I suppose the success of this approach would vary by the laws and
traditions in various countries, but it seems very risky to me.
Insurance companies investigate all big claims, and routinely deny
coverage to their clients, based on _their_ conclusions about whether
the terms of the insurance agreement have been honored. Calling a
loadbearing strawbale building a "timber-frame" might convince a
company to sell you an insurance policy, but that doesn't mean you
would actually have any insurance coverage, in the case of a fire or
other large insurance claim.
If the insurance company denies a claim, the owner must take legal
action to try and force them to pay. That implies convincing a third
(fourth, fifth) party that the terms of the insurance policy have
been followed. I think that would be very tough, in the scenario
that Andrew describes.
It seems to me that this approach allows the home owner to pay
insurance premiums for no actual coverage. Maybe some owners would
be comfortable with this, if the presence of an insurance policy
allows them to get a mortgage. However, to pay insurance premiums
for some number of years, when the insurance company is unlikely to
pay a claim, seems imprudent to me. Worse, both the insurance
company and the company that issues the mortgage would seem to have
solid ground for suing the homeowner for fraud, in the event that the
house was lost, and the insurance company had been misled about the
nature of construction.
Instead of endorsing Chug's enthusiastic slogan of "Bale on", there
is a significant risk that insurance and mortgage companies will have
a strong reaction of "Bale NO".
Derek
Derek Roff
Language Learning Center
Ortega Hall 129, MSC03-2100
University of New Mexico
Albuquerque, NM 87131-0001
505/277-7368, fax 505/277-3885
Internet: derek@unm...
Chug,
No; as a description of load bearing method as insurance companies
are nervous about straw as a load bearing building material. This is
not actually that much of a stretch of the imagination as assuming
you are using a wooden base and wall plate with integral wooden posts
for door and window openings, then this timber is doing some
structural work.
regards
Andrew
__________________________________________________
From: Chug <chug@strawbale-building....uk>
To: European strawbale building discussions
<strawbale@amper....muni.cz>
Sent: Fri, 9 July, 2010 13:09:39
Subject: Re: [Strawbale] Mortgages on SB houses in the UK
Andrew,
I take it you mean as a description for post and beam and not
loadbearing as
you wrote?
and Neale
I thought you were asking about experience in selling a SB house, but
if
it's just a mortgage you are looking for Ecology BS as mentioned, and
Virgin, and Triodos, but I don't think they will go up to 100%,
although I
think they could be persuaded.
bale on
Chug
chug@strawbale-building....uk
http://www.strawbale-building.co.uk
.
----- Original Message -----
From: "Andrew Wilkinson" <wilkospeak@yahoo....uk>
To: "European strawbale building discussions"
<strawbale@amper....muni.cz>
Sent: Friday, July 09, 2010 12:25 PM
Subject: Re: [Strawbale] Mortgages on SB houses in the UK
Neale,
I am currently working on two newbuilds in Yorkshire. Whilst I don't
have
any
direct experience of Open Market sales, I am aware that a main
financier of
such
mortgages would be the Ecology Building Society. I am also aware
that in
the
recent past , those seeking to insure their houses have referred to
straw
bale
load bearing houses as "timber frame with cellulose insulation" to
overcome
insurance company concerns.
regards
Andrew
________________________________
From: Neale Brickwood <neale.brickwood@googlemail...>
To: Strawbale@amper....muni.cz
Sent: Fri, 9 July, 2010 13:21:12
Subject: [Strawbale] Mortgages on SB houses in the UK
Hi
I'm researching SB housing in the UK and am trying to find out if any
have been built for sale on the open market and if so what the
purchasers experiences were in mortgaging the property and who the
lenders were
If anyone can help it would be much appreciated
Regards
Neale
neale.brickwood@googlemail...
07798854867
www.ikonland.com
Ikon Land and New Homes Limited
The coach House
2 hereford Road
Southsea
Portsmouth
PO5 2DH
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Send all messages to:
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____________________________________________________
____________________________________________________
European strawbale building discussion list
Send all messages to:
Strawbale@amper....muni.cz
Archives, subscription options, etc:
http://amper.ped.muni.cz/mailman/listinfo/strawbale
____________________________________________________