Many of our members turn their log homes into money making ventures.  There are actually a lot of ways to use your log home to make money, and here are eight different methods:

1) You can turn your log home into a Bed and Breakfast.  There is a lot of demand for log B&Bs, because they offer guests a unique and awesome experience.  It's just a totally different staying in a log home, than going to a 'regular old' stick framed B&B.  After attending our log home class one student built the Lucky Dog Lodge and it has been a very successful log B&B.  Cook's B&B was also very profitable, especially when they sold it!

2) There's a different way to make money with a log B&B that is worth mentioning.  Rather than just going for regular nightly clients, you can broaden your customer base by targeting group events, or functions.  Usually all you need is an extra log event hall next to your B&B building.  Good groups to focus on are weddings, business retreats, scrap-booking conventions, stamping conventions, scholastic events, et cetera.  One of our students built the Wallace Falls Lodge, which has been so popular for group rentals and weddings that is it almost always booked. 

3) A log home makes a fantastic hunting and fishing lodge.  Going out on a fishing trip, and staying in a log home, just really go hand in hand -- it feels 'right.'  One of our students who happens to be the worlds best fishing guide (in our totally biased opinion) is currently building a fishing and hunting lodge and it should be finished real soon.  This is a great way for him to add extra income onto his existing business, and if fishing or hunting is your way of having fun then building a hunting/fishing lodge might be something you could do too.

4) Many of our students are pastors.  Some of those use their log home as a place to perform weddings, premarital counseling, small worship services, bible study classes, etc.  A log home set in a peaceful wooded area makes for a wonderfully relaxing spiritual retreat.  Just take a look at Chaplain Fred Renfroe's log home to get an idea well this can work.  His log home really just has a peaceful and tranquil feel to it, very quiet and relaxing and conducive to performing his ministry work.  * Being a pastor, or having a spiritual retreat, is not really a way to 'make profit.'  We don't mean to imply that profit should be the motive for such work.  This is on the list because it is normal for pastors to receive donations for performing weddings and premarital counseling, which can be used to cover property taxes, living expenses, study materials, and such. 

5) Earning passive income from rentals is also a great way to make a profit.  There's even tax advantages to rental income, which means you get to KEEP MORE of each dollar you make than you would if you earned the money at a regular job (talk to a tax advisor about earned and unearned income).  One of our members built an extremely nice log home rental unit in Vermont, and now gets to relax a bit as a check rolls in every month.

7)  There's a different category of rental cabins that is worth mentioning: ski rentals.  This is often a very inexpensive way to 'break into' the landlord business.  Small lots are cheap in the mountains, small log homes are very easy and inexpensive to build.  A spartan log cabin in the mountains can make someone some good money, rented out on a weekend, or weekly basis.  This lady built just such a cabin after taking our class, and it would make a great place to stay after a fun day of skiing or snowboarding.

8) Some of our students just use log homes to make money the 'traditional' way, they build and sell them.  This can be a very profitable and rewarding career.  One such former student, Mike Simmons, was a success from his very first log home.

There you have it, eight ways to use a log home to make money.

Of course it is perfectly all right to just build and live in a log home without a mortgage, just like Sherri and Debbie did.  Nothing wrong with that at all, you don't need to turn your log home into a business.  If you just build an inexpensive log home, then you end up miles ahead of most Americans -- who are saddled with 30 year mortgages.