Thursday, September 27, 2012

Tiny Houses - Could I Live In One?

Lately I’ve become a bit obsessed with tiny houses. Maybe more like intrigued. For those of you that don’t know what it is, a tiny house is literally what it means. A house that is tiny. My parents and cousins will remember the small log cabin my grandpa rented for our family reunion in South Dakota back in 1990 - at the time we all felt bad for my grandma because my grandfather was so cheap he couldn’t even splurge for a nicer cabin on vacation. But now I’m thinking maybe he wasn’t so cheap after all. Ok, well, he was known for driving 20 miles to a different town because he heard they were selling gas for 2 cents less. But that’s not the point...
A Tumbleweed Tiny House

The point is tiny houses are starting to fascinate me. I know I couldn’t go the tiniest of the tiny. I am a bit claustrophobic, so that would drive me mad. This is what I mean by tiniest of the tiny: 99 sq. feet! But I could do something like this: 356 sq. feet. If I was married and had a few children, then I’d have to consider something larger, like 884 sq. feet.

So what is appealing about this? First, the cost. I could build the 356 sq. feet model for approximately $80,000 excluding the price for a lot and property taxes. If I had a family and needed to go for the 884 sq. feet model, the cost would be around $125,000 excluding the price for a lot and property taxes. Last time I checked, the average listing price for a home in DC was $806,887!! Small lots in DC go for anywhere between 10k and 100k depending on the size and location (according to Trulia). So I think it would be safe to say that I would actually be saving a lot of money by building my own tiny home. If I decide not to live in DC, then the price will drop even more.

Second, I like the look of these homes! They are so adorable! I have two requirements in a home: must have a covered porch (preferably wrap-around, but I can live without that) and must have room outdoors for a garden. These homes satisfy that and do it in such a simple way.

Third, tiny homes are eco-friendly. They use less space, they use less materials, and they do so creatively.

I’m still on the fence about living in a tiny house, but I can definitely see their appeal. I’ve been following an interesting blog that is recording the process of building a tiny house community in DC. Check it out here: Boneyard Studios.

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