Earth-Sheltered Ohio Home Has a Roof You Have to Mow

The future owner of a newly-listed Ohio residence will never need to worry about shopping for roof shingles—but they should take care to ensure that their lawnmower is in good condition.

Because the earth-sheltered property, which is located in Huron, OH, is built almost entirely under the ground, complete with a dirt- and grass-covered roof that provides spectacular protection from the elements, but does require the odd trim now and then.

“We’ll call it an earth-sheltered home because about 90% of it is underground,” said listing agent Laurie Brill with Keller Williams Citywide. “[The sellers] built it in the side of the hill and then they covered it with dirt, so the roof is ivy and myrtle and they literally mow the roof.”

The home is on—or, rather, under—about eight acres on the Huron River and was recently listed for $850,000, an ask that Brill admits was not easy to come up with, largely because there are no similar properties in the area to compare it to.

“Trying to price it was really difficult… it’s not like any other home. There are other earth-sheltered homes across the country, but I’ve never seen one here in northern Ohio,” Brill says. “There are not comps for this.”

The sellers have lived in the sold concrete underground home since they built it in 1977.

Initially, Brill saus, they weren’t intending to create such a unique structure, but the beauty of the natural landscape inspired a different design.

“He bought a piece of land and he was just going to build a regular house on it,” Brill explains, adding the seller told her he was walking the land one day and had a type of epiphany, wondering if the house could go underneath the ridge. “So he went and talked to a contractor that could do a concrete home, and that’s what they did.”

Brill says she didn’t know what to think when she first saw the place.

“I’m a 40-year veteran selling real estate and this is clearly the most unique listing I’ve ever had, and I’ve had some weird ones,” she admits with a laugh.

However, after she walked inside the home, she breathed a sigh of relief—because for all of its unique quirks on the outside, the interior is very much that of a traditional residence.

“When you go inside the home, it feels exactly like a normal little 2,100-square-foot ranch floor plan,” she says, adding there is actually a lot of natural light from windows on two sides and skylights throughout.

“In the living room, dining space, and kitchen, you’ve got natural light coming in, just like you do in any other normal house.”

There are two bathrooms and three bedrooms, one of which would make a perfect room for napping at any time of the day.  

“There’s only one room in the house that does not have any windows, and it is the third bedroom,” Brill explains. “If you turn the light on, it looks normal, but definitely there is no light coming into that particular room.”

The entire home is almost hidden under a tree canopy.

“You would never know that house is back there unless you knew it’s back there,” she says. “If you want to live like a hermit or a hobbit, there you go.”

But while much of the house is hidden, part of it still has a view.

“In the main living area, when you’re standing at the kitchen sink, you can look right outside,” she says. “There’s this beautiful gazebo out there, so you can look right into the yard and into the gazebo and the patio.”

There are also two other above-ground structures on the property, a log cabin and a workshop. The parcel has about 250 feet of waterfront and it is about a 30-minute boat ride to Lake Erie and open water.

The home itself could use a bit of updating but is in good shape. Keeping it up is different from other homes which are above ground.

“There’s no roof. There’s no gutters. There’s no siding. There are no downspouts, so [the sellers] have never had to replace any of those items,” Brill says, adding the sellers have been doing all of the property maintenance themselves, which is getting harder for them as they get older.

“[It’s] a unique property and they’ve enjoyed it, and they’ve loved it, and they’ve taken care of it. Hopefully, we’ll find another buyer that will love it just as much as they have.”