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I think you would have to give a little on the bolded...Probably 1/8 acre lots or smaller, and/or allow sf up to 1450 sf or bigger...
Otherwise, condo-ize them, in SFH structures on smaller lots still...
The same people that generally want "tiny homes" or even smaller SFH don't want 1/4 acre of leaves to rake or lawn to mow.
Does it sound nice? Sure, but I can't see it being viable or even desirable, that small a house on that large a lot.
My current house is 740 sf. I don't use a quarter, but might. I also have a big yard. So long as I had a fenced small yard, I'd be fine minus the extra size. I've lived here for going on ten years and wouldn't know what to do with something larger.
I'd be happy with smaller and better layout. I've even drawn it out. I'd give less room for that 'open' look, and group places I use a lot, like the computer/tv area with storage of the stuff you need. Bedroom just big enough, hidden storage under the bed, and a kitchen with a door which shuts. I hate 'open' kitchens...
I currently live in half my house, so wouldn't miss the empty space.
My idea about a good house is one which doesn't waste space on things which mostly draw dust. There would be lots of shelves for books or stuff or what was needed, and hidden storage too. And I like having nooks for things I enjoy, were my stuff isn't hidden at the back of a closet. Lots of shelves too. One thing I really like about the 'tiny' style layout is rooms have little wasted room, and what is there has a use beyond filling space.
I'd like a quarter acre if there was a lawn cutting service you could choose to join. I hate mowing. And with the 1/4 acre, residents could put in a fenced area for pets and kids and add some outside areas to sit with some flowers. It would still give the nicely balanced indoors. I'll bet it could be quite viable if it didn't get choaked on a notebook full of rules. I actually like the idea of the tiny houses, but I'd want to not be surrounded by local rules and codes and so on, and let me paint my house how I choose.
There may be things making my current house less than ideal, mostly that there isn't much to do, but its way better than those places where every last possible choice has a rule about it.
I am kind of curious as to why all lots have to be clear cut and turned into lawns. Yes that i how it is often done around here, but there are some cases with old houses from just before the war that are really cottages in the woods. At one point they were probably large yards but have grown in, and now you just have nature around you. A lot of people like it, but the houses themselves are usually either crap or have been flipped, and many of them get torn down and redeveloped.
My current house is 740 sf. I don't use a quarter, but might. I also have a big yard. So long as I had a fenced small yard, I'd be fine minus the extra size. I've lived here for going on ten years and wouldn't know what to do with something larger.
I'd be happy with smaller and better layout. I've even drawn it out. I'd give less room for that 'open' look, and group places I use a lot, like the computer/tv area with storage of the stuff you need. Bedroom just big enough, hidden storage under the bed, and a kitchen with a door which shuts. I hate 'open' kitchens...
I currently live in half my house, so wouldn't miss the empty space.
My idea about a good house is one which doesn't waste space on things which mostly draw dust. There would be lots of shelves for books or stuff or what was needed, and hidden storage too. And I like having nooks for things I enjoy, were my stuff isn't hidden at the back of a closet. Lots of shelves too. One thing I really like about the 'tiny' style layout is rooms have little wasted room, and what is there has a use beyond filling space.
I'd like a quarter acre if there was a lawn cutting service you could choose to join. I hate mowing. And with the 1/4 acre, residents could put in a fenced area for pets and kids and add some outside areas to sit with some flowers. It would still give the nicely balanced indoors. I'll bet it could be quite viable if it didn't get choaked on a notebook full of rules. I actually like the idea of the tiny houses, but I'd want to not be surrounded by local rules and codes and so on, and let me paint my house how I choose.
There may be things making my current house less than ideal, mostly that there isn't much to do, but its way better than those places where every last possible choice has a rule about it.
I agree that there is a market for smaller dwellings, in some capacity at least. But I don't think that a development of smaller homes AND large lots is going to fly. As Oldtrader pointed out, the development costs would make the price high enough that it wouldn't be feasible. And I don't think there are that many people looking for a smaller square footage AND a larger yard.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Cloudship
I am kind of curious as to why all lots have to be clear cut and turned into lawns. Yes that i how it is often done around here, but there are some cases with old houses from just before the war that are really cottages in the woods. At one point they were probably large yards but have grown in, and now you just have nature around you. A lot of people like it, but the houses themselves are usually either crap or have been flipped, and many of them get torn down and redeveloped.
To develop the land, you probably need to do some grading, you need to put in sewers, you need to put in roads, you need to bring in Gas and Electric. All of these things require heavy machinery to bring it in, require easements for them, and that means tree removal. That's before you build the house, which again requires access for trucks and tractors.
Find a place in the US that someone has already done this. Then look at the issues they needed to overcome and on going issues. Then apply this to your situation.
My guess is, the profit margin is not there. I'm more of a numbers guy.
The OP sounds almost like he wants to be a do-gooder and help provide "affordable housing" for those who want to work in Boston, yet have a comfortable commute to work.
Tiny houses are, by their very nature, an individual response to a larger societal problem. Meaning, the tiny house dweller is one who has come up with his or her own solution, and implemented it themselves. To have another person or group, say a developer, take over the process is counter-intuitive. The wrong types of people will be drawn to such a development. I also think you are making a mistake by providing water, sewer and power. Quite frequently, tiny house devotees are not interested in paying fees for those amenities to municipalities and power companies.
Finally, I doubt if you would ever get this permitted in Mass. I have lived all of my life in RI and Maine, and I can tell you that the New England political atmosphere is toxic. It's all about money, about school budgets, about police and fire retirement funding, about protecting property values of what is already there. You'd be a goldfish swimming into a piranha's mouth....
The OP sounds almost like he wants to be a do-gooder and help provide "affordable housing" for those who want to work in Boston, yet have a comfortable commute to work.
Tiny houses are, by their very nature, an individual response to a larger societal problem. Meaning, the tiny house dweller is one who has come up with his or her own solution, and implemented it themselves. To have another person or group, say a developer, take over the process is counter-intuitive. The wrong types of people will be drawn to such a development. I also think you are making a mistake by providing water, sewer and power. Quite frequently, tiny house devotees are not interested in paying fees for those amenities to municipalities and power companies.
Finally, I doubt if you would ever get this permitted in Mass. I have lived all of my life in RI and Maine, and I can tell you that the New England political atmosphere is toxic. It's all about money, about school budgets, about police and fire retirement funding, about protecting property values of what is already there. You'd be a goldfish swimming into a piranha's mouth....
1/4 acre lots for tiny houses is throwing money away.
I'm looking at a current listing my neighborhood. The lot is .07 acre (less than 1/10th for comparison), and the house is about 3500 sq ft including a finished basement. Listed for just under 700K.
Why on earth would someone use 2.5 times more land to build a house 1/7th the size that is going to sell for maybe 20% of the price, if you are lucky?
Whether there are buyers or not is pretty irrelevant because they can't afford to develop the land and developers are in business to maximize their profits.
1/4 acre lots for tiny houses is throwing money away.
I'm looking at a current listing my neighborhood. The lot is .07 acre (less than 1/10th for comparison), and the house is about 3500 sq ft including a finished basement. Listed for just under 700K.
Why on earth would someone use 2.5 times more land to build a house 1/7th the size that is going to sell for maybe 20% of the price, if you are lucky?
Whether there are buyers or not is pretty irrelevant because they can't afford to develop the land and developers are in business to maximize their profits.
Maybe because they don't want to be living one on top of another?
How far away are you from your neighbors house? Why bother living out in the country and in a single family home if you are only feet away from the next one?
Interesting that everyone on here seems to dislike the idea of lots much bigger than the home size, while most of the people I talk to looking at houses want separation from their neighbors. Even more interesting is that the cost of the house seems to go up as the percentage of free land area goes down.
Do your towns have maximum lot coverage restrictions?
Maybe because they don't want to be living one on top of another?
How far away are you from your neighbors house? Why bother living out in the country and in a single family home if you are only feet away from the next one?
Interesting that everyone on here seems to dislike the idea of lots much bigger than the home size, while most of the people I talk to looking at houses want separation from their neighbors. Even more interesting is that the cost of the house seems to go up as the percentage of free land area goes down.
Do your towns have maximum lot coverage restrictions?
The original post described the land as close to the town center. That doesn't mean "living out in the country" to me, it implies an in town location.
As for living close to neighbors, that's what living in a city means, and that is why people choose to live in my neighborhood. We want to interact with our neighbors - we have front porches we actually use, we have lots of neighborhood activities, we have kids running tame through the neighborhood and in our local pocket park playing together, kids walking to the neighborhood school.
You're obviously envisioning a very different environment but at least to me, that was not at all clear from your original post. I wasn't picturing a city but I was envisioning an in town location, where houses are typically on the closer side.
But in any case, it still remains a fact that a land developer maximizes their investment by building larger houses on smaller lots, and I have a hard time envisioning one who is willing to build small/tiny homes on small lots and make far less profit. When you add in all of the required infrastructure development, I tend to doubt that your concept could ever be realized financially
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