Luxury tiny homes for Hawaii? (real estate, rental, condos)

[OKfine]

Inside Luxury Tiny Homes: Millennials, Retirees Bucking Mortgages and McMansions | Daily Ticker - Yahoo Finance

At $ 16,000 and under 200sf, with bath and more, it may be an idea where land is limited and income too.
Obviously, building/zoning codes would need to be addressed as acceptable, and/or out of town areas. Anyone think that people would actually like this type residence in the state? These appear to be different than sheds or simply trailers. Maybe useful for younger university types?

[Futuremauian]

Originally Posted by OKfine

Inside Luxury Tiny Homes: Millennials, Retirees Bucking Mortgages and McMansions | Daily Ticker - Yahoo Finance

At $ 16,000 and under 200sf, with bath and more, it may be an idea where land is limited and income too.
Obviously, building/zoning codes would need to be addressed as acceptable, and/or out of town areas. Anyone think that people would actually like this type residence in the state? These appear to be different than sheds or simply trailers. Maybe useful for younger university types?

In Hawaii, they're called Condos. Unfortunately, the cost more than $16,000 unless the lease is about to expire, or they are time-shares.

[whtviper1]

200sf is the size of a 1 (one) in case you think that was a typo car garage

[OpenD]

I think a better solution might be the kind of micro-housing being pioneered in Seattle, which one developer calls "aPODments." They are small (200 sf and up) suites without a full kitchen - only a small kitchenette sink, a mini fridge and a microwave within the space (like small Hawaiian ohanas!) - with access to a shared common area with laundry and full kitchen facilities.

When the following article was written in April there were 47 of these developments built or already under construction, with more planned. It got started because of a loophole in the local code which waives city design review for units with 9 or more "dwelling units" which share a common kitchen area. Though tiny by contemporary standards, for busy singles who don't have a lot of possessions and don't do a lot of food prep, the low rental prices and location in one of the hippest and most desirable central areas have made them hot properties.

Started as an opportunistic fluke, it's an idea I can see being successfully replicated or adapted in other areas with high real estate prices, and cooperative authorities.

Seattle's 'micro-housing' boom draws criticism, support | Local & Regional | Seattle News, Weather, Sports, Breaking News | KOMO News

[McFrostyJ]

Thanks for posting that link OKfine!



After watching that video, I am really going to get a good laugh the next time someone tells me that I live in a tiny home!

[hunterseat]

I've seen some articles on people with minuscule homes. A lot of them are built so they can be moved. One lady had 2 sweaters. If she bought a new one she had to get rid of one of the old ones. Space was that tight. And she lived alone. There's something to be said for simple living but.... If I tell the dog to get away from me he has to have somewhere to get to!

[OKfine]

Originally Posted by McFrostyJ

Thanks for posting that link OKfine!



After watching that video, I am really going to get a good laugh the next time someone tells me that I live in a tiny home!

I suppose being optimistic, one might say about living in a "walk in closet", that at least hangers exist above, to hang party decorations ("party" for two) , dry clothes when the community laundry is 'busy" or full , at the stream/river bank & wash board area, doubles as an exercise area to swing ONCE like Tarzan before hitting the walls, or "age" country hams (1-2 only). Of course, all MUST be termed " cozy", " cute",
"adorable", " easy upkeep", and " everything within EASY reach" by all realtors. " Timeshare" bathrooms may be an issue unless participants work on opposing shifts or partners hog a sleeping bag & folding lawn chair. " All " at really cheap at $ 1500 monthly w/o utilities and car parking 1/2 mile away for " your convenience" is ONLY $ 100 a month extra.

[hotzcatz]

Folks are building "tiny" houses, but they are in the under 500 square foot range instead of the 200 sq. ft. or less range. Less than 500 square feet is a cozy but still livable one bedroom house. Fortunately, lanais aren't included in the 500 square feet so the little houses have huge lanais. These are built to the current building code and with permits, so they are legal structures.

The reason for the less than 500 square feet have to do with building codes, zoning codes and economics. Folks buy a piece of property and want to build a house, but don't have enough to build a big house. Not McMansion big, but around 1,500 to 2,000 square feet. So, instead of building the bigger house, they build what will eventually be the guest house or ohana first. It is built as a "residence" (since you can't build a guest house unless there is a residence to go along with it) and they build the less than 500 square feet house and live in it for a few years while they get their finances in shape to build the bigger house. When they are ready to build the bigger house, they file a "change in use" on the small house and have it become a guest house which then opens the slot for the residence they want to build. To be a guest house, it has to be less than 500 square feet and not have a kitchen, so some of the appliances are removed from the kitchen area to make it merely a snack area.

That has been the plan, but what has been happening is that folks are happy with their little houses and never getting around to building the big ones.

Economically, if the folks who built the small house want to sell, the new owners are still able to build a bigger house if they want, too. So, they can buy property with a small house on it and not have to tear the small house down to build a bigger one. Win-win all around.

As far as houses on trailers go, though, there are sewage/septic issues and there aren't any places for where they can be legally lived in in this state that I know of. Building the septic system has to be done no matter what size of house is being built, so that's not a cost that is going to change by changing your building methods.

This is on the island of Hawaii, however, I'm not sure if the rules are the same on Oahu.

[OKfine]

This subject reminded me of the " Little Boxes" theme song from " Weeds" and done in 1963 by Pete Seeger...subtle sarcasm and kind of funny too...regarding small residences....sang here by Malvina Reynolds from the show theme to Weeds..


Malvina Reynolds - Little Boxes (Weeds Theme Song) Full Version with Lyrics - YouTube

Little boxes on the hillside,
Little boxes made of ticky tacky,
Little boxes on the hillside,
Little boxes all the same.

There's a pink one and a green one
And a blue one and a yellow one,
And they're all made out of ticky tacky
And they all look just the same.

And the people in the houses
All went to the university,
Where they were put in boxes
And they came out all the same,
And there's doctors and lawyers,
And business executives,
And they're all made out of ticky tacky
And they all look just the same.

And they all play on the golf course
And drink their martinis dry,
And they all have pretty children
And the children go to school,
And the children go to summer camp
And then to the university,
Where they are put in boxes
And they come out all the same.

And the boys go into business
And marry and raise a family
In boxes made of ticky tacky
And they all look just the same.
There's a pink one and a green one
And a blue one and a yellow one,
And they're all made out of ticky tacky
And they all look just the same.

[OpenD]

Originally Posted by OKfine

This subject reminded me of the " Little Boxes" theme song from " Weeds" and done in 1963 by Pete Seeger...subtle sarcasm and kind of funny too...regarding small residences....sang here by Malvina Reynolds from the show theme to Weeds..

I remember Malvina well and I remember learning this song around 1994 or 1995, and I promise you, it has absolutely nothing to do with the current Tiny House Movement.

If anything, it is the exact opposite of what she wrote about, because what she was satirizing was not the size, but the sameness and the shoddy construction and graceless design of mass produced post-war housing developments in the Bay Area.

Tiny Houses, to speak to a specific current trend that is commonly referred to as the Tiny House Movement, are all about unique, predominantly high quality custom designs which happen to be much smaller than traditional homes. Although 500 sf are kind of the upper end of the size range, 200 sf is more typical, and houses of 50 - 100 sf are not unusual.

These are not merely smaller conventional houses, they are tiny unconventional houses, often with unexpected features like stained glass windows and hand fitted cabinetry using rare woods, hammered copper sinks, Swiss-Army Knife fold out features and built-ins, whatever the imagination might dream up to make a very cozy home for one person (or possibly more, but typically just one) special. And they may even have a higher cost per square foot than a larger home. But what they don't have is a lot of floorspace or storage. It's a unique niche which is simply not addressed by the conventional housing market.

And because so many of them are below government minimums in this country for permitted habitable space in a permanent structure, many are built on wheeled trailer beds simply to avoid being classified as illegal structures.