Tiny House: What's the attraction? (Denver, Colorado Springs: insurance, townhouse, to live in)

[abcdefg567]

Originally Posted by LHS79

Not too many folks want to live (or be next to) a trailer park- just sayin'!

Usually on the "COPS" tv show these are the places the police are always going to.

I agree, but there can be nice ones.

I'm eyeing a 55+ one near us for my parents when they're ready to downsize, but not ready for nursing care. Low maintenance, inexpensive, ranch, close to us, etc. They'd prefer one with amenities like Pickleball and classes, but the mobile home itself is not a deterrent.

There's also that Antelope Ridge one (they actually look pretty nice), which TBH I was a tiny bit nervous about living near last year, but everyone going in/out had nicer cars than my husband nor I and looked totally, "normal." I felt guilty for judging it. Not to mention they were much quieter on Nextdoor about break-ins and the like, compared to the surrounding neighborhoods.

[TCHP]

Originally Posted by abcdefg567

I agree, but there can be nice ones.

I'm eyeing a 55+ one near us for my parents when they're ready to downsize, but not ready for nursing care. Low maintenance, inexpensive, ranch, close to us, etc. They'd prefer one with amenities like Pickleball and classes, but the mobile home itself is not a deterrent.

There's also that Antelope Ridge one (they actually look pretty nice), which TBH I was a tiny bit nervous about living near last year, but everyone going in/out had nicer cars than my husband nor I and looked totally, "normal." I felt guilty for judging it. Not to mention they were much quieter on Nextdoor about break-ins and the like, compared to the surrounding neighborhoods.

Exactly! Herein lies the big difference; Trailer park occupant demographics are significantly different than tiny house buyer demographics. Tiny house buyers tend to cluster in two groups, over 55 and under 30. More than a third of Tiny House buyers tend to hold bachelor degrees or higher and have significantly lower than average debt.

Originally Posted by otowi

If any of you have watched any of those tiny house TV shows, there are some tiny home communities out there in other states that are definitely several steps above 'trailer park'. A lot of these houses have some pretty amazing features. I think there are some resort communities that rent out tiny homes and make big bucks doing it. I think there are creative ways people are going about this that could work here and some developers/planners etc. here are lacking vision and missing out on a potentially good market.

Agreed. It isn't for me, but I respect those who wish to live in one.

[abcdefg567]

Has anyone mentioned or seen this: https://www.peak-view-park.com/tiny-houses

*ETA, that's Woodland Park and I see it's already been mentioned. I'm only on coffee cup #1 lol. ��
It looks like in the BF they have tiny homes in a mobile/park home community already.

It's not surprising, didn't El Paso County let siding on the VF town their land into a construction storage zone? It seems like they're pretty lax already.

Anyways, if lot rent wasn't high, these look great!

Still...for some reason I could see one of these communities in the Black Forest somewhere, maybe East of Banning Lewis Ranch in an obscure corner.... perhaps Peyton?

El Paso County seems just a tiny bit uninvolved, so I can't imagine there be much pushback outside of judgement or laziness. ?

[abcdefg567]

Originally Posted by TCHP

Exactly! Herein lies the big difference; Trailer park occupant demographics are significantly different than tiny house buyer demographics. Tiny house buyers tend to cluster in two groups, over 55 and under 30. More than a third of Tiny House buyers tend to hold bachelor degrees or higher and have significantly lower than average debt.



Agreed. It isn't for me, but I respect those who wish to live in one.

So basically anyone who isn't likely to have/be having children yet? And the educated.

I think it would be great once the kids are gone to live in a tiny house during the summer and spend all our time outside. In theory. In reality, we'd probably be happier with at least 600-700 sq. ft, but I get the dream. Plus, the financial aspects have the potential to be favorable.

[otowi]

Came across this article today that talks about the need to educate and update codes for tiny homes, etc. - very interesting imho - https://www.fastcompany.com/3056129/..._medium=paidcm

[rochester_veteran]

Originally Posted by otowi

Came across this article today that talks about the need to educate and update codes for tiny homes, etc. - very interesting imho - https://www.fastcompany.com/3056129/..._medium=paidcm

Yes, very interesting and something that would be perfect for my situation, a single bedroom home with a great front porch (one of my favorite things) for $20,000. But again, the problem is finding a community that allows such a house.

[Miss Hepburn]

this was interesting:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yGomaVCVYfM

[rochester_veteran]

Originally Posted by Miss Hepburn

this was interesting:

Cool place, Miss Hepburn, but I'd end up banging my head like Bernadette's friend did! The house featured in the article that otowi posted would be much more suitable for a tall person as it's more like a standard sized house, except that it's smaller. You don't see one bedroom houses built anymore, but for me, it would be perfect. It reminded me of my first place that I rented on my own when I was going through tech school in the USAF. It was built on the front of the owner's property, whose full sized house was set towards the rear of the lot. It was like a cottage with a separate bedroom, combined living room and dining room with a kitchen and bathroom set off if it, a cool little place.

[MountainEarth]

Originally Posted by abcdefg567

Has anyone mentioned or seen this: https://www.peak-view-park.com/tiny-houses

It would be nice if this park actually served as affordable housing. But they're actually ridiculously expensive for what you get, which is why so many of them will ultimately end up being "park model" vacation homes for out-of-staters, and those looking to cash in on a cheap Airbnb style investment.

Salida's so-called "affordable" tiny home community is turning out to be the same kind of thing. The company building it told Outside magazine that the 260 square foot units are expected to rent for $750/mo. That is more expensive per square foot ($2.88/sqft) than Denver city limits (average $1.64/sqft in 2016). These companies are selling these as "affordable" homes while actually making a killing.

http://www.hcn.org/articles/tiny-hou...housing-crunch

[Mike from back east]

Originally Posted by MountainEarth

It would be nice if this park actually served as affordable housing. But they're actually ridiculously expensive for what you get, which is why so many of them will ultimately end up being "park model" vacation homes for out-of-staters, and those looking to cash in on a cheap Airbnb style investment. ...

They might make for quick motels, wheel 'em in, set 'em up and start renting them. I know of at least one motel in PA that brought in a bunch of old railroad cabooses and used them for rentals.