Looked at kits today. New and need advice!

[ssullivan96]

Hi! My husbands dreams has always been to live in a log cabin home on five acres of land. Well, we are searching for the perfect lot, so we have a ways to go, but today we went to AmeriLink and looked at demo homes for kits. We found one we liked, but let me just say that I am more than a little concerned about the cost of this project. The kit is $68k after the discount and subtract the single garage. But then I have to worry about construction, electrical and plumbing seperately. I am not liking this so far. Most websites say it costs about $175 per foot on the low side to construct this kit. That is a load of money! I will be looking at $200k + not counting the land! And then I worry about not getting a loan to do this because our credit scores are not that great, although down payment money is not a problem. Please tell me, are kits the best route? What are your stories and experiences? Any advice will help.

[drummer boy]

I am new to the membership here but you will find that I will resonate in one accord with the other members...."run from the kits!!!!!run to the class!!!!" This one class will give you so much education that you will be able to drive down the road, glance at a log home and know if it is built well. You will see trees on a log truck as you drive down the interstate and know if they will work for a home or not. You will take the class and know that you know that you know that you can have the home of your dreams and be able to do it without a loan from a bank. (yes you will want to pay cash for the home and have the ability to do it after the class) I am a pastor in Arkansas with 7 kids and don't have a lot of money but we made it a priority to get the facts to make a well educated decision. It is 11:35 at night as I write you. I just got home from our 30 acres and from marking our trees to cut this fall. I took the class this past February. Everything is paid for... I hope you found the "Visit the LHBA website" button. this will take you to pictures and testimonies of people just like you and I that "found the light" and pursued their dreams.

[BoFuller]

I am new to the membership here but you will find that I will resonate in one accord with the other members...."run from the kits!!!!!run to the class!!!!" This one class will give you so much education that you will be able to drive down the road, glance at a log home and know if it is built well. You will see trees on a log truck as you drive down the interstate and know if they will work for a home or not. You will take the class and know that you know that you know that you can have the home of your dreams and be able to do it without a loan from a bank. (yes you will want to pay cash for the home and have the ability to do it after the class) I am a pastor in Arkansas with 7 kids and don't have a lot of money but we made it a priority to get the facts to make a well educated decision. It is 11:35 at night as I write you. I just got home from our 30 acres and from marking our trees to cut this fall. I took the class this past February. Everything is paid for... I hope you found the "Visit the LHBA website" button. this will take you to pictures and testimonies of people just like you and I that "found the light" and pursued their dreams.

"drummer boy" nailed it! Run from the kits, and run to the next class.

[Timber]

http://www.loghomebuilders.org/warnings-about-kit-log-homes#comments

http://www.loghomeu.com/forum/topics/amerlink-1 Amerlink link

we got a lawyer building in Cedar City Utah with kits all around seeing a real log home
basically go price a hand crafted home cause thats what most of our builds are
check my links above and do take time to look at the student log homes

[rckclmbr428]

Run away from kits, look at my website for multiple examples of kits rotting and falling apart that I have had to fix, they are engineered for ease of construction, not for longevity

[blane]

You can build your own home the LHBA way at a fraction of the cost for a kit home. And in the end it will your own work of art. Other than what I have heard, I have no experience with the kit homes other than looking into purchasing a kit years ago and after adding on everything you don't get with the kit, the price soars! You can build a butt and pass home as simple or as elaborate as you want. You can decide how expensive your home is and the structural quality will be superior than most homes in your area no matter how little you spend.

[jrdavis]

as Drummerboy said below "the "Visit the LHBA website" button." then click GALLERY tab and see (no, SEE ) what we have to offer and at a fraction of the cost.
I have found trees within 30 miles of my house, In the midwest, that I never thought possible.
After the class, you will have eyes to see trees where you've never seen them before.
Welcome to the site and enjoy. (ps. run from the kits...this is a recording)
JD

[spiralsands]

..."today we went to AmeriLink and looked at demo homes for kits. We found one we liked, but let me just say that I am more than a little concerned about the cost of this project.

Been there, done that! After buying my land in NY, my daughter and I attended a log home show in Tampa, FL. We were disheartened as we left. We saw dozens of fake log homes, stick built with log siding, square logs, D-logs, no-mortars, log modulars, window and doors with screw jacks for settling, kiln dried whole logs from California, you name it. On the way home my daughter said, "I don't want to live in a log look house." That night I got on the LHBA website and with my heart pounding in my chest, I got on the waiting list for a class.

In our fast food world, you're going to find that the LHBA method is like slow food. Handcrafted and as individual as the builder, which is you.

[loghousenut]

Sullivans,

Welcome home. I concur with all who have responded to your posts. Are you planning to build your own home or contract it all out? If the answer has something to do with the sweat of your own brow, you are on the right website and should definitely zip up the wallet for awhile and sit back and relax as you both read on.

If you want to step into a log home that has been built by experts other than yourselves, then there are still plenty of options. Most of us on this site are no fan of the "log kit home" idea. If you will google "kit home" or even the name of the company that you are considering, you will gain access to page after page of horror stories. While the kit house industry has it's successes, it is rife with unsatisfied customers, lawsuits, and problems. Be wary of every step you take and take your time to think it over for a month or two before you take the pen from his hand to sign on the dotted line. No matter what the salesman says, there is no rush unless you are trying to buy from an outfit that is going bankrupt. This economy is killing kit sellers right and left.

Speaking of the economy, it is a GREAT time to build your own log home with your own hands as long as funding is not a problem for you. No trouble hiring help if you need it and many fly by night subcontractors have already left the business.

If, after a week or so of making your way through this website you are not captivated by the thought of building your own LHBA home, no problem. There are tons of options out there that will get a log roof over your head. Many of them are expensive and there are long term maintenance issues with some options but if you proceed with your eyes open you'll find the way. If you don't want to build it yourself, you could always buy someone else's dream home. There are plenty of bargains out there.

Keep in touch. We wanna know how this all turns out.


http://i157.photobucket.com/albums/t55/loghousenut/Wow/Rooffinally042-1.jpg

[edkemper]

Sullivans,

Bottom line, the member's of LHBA do not make one penny on the classes. The reason why that is the standard comment, is because we've been there. We came with all our questions to be answered. Few of them were. Only because we found out we came with the wrong questions and were looking for standard answers. You won't exactly find that here. The biggest advantage of the class is to gut us like a fish and fill us with a very useful alternative. The Member's Only side, comes with the conclusion of the class. That is where you really learn the dirty details. You are online with member's that have done it, once or more. You find those that are in the process of their own builds. Then you have the rest of us, we took the class and are processing, acquiring and planning. By the way, the Class is even Satisfaction Guaranteed. If you didn't like it, you get your money back.

We do have a very few things the Association sells in their store.

Other than the price of the class and a few things they sell to members, none of us make any more money off you. We are then there for you, for free.

Without a profit motive, where do you think you'll get the straightest answers?

We are all interested in a real Log Home. We are all interested in doing this debt free.

Read what you can on our site and make up you own mind.

Welcome to our site.

[Zetmandu]

ssuillvan,

First of all, welcome to the website and happy reading.
2nd, believe what these guys above have all said and I completely agree with their opinions and posts. I too was skeptical when I stumbled upon this place. I also came from the "building a log home from a kit" group until I really started looking at everything involved and the more I looked the more I didnt like, hence why I ended up here.
I am a fairly new member, and by the looks of it, must of been in the same class as drummer boy, as I also took the class this past Feb. I too was really skeptical of all the "positive" post made by everyone here and just couldn't believe that everyone here was actually that satisfied with this process and what the end result could/would be. You will not only find the answers to your questions between this site and the class, and the members side is where all the good stuff is. the best part is its being answered by people have done it, or are doing it and have no hesitation in helping people out. Its unbelievable the amount of knowledge these guys and gals here are willing to share, an they do it for only one reason, and that's to help your building process and everything leading up to it be as informative, safe and effective as it can possibly be whatever you plan to build.

I am just beginning the process, and yes its a slow go as I am harvesting my own logs, skidding them out of the woods etc, but without the help of these great people here I would so much farther behind than I am now really. So although my process has to this point been backbreaking, hot and sweaty, I would not trade, even just the few experiences I have had so far for anything in the world. Other people look at my stack of peeled logs laying on the ground, and see, well only a stack of logs laying on the ground, but I see my house....

[dvb]

We are in our 6th year of building and we will finish next summer. We have about $15,000 in the house so far and still need to spend $10,000 on the well, $1,500 on interior materials (drywall & Tongue&Grove pine), about $1,000 on a heater and we are done. Can you build a kit for less than $20,000? We have used all of the methods taught by this class that we could and it has really saved us money. Of course, money=time, the faster you want to build, the more it will cost you. When we get done I will not owe anything on this house. I had a loan on the land when we purchased it, but it is paid for now. We have done everything ourselves with help from friends. Take the class and learn what you don't know.

[LogLover]

I think I am a weird duck here and maybe the only non-member posting. That will change if they ever change the location of the class - there, my disclaimer is done.
I've seen some mighty fine "kits" that have been standing for many years and some really pathetic examples too. As in everything in life it seems we are not always getting what we pay for and some are flat out crooks or scam artists.
I spent 3 days recently watching some doing a learn and build using the Scandinavian scribed saddle-notched method of building ---- pretty labor intensive but pretty darn nice end product too. Several of the cabins in the area were over 100 years old so it's another tried and proven method. That said - and without having any hands on with the BnP method at that - the BnP will be the way I build (if the class thingy happens anyway). I like the less labor thing of course but also think the manner they pin the logs is a big plus. The only real downside I see is all the chinking ... it may be less than I am anticipating anyway so why fret it now.(?)
My take is be mighty careful on any kit. Like I said they come in good and bad. But doing your own is cost effective, maybe partly fun, and no doubt truly rewarding. The upside to a kit may be the time saving I hear from those that have done so as they go up pretty fast. But if you get a lemon or shoddy manufacturer it's a whole new thing there too.
Best of luck - my take is the folks here are pretty good folk and know there stuff or if not - they have the resources of those that do.
Good luck

[drmnoflogs]

There are SO many differences between the LHBA way and a kit home. Here is an article from the LHBA website, just in case you haven't seen it.
http://www.loghomebuilders.org/warnings-about-kit-log-homes

Good luck with whatever you may decide!

[pinewood]

I have been eagerly awaiting a response from the Sullivans to everyone's comments. It seems they are no longer with us.

~Dane~

[Jane Doe]

I'm slowly but surely catching up on the history here and came across this thread. Did a Google search for Amerlink. Turns out that Amerlink filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in Feb 2009 and the people in the following links have yet to see their investment money returned from Amerlink. Turns out that the CEO of Amerlink was sentenced to 3 years in jail for bankruptcy fraud. I was a bit concerned about the Sullivans since they posted August 2011 about an interest in Amerlink log homes.

To the Sullivans: if you still read silently here please take into consideration the advice to RUN FROM KIT HOMES.

http://www.rustic-lodge-lifestyle.com/log-home-dream-turns-into-nightmare-turns-into-a-new-vision.html

http://www.loghomeu.com/forum/topics/amerlink-nightmare

http://www.bizjournals.com/triangle/stories/2010/05/10/daily63.html

[happyquilter]

This is a really good thread. I wonder what became of the original poster? I can identify with where she was when she wrote that post. (I have a similar one somewhere on the boards, lol.) I wonder if she kept exploring the site, looking at the gallery, and reading the forum? I did, and that is why my hubby and I are signed up for the Jan 2012 class in three weeks!! Yay!

I get what Ed means about being "gutted like a fish and filled with useful information." I have completely changed my whole vision of what a "vacation home" means to my family. It is a vision that fills me with excitement, not the worry, dread, and frustration I previously felt when we talked about taking out an unwanted mortgage to buy a teeny or run-down cabin on a hankerchief lot, or not owning the land beneath us. The new vision may take a few years to accomplish, but it will be very worth it. We will end up with a beautiful hand-crafted piece of art in which to spend our leisure time. We will own the land beneath our feet. We will remain debt free. We will learn a lot of new skills, make new friends, and leave a lasting legacy for our son and generations to come.

Shari

[loghousenut]

This is a really good thread. I wonder what became of the original poster? I can identify with where she was when she wrote that post. (I have a similar one somewhere on the boards, lol.) I wonder if she kept exploring the site, looking at the gallery, and reading the forum? I did, and that is why my hubby and I are signed up for the Jan 2012 class in three weeks!! Yay!

I get what Ed means about being "gutted like a fish and filled with useful information." I have completely changed my whole vision of what a "vacation home" means to my family. It is a vision that fills me with excitement, not the worry, dread, and frustration I previously felt when we talked about taking out an unwanted mortgage to buy a teeny or run-down cabin on a hankerchief lot, or not owning the land beneath us. The new vision may take a few years to accomplish, but it will be very worth it. We will end up with a beautiful hand-crafted piece of art in which to spend our leisure time. We will own the land beneath our feet. We will remain debt free. We will learn a lot of new skills, make new friends, and leave a lasting legacy for our son and generations to come.

Shari

What happened to the original poster? Hey, ya win some and ya loose some. The beauty of being open and honest is that those folks who don't like what they hear can either keep listening, chat awhile, or look around for what suits them. The LHBA thing is certainly NOT for everyone. Heck I look around at all the other folks who fit in on this forum and I sometimes think most of them are completely nuts. I myself am certifiably crazy about what goes on here.

To me, it is a lot like dating. If I had chased every woman I saw, with a picture of me that was what I thought she were looking for, I'da caught the wrong woman. I know that's true because I DID catch the wrong one and it took a year or so for me to destroy her life enough for her to turn the Lawyers loose and get rid of me. For the next 15 years or so I only let the gals chase me who were looking for someone like me. Most of those gals learned quickly that I was the wrong guy but when the right one came along, we both knew that it was genuine.

What I like about this forum is that it is open, honest, consistent, and self perpetuating. Nobody's on commission and no salesman/woman will call. The folks who run this site and teach the class hardly ever post here. Nobody is trying to slant the sales pitch to suit you. You're not stuck with a bunch of junk mail. It doesn't cost you a dime unless you make the plunge, and then you can get the dime back if you don't like the water.

When ssullivan96 started this thread she told a tale that is familiar to most who visit this site. Some of those folks find the answer here and some of them find the answer somewhere else. She received 16 responses to her original question and none of those responses was a sales pitch from anyone who teaches or sells the LHBA class. Roughly half of the responses were from members who are currently building or living in a log home that they built with their own hands. Most of the other responders, including the 3 of you who are not yet members, will build your own LHBA log home. Don't think that she went away mad. I am supposing that she hasn't found the right answer to her particular version of the problem that we all have. She wants a log home for her family. I admire that goal and I hope she comes back to us only if we supply her best solution.

There is one real benefit to how they run this organization... You really have to want to sacrifice, sweat, and earn your family home to do it this way. It is the only way for me. I am sssooooooo thankful that I met Skip Ellsworth. This organization that he started has changed my life in so many ways. I sincerely hope for the same for the rest of you.



PS... Did I ever tell you the story about how I proposed to my Wife the night before I took her to LHBA class. That was in 1989. Thanks again Skip. I don't regret a minute of it.