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I couldn't live in a tiny home, but I do want to get out of my current house (2,400 sq ft) and into a house that would be more comfortable. The kids are gone, my husband is dead, it's just me. I don't need a big house.
Two bedrooms would be fine. One bedroom with a hide-a-bed couch would be fine. The kids and grandkids in a nearby Holiday Inn would be fine. I just don't need a large house. I don't want to clean a large house.
Most realtors seems to emphasize 3 bedrooms, 1-1/2 baths. I do like looking at the tiny houses. They have changed my thinking about the size of rooms, and what is actually necessary.
I would not call it a scam... only that buyers need to do their homework.
What will it cost to be functional when placed... is it even possible to do so legally?
The second home I bought was 15 by 40 on a 25 x 100 city lot.
It had two small bedrooms, a regular bathroom with tub, a regular eat in kitchen and a living room... all in 600 square feet. Really quite comfortable if you didn't have a lot of stuff.
The one thing it did not have is a washer dryer which would have meant losing a closet.
My brother lived in a Alfa Gold 5th wheel for about 6 years at a ranch were he worked while attending UC Berkeley...
It really was nice, well designed and very comfortable... said it was perfect for the single student life and had washer/dryer queen size bed with drawers under the mattress... central furnace... etc.
Lighting storms, hail storms, blizzards, torrential rainfalls, high winds, etc. All these conditions are not conducive for 4 year old to "dress for" and go out and play in. Again, I did not describe a TH as "child abuse", but if you do send a toddler out in "15 below" that IS child abuse, and note -15 is potentially fatal for a young child.
Look, you are clearly trying to justify your choice of a TH purchase, and I understand that. So, you will have an "answer" for anything to meet that end. No further debate is necessary.
Sending a child out in -15 temps is NOT child abuse as long as they are properly dressed. They don't cancel recess for elementary school in my town until the temp drops below -20. My kids have been out in even colder temps than that. It's called investing in good winter gear and layers. You must be from a southern state. -15 sounds a lot colder than it actually is, especially when there's no humidity. My kids have been outside in temps down to -40, albeit not for very long at those temps. -20 and warmer is business as usual. A kid can play outside on most days in any climate.
Location: In a little house on the prairie - literally
10,202 posts, read 7,920,960 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Pinkmani
No need to check history because I'm well aware of that already. Times have changed. A lot of people don't raise their kids like they used to (to be obedient, non defiant, etc.). I couldn't imagine living in close-quarters with an out-of-control 4 year-old or 14 year-old.
Times have changed. A lot of people don't raise their kids like they used to (to be obedient, non defiant, etc.). I couldn't imagine living in close-quarters with an out-of-control 4 year-old or 14 year-old.
Then raise your child not be out-of-control. It's not that hard. In fact, in today's world it's even easier in some respects.
Kid misbehaves? No problem.
Take away their chargers to their Ipod, phone, toy, whatever. They'll learn consequences real fast and understand. I'll bet in less than 24 hours an attitude change occurs, with little recidivism.
Times have changed. A lot of people don't raise their kids like they used to (to be obedient, non defiant, etc.). I couldn't imagine living in close-quarters with an out-of-control 4 year-old or 14 year-old.
LOL, what a hopeless perspective. Let's all build a bigger house so that raising petulant kids into petulant adults is more convenient. Manners, respect, and general decency...what some people call symptoms of "obedience" are what others see as the foundation for being a properly functioning person.
The tiny houses started off with total construction costs around 20k. Then HGTV started selling all wood trim, top of the line appliance, trendy add ons that increase the price. If youre looking at one that costs 90k then move on.
Location: In a little house on the prairie - literally
10,202 posts, read 7,920,960 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by thatguydownsouth
The tiny houses started off with total construction costs around 20k. Then HGTV started selling all wood trim, top of the line appliance, trendy add ons that increase the price. If youre looking at one that costs 90k then move on.
Well, you can get a pretty nice condo for 57K where I snowbird at.
I'd like to clear up a few things regarding tiny homes. First of all, a lot of people here have never lived in a trailer and more of you have never lived in a trailer in the wintertime. With snow on the ground. Tiny homes are insulated, unlike trailers. They can have a 50 year roof put on, unlike trailers. Believe me, I've lived in trailers of one sort or the other for a combined total of 10 or 11 years. They're cold when it's cold out and with an old trailer, the roof will always leak.
Second, in Portland and Seattle, the laws in those cities have changed to allow ADUs - Accessory Dwelling Units (tiny home). A tiny home has to be a minimum of so many square feet and must be able to be hooked up to city services. If it meets those qualifications and is built to code, it's allowed to have one in a back yard. Also, there are some small house developments. I know if one in Seattle and one not too far from where I live. The houses aren't "tiny", I think they're about 700 to 800 sq ft. But they cluster them on a couple acres so they have some greenery around them and they have a common parking area. There's a lot of interest in these.
Third, a lot of you are forgetting how much space is in 300 or 400 square feet. That is basically a trailer that is 10 x 30 or 10 x 40 (most trailers are 8 x something, so an 8 x 50 trailer, which is pretty big, would be giving you 400 sq ft). That's a trailer big enough to give you a small bedroom, bathroom, a reasonably sized kitchen and a living room. The reason tiny homes on wheels are built with lofts is so if they're put on wheels, they meet the code for size if they need to be pulled. And many tiny homes are built so they can either be connected to city services or be self contained.
Fourth, many of the tiny homes you see are overpriced, but let's look at what goes into them. Real wood floors,stainless steel appliances, and everything else. If you were to get just a plain Jane tiny home, I think the cost would go way down. And as for putting a tiny home on some land, I understand about just buying the house and doing that instead. But you can't just buy land and plop a house on it. I bought a manufactured house for $22,000 and a half acre for $25,000. The total price in putting the house on the land was $85,000. The extra $38,000 was for land prep. Now you figure out how much less land prep would be for a tiny house. That's what the big cost is in putting a house on the land.
A lot of people don't like tiny homes and that's fine. But for the rest of us, it might be the only home we'll ever be able to afford or be able to get a loan out for. For someone like myself, I'll probably be dead before I could pay off a traditional 30 year mortgage, so paying for a tiny home and buying some land to park it on are good options if I have the money to do that.
Point 1: none of those "tiny homes" were what was referenced in the OP: glorified trailers. Only one had a price, and that was the Cottage Company house for ... $593K. My guess is that none of the rest of those houses would be available for < $100k. All of the homes were also 500 square feet or more and built on foundations, so none are going anyplace any time soon. Not a single one was a glorified camping trailer with "utilities" supplied by an extension cord and garden hose.
Point 2: I know exactly how big a 12 x 30 studio apartment is because I lived in one for a while. I wasn't impressed. I've also spent time in 8 x 30 camping trailers (I have one at my camp) as well as vacations in 400 or 500 sq foot cottages/cabins. They're fine for a week but they get old fast, especially in rainy weather.
Point 3: How does having a "tiny house on wheels" cut land prep costs? A half acre of land is a half acre of land. Drilling a well or connecting to public water; creating the septic system or connecting to public sewer; and putting in a pole, electric meter, and running the power lines either above or below ground will all cost the same whether it's a tiny house on wheels or a 1000 square foot mobile home. If you don't want problems with the home staying level, then both need some kind of pad and supports to take it off the ground. Then you'll need skirting to keep the home warmer and prevent the pipes from freezing in winter. You'd save something there but my guess is it wouldn't be all that much.
Point 4: The land costs are what make these "tiny houses on wheels" scams. As others have said, unless you've got some close friend/relative who lives out in the boonies where there's no zoning and no health department restrictions on septic, you can't really park these glorified campers anywhere and live in them like they show on HGTV. An extension cord, a garden house, and a plastic pipe emptying the toilet into a nearby ditch (or a neighbor's land) does NOT constitute legal utility connections! Most lots don't have water and sewer connections at the back of lots. When somebody implies that the buyer can just roll one of these things into somebody's back yard and voila! they've got themselves a living unit, then that's a scam.
My house is a 1930 kit house. It's 720sf. The bigger bedroom requires its own heater and ac, so its a store room. I like how the smaller one fits the bed and dresser and not much more, since its for sleeping and I don't need lots of empty space to do that. The useable area (or the area that I use to live in) is within tiny house bounds.
Yes, you can get a condo or apartments, but they all share walls and noise with others. My house shared the space with several old large trees. Trees are quiet. I have lived in an apartment several times and hated it each time. Sharing your walls is too crowded.
Something happens to this house I'd have another kit style house replace it. Or a big tiny house style design. I don't crave a lot of empty space. I do require open space outside my walls. As for kids rooms, my cousins shared one for most of their growing up and it didn't damage either of them.
What we need are MORE smaller homes with conservation of resourses and good design. And an end to the mega mansion for a couple of people and their kid. The average middle class home in the 50's was not a mansion and it raised a generation.
My house is a 1930 kit house. It's 720sf. The bigger bedroom requires its own heater and ac, so its a store room. I like how the smaller one fits the bed and dresser and not much more, since its for sleeping and I don't need lots of empty space to do that. The useable area (or the area that I use to live in) is within tiny house bounds.
Yes, you can get a condo or apartments, but they all share walls and noise with others. My house shared the space with several old large trees. Trees are quiet. I have lived in an apartment several times and hated it each time. Sharing your walls is too crowded.
Something happens to this house I'd have another kit style house replace it. Or a big tiny house style design. I don't crave a lot of empty space. I do require open space outside my walls. As for kids rooms, my cousins shared one for most of their growing up and it didn't damage either of them.
What we need are MORE smaller homes with conservation of resourses and good design. And an end to the mega mansion for a couple of people and their kid. The average middle class home in the 50's was not a mansion and it raised a generation.
Small homes (700-1000 square feet) are very different from the "tiny houses" that are being pimped on HGTV which tend to be < 400 sq ft and mounted on wheels. Millions of older small homes are found all over the country, and in many areas, they even have basements as well as garages. Most can be bought cheap because there's a limited market for them. A handy buyer can buy and rehab one for significantly less than it would cost to buy some 300 square foot glorified camper and the land needed to park it.
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