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<< Previous   of   Next >> Jennifer Buchanan / The Herald  (click to enlarge) This 1986-vintage Terra-Dome house in Snohomish is built into the side of a hill. Its roof is covered by soil and is planted. It can be yours for $375,000. Jennifer Buchanan / The Herald  (click to enlarge) The home consists of three domes. The middle dome contains the living room and kitchen.   ADVERTISEMENT   CONTACT THE HERALD Mike Benbow, Business Editor benbow@heraldnet.com   Published: Sunday, September 7, 2008 If a home is a little weird, can it be sold? Unusual homes such as Kylie Loynd's partially underground Terra-Dome are tough to sell at any time -- let alone during today's flagging real estate market. By Debra Smith, Herald Writer Kylie Loynd knows her Snohomish home is going to be a hard sell. For starters, it's underground. The living roof is covered with earth and plants, and the interior -- three concrete domes lined end to end -- is best described as eco-vintage. In contrast, the nearest neighbors own mainly stick-built, lakefront homes. "Basically, we are expecting nothing and going for everything," she said. "The (real estate) trends are so bad, if you listen you could just scare yourself out of it." Even in a so-so market, atypical homes can get sold -- it just takes some ingenuity, said the family's real estate agent, Sabine Bestier. She has listed some unusual properties in 18 years of selling real estate. A Terra-Dome, however, takes the cake. "My first thought was, 'Oh, great, I finally get to see one,'" she said. "My second thought was, 'Oh, boy we are definitely going to have a difficult time finding a match for it.'" Her third thought: how to get financing during a banking crisis. This property isn't the only atypical one Bestier has sold. Her definition of "atypical" includes one bedroom homes, small homes on acreage and homes with multiple remodels. She lists at least one or two hard-to-sell properties a year. This is the only Terra-Dome on the market in Snohomish County at the moment, but at least one other in Lake Stevens sold two years ago. The Terra-Dome was built in 1986 for a couple who fell in love with the design. The builder may have built up to 15 other Terra-Domes in the area, Loynd said. The home wasn't originally intended to be environmentally conscious, but the design naturally lends itself to low energy use. She said the home is cool in the summer and snug in the winter. The listing price is $375,000. Her family bought the home and the nearly eight acres it sits on in 2000. With the exception of the high-domed ceilings and the concrete floors inside, the living space resembles a typical home with three bedrooms, bathrooms, an open kitchen and a family room. "You have to get over the fact this doesn't look like other houses," Loynd said. It's not likely this house will get sold from a standard broker's open house or a public open house, Bestier said. Instead, she is "quite ruthlessly" working connections with anyone who might have a potential interest, particularly people involved in the local green community. She's also targeting agents who specialize in green properties and marketing it on eco-property listings. The right buyer understands the pros and cons of Terra-Dome construction, Bestier said. Like her, they probably lived through the 1970s environmental movement. They value living close to the land. They may want a more rural lifestyle, perhaps to grow an organic vegetable garden or home-school their children. "I don't see it as an urbanite, someone commuting to Microsoft or a downtown law firm," she said. "It's probably someone who is a self-employed entrepreneur. It's definitely someone who can take a look at this property and say this is a diamond in a rough, but I can make it work." This home may even be a hard sale with green buyers, who tend to be more sophisticated today. This home lacks many of the modern green features. The ideal buyer would have the means to retrofit the home with modern green features such as solar power and water cisterns, she said. Finding financing for the property continues to be a challenge. Lenders have tightened credit and most traditional lenders aren't willing to finance a Terra-Dome, Bestier said. She's found at least one financing program aimed at hobby farmers. The borrower needs to put 20 percent down and generate $500 a year in agriculture profits, something Bestier suggests could be accomplished by putting in a raspberry patch. "I do want to have recommendations ready when we have that interested party," she said. " A standard conventional lender is not likely to be interested in funding the loan." Even with aggressive marketing, Bestier has told the owners to expect the property to sit on the market four to seven months. The Terra-Dome has been on the market since mid-August and so far, only one potential buyer has visited, Bestier said. However, the home has generated considerable interest among real estate agents. She said the listing has had triple the activity rate of her other listings, and a Seattle real estate newspaper reporter listed it on his online blog. Loynd isn't worried her home won't sell, especially when she remembers what attracted her to it. The quiet and beauty of the surrounding woods. The connection to the land. The memory of her daughter as a toddler wobbling down the driveway with a huge maple leaf clutched in her hand. "The type of person who wants this house will fall in love with it like we did," she said. "That doesn't have a particular place or time in the market. Somebody will drive onto the property and love it like we did." Reporter Debra Smith: 425-339-3197 or dsmith@heraldnet.com. READER COMMENTS Be the first to comment. 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