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<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial>All,</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial>In 1999, I went through five potential
lenders before I figured out Chris' strategy. I erased the words straw
bales from every page of my plans except the front page notes. Of the ~35
notes, three of them mentioned straw bales, but after the fifth lender turned me
down, all of the other pages (sections through, paln views, details) simply said
"cellulose insulation"). By leaving the notes on the front page, I was
clearly not lying to the lenders, but rather taking advantage of the fact that
they usually don't read the notes - until it is too late to change their
minds. Less than two hours before we were to sign the loan docs, the
lender called my up, freaking out about "straw bales." I held his hand on
the phone for nearly 45 minutes, but I am convinced that what made the
difference was that he was too embarassed to tell his superiors that he had
missed this "vital detail" until the day of the signing. BTW, after
my house, this lender made a specialty of lending on "green" projects. I
lost touch with him after a few years, so I don't know if he kept it up, but for
at least a while, he was really proud of the being the "green lender" for our
area. %^}</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial>Getting the permit was relatively easy. Ours
was the first straw bale home in Placer County and when I brought my plans in,
the CBO said to me, "we were wondering when we'd see you." ...not meaning
me, myself; but rather the first straw bale home applicant. I am sure it
helped some that I was on the Board of CASBA and had writtne the report for the
CEC on the thermal properties of straw bale walls, but I am also very
confident that even w/o those advantages, it would not have been a big "sle" to
get them to issue the permit. </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial>Best,</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial>Nehemiah</FONT></DIV>
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<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial">----- Original Message ----- </DIV>
<DIV
style="FONT: 10pt arial; BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; font-color: black"><B>From:</B>
<A title=chrisprelitz@gmail.com href="mailto:chrisprelitz@gmail.com">Chris
Prelitz</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>To:</B> <A title=gsbn@greenbuilder.com
href="mailto:gsbn@greenbuilder.com">gsbn@greenbuilder.com</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Sent:</B> Tuesday, August 31, 2010 11:21
AM</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> Re: [GSBN] TLS -Putting a
Project Together</DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV>Hi Joyce and friends,<BR>I'll pipe in on a strategy I've found
useful for both insurance and financing (after lurking here for eons.) This
may be old news - but just in case:<BR><BR>Paper pushers at most regulatory,
permitting, and banking institutions typically want a project to fit into a
nice neat little box<BR>where they can check off that everything is in order.
Say the scary <I>straw</I> word or write <I>strawbale</I> on a form, <BR>and
there's a good chance you'll raise a red flag, need stacks more paperwork,
maybe even trigger a higher rate,<BR> or get a thumbs down altogether. I
avoid using the word 'straw' whenever possible with those
chaps.<BR><BR>On insurance and finance applications, my home is wood framed
and insulated with <I>organic cellulose material</I> with a 1 hour fire
rating.<BR><I>Wood, wood frame</I>, and <I>cellulose</I> are all on their
forms. I haven't seen the word strawbale on insurance or mortgage applications
- yet.<BR>Sure it's a wee bit nefarious and doesn't forward the widespread
acceptance of straw-bale - but if there's no other way - it can
work.<BR><BR>More later<BR><BR><BR>Christopher Prelitz<BR>Prelitz +
Partners<BR><BR>1215 Bluebird Canyon Drive<BR>Laguna Beach, Ca.
92651<BR>p 949 494 6353<BR><A
href="http://www.Prelitz.com">www.Prelitz.com</A><BR><BR><BR><BR>
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