Georgia's first Tiny Home Neighborhood Offers New Homes for $100k (Atlanta: real estate, renting)

[ATLTJL]

My spouse? Nope.

Sibling? Nope.

Best friend? Nope.

Sibling? Nope.

Hmm, I'm out of ideas on anyone I could share 500 square feet with and not want to kill. But more power to anyone who can!

[samiwas1]

Originally Posted by ATLTJL

My spouse? Nope.

Sibling? Nope.

Best friend? Nope.

Sibling? Nope.

Hmm, I'm out of ideas on anyone I could share 500 square feet with and not want to kill. But more power to anyone who can!

I'm not allowed to rep you because of the way this stupid site operates, but virtual rep point! My home office alone is 200 square feet...I cannot imagine having to live in just twice that space with someone else, no matter how much I loved them.

I applaud those of you who lived with large families in that amount of space.

[ATLTJL]

I think for most people that's a matter of necessity, not choice.

Kind of like college. Nobody actually WANTS to live in a shoebox with prison issue beds with a person they've never met, but that's what dorms are. There's a reason most people move out as soon as they can.

[architect77]

Micro-apartments with sq. footage a little large than these and about the size of a hotel room with kitchenette is where I would live if they were in midtown to reduce high rents right now.

The problem with the dozens of companies producing these tiny home and prefabs is the cost, with most being in the range of $70-200K for such a small space.

I know they need to make a profit, but these things mass-produced should cost around $30K, especially if you're going to have to pay for the land separately.

I like these except in a more urban location it's not good use of the land parcel.

I want the 3-D technology to start building modular units as a one piece- unibody construction of extruded tubes (similar volume of hotel room or single-wide mobile home) that with embedded ribbing could withstand a tornado (even though interior contents might not).

Even plastic composite might be a material, if the flammability factor can be mitigated.

It's astounding that mobile homes today are $60-$120K on average, and depreciate like a car and aren't any sturdier now than 40 years ago. It's just flimsy walls connected in a box enclosure. The cost is from granite countertops etc. which is unforntunate in my opinion.

[markjames68]

When an existing home can easily be purchased for around $100-120 a square foot outside the perimeter, a tiny house should be no more than $40K.

Nonetheless I applaud the effort and the market will decide if this is a hit or not.

[trouillot]

Big issue with trailer home living is weather with very high wind. Unlike stick-built houses, trailer homes considerably more vulnerable to property damage and loss of human life. Trailer home communities are more appropriate in places like Arizona or desert communities in Southern California where twisters are more uncommon. In those places drought and fire are your main concerns.

Don't remember when thinking changed so much from house primarily as place to live as opposed to an investment tool. Yes even way back, home equity loans were useful tool to help people of modest means borrow against their homes, but most people I remember resisted doing so except as last resort. Things sure have changed. Americans and our government are running on debt like never before. It will not end nicely at some point. We have whole generation who have not experienced a housing market meltdown. There will be a recession, there will be fall back in housing equity and there will be foreclosure increases from same. Chinese and American young people will learn the hard lessons of life in these regards sooner or later. Never borrow to much above your means and make saving a good size emergency fund one of your top financial priorities.

[Beretta]

We went to the Tiny Home Festival in Decatur two years ago as I was very curious (due to HGTV).

I could see some of the larger ones for a lake lot but to live in permanently? Um, no. Just no.

The proposed development sounds like it is ripe for someone to scoop them up and rent them out.

[bryantm3]

i don't get the appeal of getting one that's permanently in the ground. like someone said earlier i could see this being a vacation cabin thing. i could see living in a house like this if i could attach it to the back of a truck and there were a lot of public parks in cities that you could travel to and set up your house in a place that's walkable, and then you go park your car somewhere else. hotel rooms are tiny, why not make your own hotel room and take it with you?

[Thulsa]

I think these would be great for seniors.
I could see having a couple of lots in my neighborhood set aside for a set of these to put mom or dad in. No way would my parents consent to living with me; they highly valued their privacy. But they would not want to spend the $400K just to get a house near me either, and they would rather live in a tent than an apartment.

The residents could keep an eye on each other, or watch kids during the day and so on.
Or, OTOH, if I had a single-mom daughter (or son), it would be handy for her to have her own place but be nearby.

Or college kids.
I had a co-worker who had two kids in Emory at the same time. They bought a house for the kids on N Decatur Rd to get them their own place (and out of the house). Having had a college kid living at home, I think it might be worth $100K to have a place to put them for the 4-5 years for a degree.

[blktoptrvl]

Minimum of $400 a Sq/Ft? Robbery.