9 minute read
From Dream House to Home
The advantages of financing country homes with Farm Credit
Six-year-old Nate flashes a practiced grin at the camera from the top step of the family’s back porch. He stands between his parents Clint and Victoria Baxter who sit on the steps with two-year-old twins Kaden and Lukas standing at their feet. Unimpressed with the prospect of a family photo, neither twin chooses to pose for the camera.
Advertisement
Nate’s gaze leaves the camera, distracted by a toddler darting away from the group and towards the family dog at the edge of the patio. Hands outstretched, Lukas is rewarded with a wet lick before his father jumps up and gently steers him back to join the family.
Simultaneously, Victoria’s attention turns to the second twin who has kicked a small toy in the opposite direction and pulls away from her to chase it. A family photo on the porch steps is a great idea…for another day.
Clint and Victoria Baxter with their children Kaden, Lukas and Nate and their family dogs.
With demanding full-time jobs and three small children, it makes sense that the Baxters looked for a quick and easy financing option when they were ready to build their home.
The twins were born early and spent several months at UAMS in Little Rock. It wasn’t long after the twins were both home that the couple worked to finalize plans and financing for the new home they planned to build on land they’d purchased in the country. Vice President Donna Griffin said she was committed to making the loan as easy as possible because of all they had going on in their lives at the time.
Clint coaches football and teaches math at Paris High School. Victoria is a Cost Analyst for Arkansas Nuclear One in Russellville. They began building their New Blaine, AR home in July 2018 and moved in early this spring. They have 36 acres adjoining Victoria’s parents’ farm and eventually plan to raise a few head of cattle.
The Baxters point to Farm Credit’s all-in-one home construction loan as a reason they picked Farm Credit over other lenders.
“We refinanced our existing land loan, got the home construction loan and finalized our permanent mortgage upfront, all in one loan closing,” Clint explained.
“That was huge for us. It saved us time and paperwork and meant we knew exactly what our interest rate and payment would be before we broke ground on the house,” he continued.
By combining home construction loans with permanent mortgage financing on the front end, borrowers lock-in their permanent, long-term, fixed interest rate at the beginning of the construction process. This removes any question about the long-term rate, loan commitment or payment amount.
“We bought this land on an adjustable rate because we knew we’d be building our house within a year,” Clint shared.
“Being able to refinance our existing land loan with our construction loan and permanent mortgage simplified the process,” Victoria added.
Victoria’s parents are long-time Farm Credit members and the Baxters have known Vice President Donna Griffin for years. Tom Schluterman, Victoria’s father, served as general contractor on the build.
“We had friends who’d just built a home with Donna and Farm Credit and they had a lot of good things to say about her, the Paris office and the process in general,” Victoria said.
“While we thought we’d probably finance with Farm Credit, we hadn’t expected all the benefits Farm Credit provided over the bank,” she continued.
Clint and Victoria Baxter talk with Vice President Donna Griffin.
Always Local Service
Local service is an advantage the couple appreciates.
“We wanted to do business locally and know where our money was going,” Clint explained.
“Banks don’t keep home mortgages anymore and not knowing who we’d ultimately end up doing business with wasn’t appealing. I want to know who I can talk to,” he concluded.
"Plus, Donna and Kathy were great to work with," Victoria continued, referring to Paris Financial Services Specialist Kathy Schluterman who provided loan support.
“Donna often dropped off construction draws at the bank which we appreciated. Kathy organized our construction receipts and stayed on top of the paperwork which was a big help,” she added.
Home loans qualify for Patronage Cash. The Baxters were familiar with Patronage Cash from Victoria’s parents and say it was one more reason they chose Farm Credit.
“We were familiar with patronage, but didn’t know how much to expect. It was a nice surprise to find it was close to one month’s mortgage payment,” Clint shared.
Solving Problems That Other Lenders Can't
For members Phillip and Audrey Seib of Ashdown, it was Assistant Vice President Jennifer Hooper’s ability to solve a problem that the bank could not, that sealed the deal for them.
Audrey had dreamed of building a home on a piece of her grandparents' farm since she was a child.
Growing up, Audrey’s favorite spot on the Thrash family farm was a short lane lined by tall trees on both sides. The top limbs reach across the well-worn path and intertwine, creating a tunnel effect.
The entrance to the Seib’s new home holds fond childhood memories for Audrey.
The road turns slightly and the tunnel hides what lies ahead. The end of the tree-darkened tunnel opens to the surprise of a tranquil pasture. The area is flat and more trees dot the property line in the distance. Facing due west, perfect sunsets are captured over those distant trees. Audrey remembers loving to ride four-wheelers through that tunnel as she was growing up. Her secret hope was that it would become her driveway one day, leading to a home she would build on that special spot.
Phillip works at Cooper Tire in Texarkana and Audrey is an Occupational Therapy Assistant at an area rehabilitation hospital. The couple have three-year-old daughter, Ruby, and a six-month-old daughter, Eliza.
Audrey’s grandparents offered her and Phillip the five acres of her dreams a few years ago and they began planning their forever home.
Unfortunately, financing conversations with a local bank soon frustrated the couple.
The Seibs were building on family land, a common practice in the Little River County area.
Phillip and Audrey Seib with their daughters Ruby and Eliza.
“Most people have never done it before, so I think it’s important to explain the process and what they can expect,” she said.
The problem is that homes built on family land seldom go on the market. That means there are no comparable real estate sales to help appraisers gauge home value.
The Seibs say the bank could not offer a solution. With no comparable home sales, they did not want to risk valuing the home and property incorrectly.
“They’d finance the home construction but were non-committal on the final mortgage,” Audrey explained.
“We couldn’t get a final loan amount from them. They wanted to wait until the home was built and then see what they MIGHT be able to do,” Phillip added.
“That’s a scary position to be in. They were suggesting we build the house with no idea of the final appraised value. If their final appraisal was less than our cost, we’d be in a bad position. It made us uncomfortable and we didn’t want to go that route,” he continued.
Assistant Vice President Jennifer Hooper met the Seibs at an area home show. After learning of their frustration with the bank, she explained home financing worked differently at Farm Credit.
She said she would be willing to go to bat for them and work with the appraiser on a construction-cost approach in valuing the home they planned to build.
“Jennifer was upfront and honest in regard to what she thought she and Farm Credit could do,” Phillip said.
“She explained Farm Credit would combine our construction loan and permanent loan into one closing. We knew the home’s value, our 30-year interest rate and what our monthly payment would be before we began building.”
According to Jennifer, building a home can be an overwhelming experience.
"Most people have never done it before, so I think it's important to explain the process and what they can expect," she said.
The Seibs finalized their loan in February 2018 and moved into their home in March 2019. Kasey and Kelly with Walker Brothers in De Queen served as their contractor.
The couple said Cheyenne Anderson and January Bennett, Texarkana branch Financial Services Specialists, were helpful and easy to work with as well.
“Cheyenne and January made disbursements during the construction phase easy. We got our dream home and the process was worth it,” Audrey shared.
“We can’t believe all the added benefits,” Phillip concluded.
The Seibs enjoying their front porch swing.
Easy Loan Closings
Springdale members David and Mortie Dassero reiterate that easy loan closings set Farm Credit apart in the marketplace.
“In our 25 years of construction and real estate experience, this was the easiest transaction we’ve ever encountered,” David explained.
“So simple and straightforward. Between us, I’d say, conservatively, we’ve probably been a part of more than 100 real estate closings and this was the easiest ever,” David added and Mortie affirmed.
David manages family real estate and rental property. Mortie has an accounting degree and works for her family’s business, Richland Construction.
The rural lifestyle attracted the Dasseros who searched for the right property for some time. Both were looking for the quiet, country lifestyle and a bit of distance from neighbors.
Mortie smiled as she remembered how moving to the country and raising chickens was initially her dream. She said she’s all about the animals. The irony is that while they have a few chickens, it is David’s interest in raising goats that has taken over their hobby farm. They have more than 50 goats, 11 Belted Galloway cows, bees and an assortment of very content farm dogs.
“Goat meat prices are crazy right now, so the goat market is strong,” Mortie explained.
David checks on the Belted Galloway cows that are a part of the Dassero's hobby farm.
The cows mingle in the shade of trees near the house, a reminder that the Dasseros are, indeed, living the country lifestyle. Mortie said the wooden fence separating the house from the pasture wasn’t always there, allowing the cows even closer access.
“Looking out the window to find a cow peering back was startling. Just a bit too close,” she smiled, and added that it wasn’t long after they finished construction that they added a fence to keep the cows further from the house.
The couple said they used a bank to finance the first 37 acres they bought.
“It was the most ridiculous thing we’d been through,” David shared. "They asked for too much information for what we were wanting to do and after two long, frustrating months we still didn’t have an answer.”
The Dasseros completed their initial land purchase with the bank but, frustrated, David said he refused to go that route again.
He looked for an alternative when financing a second, adjoining piece of land.
“I pass the Farm Credit office in Tontitown to and from work every day and thought it was worth a shot to stop and ask if they finance small farms,” he explained.
David met Assistant Vice President Misty Eastep and Financial Services Specialist Allison Kline that day.
“We were shocked to have our loan approved in less than 10 days,” he added.
When asked why he thinks the loan process is different at Farm Credit, David smiled and looked at Misty and Allison. “The fact that you all actually do your jobs, that’s what makes all the difference,” he answered.
“We were chatting with Misty while we closed our land loan and learned Farm Credit finances homes too,” David added.
The Dasseros say that conversation with Misty was fortuitous. While their bank gave them a competitive interest rate for the home construction, they said they weren’t happy with the interest rate the bank gave them for their permanent mortgage.
“Farm Credit was able to give us the 20-year, fixed interest rate that we couldn’t get from the bank,” Mortie said.
Misty Eastep and Allison Kline with Mortie Dassero
Patronage Cash Surprise
Allison said she had trouble convincing David to drop by and pick up his Patronage Cash in February.
“When Allison called to say we had a Patronage check I just thought, ‘yeah, whatever, it’s probably like $7, or something’”, he laughed.
Allison remembers the day and said, “I finally opened the envelope and told him the amount. There was a moment of silence and then he said, ‘I’ll come by today.’”
“I was shocked,” David smiled.
