“3 Misconceptions” written by a Tiny House Dweller/Builder/Designer

How often do you find the combination of the above three in one person? Why are we so passionate about the tiny house movement?

How to win at the game of housing

Cedarwood Home story?

1. Tiny house living must be as inexpensive as living in a mobile home park or RV park. Response: The number one reason people look to tiny house living is for affordable housing. While it is more affordable than most of the options in the ideal location you wish to live, there are many factors to consider when making this purchase. A tiny house still has almost the same cost in a kitchen and bathroom as a house say double its size. These are the most expensive parts of a build so it stands to reason that less square feet actually costs more. It’s also much more difficult to build small spaces than large spaces. It takes much more talent, thought, time, and skill. Where you save that money is on utilities, property tax, insurance, and maintenance expenses. So the affordability piece is not always immediate; it takes time to re-coop some expenses. Since we used cash from the sale of our big house, we have no mortgage. We now pay less for housing (rent and utilities) each month than we paid for property taxes. Our utilities are 70% less than our big house. Our family lived in a mobile home park in a brand new double wide. We paid almost as much to live there as when we moved that same home to our own piece of land and did a mortgage. When we sold that home, we took a $6,000.00 loss after we put sweat equity and thousands of dollars into adding a completely finished full basement, two car garage, shed, landscaping, and even upgraded the interior. All because it was a manufactured home.
2. A tiny house on wheels would not cost much more than one without wheels. A. Wheels or no wheels? The price you pay to have the “option to travel” is pretty hefty. The actual trailer usually adds an additional $8,000-$13,000.00 to the cost of the home. In the case of some of our Hill Country Tiny house models, if you choose slide outs to expand your space, each slide out adds an additional $5,000-$7,000 to the cost, not to mention more risk due to moving parts and potential maintenance. B. Financing: If you are not a cash buyer, a DIYer, or getting a loan from a friend or family member, you will need a bank loan. Terms for a tiny house on wheels are not as simple as a RV loan or even a mortgage loan. The bank takes a high risk if the customer defaults because the home could be anywhere in the US (except maybe not Hawaii). Banks treat it more like a personal loan with higher interest rates, (usually 7-11% based on your credit score) and they usually do a 10, maybe 15 year loan so the monthly payments are much higher. They also require a higher down payment, up to 25%. C. Insurance premiums on a house you can tow behind your truck are obviously much higher. Expect to pay around $100 per month. D. The fact is, most tiny house dwellers only move their home a few times a year. In our case, we had to buy a one ton truck to move our home. If you can hire someone else with a truck to move it for you occasionally, you can save money there too. We have moved our tiny house 5 times in almost 2 years. We’ve been in our current location for a year.
3. Buying a small piece of land in my ideal location should be fairly simple. One might assume this, but oftentimes, the zoning laws require a certain number of square feet, or do not allow for a tiny home at all. The city laws are currently being re written to allow for this, but it’s fairly complex at this time to find a piece of land inside city limits without all these restrictions. Of course, almost every neighborhood with HOA’s will not allow a tiny house to be built on an open piece or land let alone to be parked in the back yard even as an ADU (Accessory Dwelling Unit). Next, the challenge is Utilities. In the city, you can hook in to their water and sewer. In the county, you need your own well and septic system (which costs nearly the same whether your house is tiny or large). The site work needed for a driveway, cement pad, skirting, decking, etc. is usually hired out to a local contractor (or in our case, the tiny home company), or a combination. Your city may require an engineer to sign off on your project, which can be costly. Sometimes you also need an architect. Another viable option is to find a homeowner to rent land in their backyard or on their ranch. If you are off grid, the ranch/raw land, may be a great option. Accessory Dwelling Units…
4. RVIA and 399 sq ft park models vs. property tax
5. Own the land vs. Rent?
6. Own the home vs. Rent?
7. apprciation vs depriciation
8. landlords…neighbors
9. condo/town home
10. unicorn stories challenges…
11. RV parks pros cons
12. lack of community/kids
13. want resort ammenities? You pay for them!