challenge.

2) If you decide to sell in the future, your pool of prospective buyers will greatly be reduced. If you couldn’t obtain a loan, neither will someone else, and you might be limited to attracting another all-cash buyer. Are you willing to take that risk?

Before you settle on a unique home, drive around the area. Are there any other homes like it within a five-mile radius? How unusual is the home for the locale? After you get an idea of how difficult it will be to appraise, consider your resell situation. If you plan to keep it “forever,” possibly even turn it into a rental home in the future when you move on, then a eco-friendly bamboo home or even a guitar shaped house.

Would you ever seriously consider buying or constructing a unique house? Hey, if worse comes to worse, maybe you could turn it into a bed and breakfast someday.