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Saw a news piece last week on How much house do you really need, some of these new mini houses are economical and functional and while they probably wont pass city zoning laws they would certainly make for an interesting country cottage application. https://www.google.ca/search?q=Mini+...iw=768&bih=484
I have no problem with small houses but the tiny ones I'll pass on. The problem I have is the extreme cost for the "fad" Tiny Houses. They are very overpriced. You can do much better building a small home on your own.
I have no problem with small houses but the tiny ones I'll pass on. The problem I have is the extreme cost for the "fad" Tiny Houses. They are very overpriced. You can do much better building a small home on your own.
That's the truth. Per square foot, they are overpriced to the extreme.
I have no problem living in a small space, although I agree these are way overpriced.
Also, I would imagine that there are size requirements for houses built in some areas. But for the sake of discussion, let's suppose that whatever permits are necessary, could easily be obtained; I still see some problems.
1) Unused space in a house creates a sound buffer, that keeps the residents from going completely berserk due to the noise from neighbors, street sounds, and so on. I admit it- - I don't often use any of the rooms going across the front of my 1600 square foot house (in an inner suburb), and these rooms buffer the street sounds nicely. My house is delightfully quiet, and so am I; I try to be considerate. If everybody in the world was considerate, I'd be happily living in a very tiny house on a tiny lot. But in the real world, I find that very few people are even slightly considerate and the closer neighbors are, the louder and more obnoxious they seem to feel they must be. I guess it's like dogs urinating to mark their territory. Placing the tiny home at the center of 10 acres out in the country would eliminate this issue (but I personally prefer suburban life).
2) Resale. Really, are a good percentage of buyers going to find this house attractive? I suspect not, especially those with a growing family. Those of us who don't mind small square footage are in the minority.
3) The unexpected. "Life is what happens while we are making other plans", a quote from John Lennon. In this case, a couple living in a tiny home could find themselves expecting a child. One's aged mother might need to move in. One might take up a hobby that requires space. One might get the rare opportunity to work from home, and that can require space. A tiny house is much less flexible than a larger house in meeting the unexpected demands that life may offer.
If you buy some well wooded land (say 5 to 10 acres), you could have enough materials to build a small log cabin for next to nothing. If you want power, running water, etc., obviously that would cost money but the largest portion of the expense of building would be gone, and you could avoid a mortgage. Obviously the land might cost some money but you'd still be ahead of the people with a massive house and a bigger loan on it.
That's the truth. Per square foot, they are overpriced to the extreme.
Cute, though.
I like small houses and I do agree that some of the trendy small houses are too small (especially the extreme small houses shown here). However, cost per square foot absolutely cannot be compared when talking about smaller houses vs larger houses. $/ft2 is actually a horrible way to compare housing costs; it just happens to be the simplest for people to understand. The only time that $/ft2 means anything is when dealing with very specific and comparable sales in a specific and comparable area.
If I build a house that is an eat-in kitchen open to a living room with 2 bedroom suites as essentially the whole house, then it is a no-brainer that the $/ft2 will probably be higher than a house with a formal dining room, formal living room, large living room, bonus room, multiple bedrooms (not with a dedicated bath), etc. unless that house has lots of detailing. This is because rooms like kitchens and baths are the high dollar per square foot areas. And guess what? Even small houses (maybe not the "extreme" small houses, but think 1000-1500 custom) have these rooms still. Most larger houses are adding lots of square footage in the relatively cheap dollar per square foot areas. For example, many of them are adding 2nd story square footage which is typically cheaper. And then these formal living rooms and guest bedrooms etc. are nothing but floors, walls, and windows. No fixtures or tiling or plumbing or venting...These rooms dilute the cost per square foot, thus they cannot be compared except to similarly sized and designed houses.
Smaller houses still have bathrooms, and kitchens, but less total square footage so the $/ft2 almost HAS to rise (that doesn't mean the total cost is always more though...). Plus, many people who like smaller homes go smaller but higher quality. For example, if we ever build, we will build small. But I will be doing things like using much better insulation than code minimum, higher quality piping, maybe radiant floor heating, metal roofing, possibly solar panels. These are things that most common bigger homes don't have. However, my wife and i value quality over quantity in terms of housing so we are willing to pay only for the space we need but have the smaller space contain all the bells and whistles we want.
Small housing vs big housing can become applesotatoes so quickly. If I build a 1200 ft2 custom house for $200/ft2 in my city versus building a code-minimum 3500ft2 for $90/ft2 in my city, I actually spend less total money, get EXACTLY what I want, and only have to maintain and heat/cool space we are going to use. But the $/ft2 looks insane in comparison.
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. The problem I have is the extreme cost for the "fad" Tiny Houses. They are very overpriced. You can do much better building a small home on your own.
otatoes so quickly. If I build a 1200 ft2 custom house for $200/ft2 in my city versus building a code-minimum 3500ft2 for $90/ft2 in my city, I actually spend less total money, get EXACTLY what I want, and only have to maintain and heat/cool space we are going to use. But the $/ft2 looks insane in comparison.
