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Couldnt get a loan for our barn... now what

Around The Farm
#21

[QUOTE=TXnGA;4316082]
My husband thinks that 12% is a high (and he thinks too high) when our mortgage is 5%. He won’t even consider it. The barn builder tried to help us as well and found us one for 7% but my husband doesn’t think it is low enough either. And unfortunately, i didn’t pay too much attention in my financial class in college 3 years ago- and somehow still got an A.

I’ve been looking at dover and Bitof Britian, what books do you suggest? There wasn’t any on the site, so I’m trying Amazon next…

Shawnee_Acres, I did look at your pics and they look great!!! I’m so jealous. Where do I start?

I really don’t want to wait on the barn b/c of the many many electrical storms we get and I have lost 2 horses to lightening in the past. Plus my horse is a hard keeper and would like to get him out of the cold/ rain for the winter (I know the south has a mild winter- but it still gets nasty at times).[/QUOTE]

FInd someone to level the spot you want and get a quote for that and hauling in a base, I prefer screenings. Then price everything FIRST (that is what I did). Look around, look for a sawmil that will do rough cut lumber, we got ours at General TImber in Sanford, NC. You can used finished lumber from someplace like Lowes but rough cut holds up better and it is cheaper. The hard part is the frame, and I have used the “carport” shelters not only for a barn but for runins MUCH cheaper and look great! Mine is the “A” frame “vertical roof” style. Determine the sze you want, mine is 100’ long which makes for 8 10’x12’ stalls, an 8’ aisleway in front of the stalls, one 10 x 12 grooming stall and a 10 x 12 feed/tack room (we ended up putting up a separate “prebuilt” building for a tack room since we have boarders, but the one room on the end of the barn would have been fine for both feed and tack if it were just for me). You have to do some calculating to determine how much lumber you need etc but it just takes a little time, don’t have to be a rocket scientist! If you don’t want to build it all yourself you can probably find some local person that is good at that sort of thing for minimum $$ in this economy!

#22

I admit, I had to read your comment OP about having a “basic” barn for 50k, I had to chuckle. That isn’t basic to many of us who are truly on a shoestring budget. I have a pole barn, it is 40x20 I believe, 3 stalls, NO wash rack or feed room as that wasn’t something I necessarily had to have. Did I want one? Sure but having stalls were more important to me than the nice things that made my life easier. I have a yard I can tie my horses to the fence and I can use a hose and wash them off, a little cold water has never killed a horse. You CAN build a barn for way less, but you need to decide what you really have to have for the health and well being of your horses vs what you feel you can’t live without.

For grain, we have a large rubbermaid trash can bin with two rubbermaid trash cans that I can put 150lbs of feed in each. My supplements and what not are inside as well and when I close it, there are two holes with bolts that we clamp a chain across so my very nosey Percheron mare Trixi cannot open. The stalls themselves are all blue stone, over time it has been tramped down and when they are in there is a nice layer of shavings on that and mine do well with that. The barn is also insulated and very cozy in the winter months when it is storming outside and they are inside warm and dry.

Here is our barn, nothing fancy but it sure serves the purpose and I am awful fond of it. We had someone put the frame up then my husband and I did all the rest ourselves, the total amount for our barn was around $6,000. I don’t have concrete or sliding doors, again, the health and well being of my horses were more important and they don’t care if things aren’t like the Smith’s down the road.

http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a279/teampennin2/CIMG0451.jpg

http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a279/teampennin2/CIMG0095.jpg

http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a279/teampennin2/CIMG0096.jpg

http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a279/teampennin2/CIMG0097.jpg

#23

Perfectly loffly! It meets the basic needs and, as time goes by, you can add/change whatever you want!

#24

Just one other thing - I have noticed that sometimes contractors’ bids swell to what they think you can afford or borrow. It is amazing how these prices shrink when you make clear only a much smaller budget is available. Seriously. And right now, plenty of businesses are slow and people are looking for jobs - or second jobs.

And as others said, you can build in stages. For example, wrt barn flooring - you don’t need concrete or whatnot to start with. We had stonedust for flooring for the first year and added a concrete aisle with rubber mats later. Another friend who started with stonedust recently installed gorgeous concrete pavers. I think building in stages is better anyway because it allows you the chance to really figure out what you want once you are using your barn on a day to day basis. Things that sound good in theory might turn out to not be at all what you want.

#25

[QUOTE=TXnGA;4315770]
So what do I do now that I’m told I can’t build my barn because we don’t have enough of the mortgage paid off? Where can I go to get a loan (without paying a 12% rate?) I think that it sucks that we can’t find any financial institution to loan us money (my husband and I both work and would not be overstretched to add a second loan). We only have a mortgage and have a tractor financed (everything else we own is either paid in full or paid with cash).[/QUOTE]

Well, you might find this a little farfetched…but if you have a friend or relative whose investments aren’t doing well in this economy, try doing a Friends and Family Loan/Mortgage at Virgin Money. It’s basically a formalized, legalized way for other people to loan you cash. For example, my dad “is the bank” for my new home that I just bought–I win because I got a better interest rate than any of the banks would give me (and I didn’t have to pay origination fees etc.), dad wins because he’s getting a better interest return on his money than stocks or MMA’s can offer him in the downturned economy, and we both win because my payments get reported to the credit bureaus (something that you can’t get with a traditional private mortgage). www.virginmoney.com

If you don’t have such a friend, try Prosper.com. Prosper.com only allows loans up to $25K, but as we’ve seen on this thread, $25K would be more than enough to provide basic shelter to your horses.

#26

I had a friend who put up a roof in the dimensions she wanted her barn to be in. As time went on she added 6 stalls, tack and a bathroom. I’ll bet 10K would get you a very nice roof.

In the meantime you could always use round pen panels for temporary stalls, or if they get along you could feed them under cover. This way they would have a place to stand out of bad weather.

I built a nice 4 stall pole barn with a 12 X 24 tack feed room and it cost me $18K. Of course that was about 10 years ago, and it didn’t have power or water, and like others have said I have a very big yard to hose them off in.

If your willing to wait for the bells and whistles you can do it for a lot less than $50K.

#27

You are a stinking genius. Thanks for posting this, really! so, I do have a question, since we are moving to augusta, or aiken, althgouh I plan to board full time with a trainer there, I am planning to build something like this, so I can bring my boy home here and there if the finances need a break…

is this rated to withstand the Hurrican weather i keep hearing about? I want to build something like this myself…so we dont have to go in financial ruin.

#28

You’re getting a lot of good advice here about how to build the barn inexpensively and in stages.

The one thing I’d add is that I think your husband is unrealistic to expect 5% for a loan on a barn. It’s either a second on your property or it’s a personal loan, and thus the terms are not going to be nearly as good as a primary mortgage.

#29

When we were looking, Barnmasters was really expensive. I got a three stall shed row from Horizon delivered to MA and site prep done for about $9000.

If I ever want to add an aisle, that will be easy to do, but I needed to get my horse home. I have had the barn for nearly 2 years, and I am really happy with it.

See the pic attached.

Murphy in front of barn-small.JPG

#30

[QUOTE=Briggsie;4316944]
You are a stinking genius. Thanks for posting this, really! so, I do have a question, since we are moving to augusta, or aiken, althgouh I plan to board full time with a trainer there, I am planning to build something like this, so I can bring my boy home here and there if the finances need a break…

is this rated to withstand the Hurrican weather i keep hearing about? I want to build something like this myself…so we dont have to go in financial ruin.[/QUOTE]

As far as hurricanes go, if its a bad enough storm, it will tear ANYTHING down. I have had several of these structures over the past 8 years and they withstand high winds with no problems at all. We have had soem KILLER storms come thru and hurricanes and they don’t budge. They use LONG anchors, but if you wanted to go the extra expense you could pour concrete and attach to that. However, with the stalls in the barn, the four by four are sunk in the groun and attached to the uprights and this barn is not going ANYWHERE (unless a direct hit from a tornado etc).

We are in eastern NC and see lots of bad storms here! You can build SO much more barn for the money going this way. Not as “fancy” as some barns but clean, safe, very healthy for the horses I honestly wouldn’t build a center aisle type barn in this climate. I leased one for a few months and the horses COOKED in it!!! Nearly impossible to get good airflow in one of those, although some of the barnmasters aren’t too bad ventilation wise, but you pay a LOT for one of those!!

#31

I sure can’t afford a $50 K barn either so I build as i can afford to pay, a shell, then add electric, water, then stalls, etc. You can put in the windows and additional doors later too. In fact I had someone build a door out of the barn wood with leftover lumber from the original construction. It wasn’t my dream door but it works.

You might not get everything at once and saving up is cheaper than borrowing.

#32

When I first started up my farm (4 horses), I started with a 12 x 48 run in shed, but made the last 12’ section into a stall in case I needed it for a layup.

Around the entire shed I created a paddock (maybe 50 x 50) using a 16 ft. gate in the middle. That way if I had a horse on layup, I could lock a buddy as company, as well as lock all my horses up when it was time for farrier, vet…or I was to lazy to go out to the field and catch them when I wanted to ride. I fed on the fenceline and the paddock (and stall) were handy if I had to segregate by dominance.

For tack room, feed, storage, I bought a small prefab “Leonard Building”. They come wired for electric etc.

The run in was lit and had floods on either end. Water pump just outside the shed on one end, where I created a cement wash stall using the side of the shed as the back. Also used it for the farrier to work.

This worked great for me for many years, was very cost and time effective – and healthy!

With many of my horses retired, I barely use the barn – just a lot of money maintaining it…:lol:

Hope this helps.

#33

Many have given you good advices about how to build a barn rather inexpensively. But if you can’t do the barn building work yourself, and want something that looks rather nice, then your only option is to wait until you build up your equity on your house, and get your credit score really really good.

I’m guessing you don’t have much equity in your house and that is why you are getting the 12% rate. In this economy where cash is tight, it is just not possible to get a very good rate if you don’t have very good credit score and tons of equity to be your collateral.

That is what we did. We waited 7 years before building our dream barn and in the meanwhile, put up run-in sheds for them to get out of weather. When we finally built the barn, the house was 98% paid off so we had a big chunk of equity and got a very good rate.

#34

[QUOTE=Gloria;4317171]

I’m guessing you don’t have much equity in your house and that is why you are getting the 12% rate. In this economy where cash is tight, it is just not possible to get a very good rate if you don’t have very good credit score and tons of equity to be your collateral.
.[/QUOTE]

Rates on second mortgage and home equity lines of credit are always higher than they are for a first lien mortgage because they are riskier for the bank. OP mentioned being able to get a rate as low as 7% - that is, imo, a very good rate on a second.

#35

My permit for my barn goes online on the 27th, after which we “break ground”. I have had to go low budget, too - I have one, incredibly wonderful, handy-as-all-gettout man building my barn. We’ve culled the fence posts (red cedar) from my woods, and are in the process of putting in horseguard for a 2.5 acre paddock. The barn itself, a small 24X30 pole-barn, will have two 10’ overhangs, a hayloft, metal roof with a cupola, stonedust floor, two dutch doors, a sliding door and a people door. The materials for the barn are $3200, and the labor (four weeks at $300/week, as that is all I can afford week-by-week) will be $1200. This guy owns all of his own equipment, so we don’t need to rent anything. This building can eventually house three or four horse stalls with a center aisle.

I can’t put in stalls (or electric/water) to begin with, so I am going to divide a 12 or 15X24 “stall” which my two horses will share (they have shared in the past and love to; also, they’ll always have access to the outside), but will have to flesh out a more comprehensive containment room for my son, now 1 year, who will have to come with me for barn chores. I have a sweet image of a bit of carpeting, some toys, etc. LOL

All told, with fencing, we’re expecting to pay $6000/$6500. (The fence cost $700 in parts and $800 in labor; the rest we’ll see.) There is a way to make it happen if you’re willing to let it take time. I’m so excited but nervous for mine – Good luck getting your barn together!

#36

[QUOTE=YankeeLawyer;4317413]
Rates on second mortgage and home equity lines of credit are always higher than they are for a first lien mortgage because they are riskier for the bank. OP mentioned being able to get a rate as low as 7% - that is, imo, a very good rate on a second.[/QUOTE]

Um I saw the 12% rate part. 7% is indeed good for second mortgage, unless it is adjustable… and if it is adjustable 2% above prime, it isn’t too sweet…

#37

Don’t forget that you can also try contacting Farm Credit for a loan - they specialize in ag loans - http://www.farmcredit.com/map/SouthCarolina.html

Up here, you become a “Member”. The rate might be a little higher, but you are a share holder, so if they turn a profit, you either get money back, or it is applied to your loan balance.

#38

[QUOTE=Gloria;4317171]
But if you can’t do the barn building work yourself, and want something that looks rather nice, then your only option is to wait until you build up your equity on your house, and get your credit score really really good.

[/QUOTE] We are not doing the barn building work ourselves (aside from slapping the stall boards on) and ours will still look “rather nice”. I’ve seen many people’s inexpensive barns still look nice. I’m probably misunderstanding you, but your post kind of implies that inexpensive barns cannot look nice and that is just not so. IMO, I would rather not take out a loan on something that will not be income producing or maybe just a few boarders if you can save money just by making it a pole barn.

#39

I did not mean to imply that do it yourself barns were non quality barns. I just did not know where to start and think the pictures that were posted were all beautiful, and all different, but I wouldn’t mind haveing anyone of those barns.

I think we are actually looking at doing our own do it yourself barn now with everyones responses.

THANK YOU THANK YOU, everyones input has gave me great place to start and am eager to get started on the planning. It is wonderful to have a forum where I can get such great information from people who have built their barns or have/ are going through this. If you have any more thoughts, I would love to hear them, or any other tips/ advice or pictures (i’m visual so seeing pictures is better for me). My husband and I both like to do our own work and now it is off to do some research and find out where we are going… whether we are going to have someone build the shell and we do the stalls/ interior and everything else, or we’ll just do everything our self from start to finish.

Between all of the quotes i got from 8 construction companies (ranging from pole barns, to wood barns to pre fab barns) the 50k quote was the most reasonable for what I wanted (and we were going to do the electrical/ water/ foundation ourselves. ) I’m not looking for a Princess barn, but one that is very safe and healthy for the horses with great airflow, and most cost effective. But I never thought to do it myself and be able to get what I want (my first barn building effort personally for myself). :):):):):):slight_smile:

#40

Post this on aikenhorsesonline.com so you can get local help and people might let you come out and look at barns in progress. In 3 days I have seen 3 halfway built barns, so there is lots of local help and we really should have a group of barn raisers!

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