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ThePrudentNinja · 07-03-2015, 06:49 AM

I've considered building a "tiny home" for a few years now. I'm cheap and hate spending money when I don't have to. I typically only use half of my house (and presently only heat and cool the room I spend the most time in but that's another story). The issues I've had is up front costs vs the return on investment.

With a tiny home you have the issues of material costs, labor, safety (anyone can just pull up and make off with your whole house!), laws, and so forth. An RV isn't any better and is actually a little worse due to how crappily they are made (is crappily even a word?!).

If you want a good long term tiny portable home, building one from scratch with enough knowledge is probably the best bet. If you can afford to spend about $20,000 to $30,000 you can build a decent off-grid portable tiny home that is well made and can last a lifetime with routine care.

Again, I'm cheap and can't fathom spending that much for such a tiny home (I only paid $1000 for my home and have 1200 square feet to play with). Another option if portability is not a big issue is building your own trailer home. A sort of middle ground between a tiny home and a mobile home. In my state, so long as I keep the width under 8.5ft and the length under another length (can't recall it right off), then I can tow it on public roads without the need of special permits and such. I've been designing an 8ft wide by 40ft long trailer home for a few months now. Once I have the rough idea and some drawings, I plan to send them to a structural engineer (and others) to make sure it's SAFE. I can always hire someone with a big truck to tow it between point A and point B and can "park it" in most mobile home parks/campgrounds/private land with permission. The issue with such is still laws. The government seems to want you to live in a huge house with high property taxes. They don't want you saving money because it will hurt the economy (and their budgets).

If you want to go real cheap, find some cheap land in some rural area that has few to no zoning laws and build a tiny home on it using salvaged materials where possible. You may be hundreds of miles from other people but might can get a decent home for under $20,000 and plenty of privacy.

07-03-2015, 06:49 AM	#74 (permalink)
ThePrudentNinja EcoModding Lurker Join Date: Jul 2015 Location: NC Posts: 38 Red Bean - '01 Chevrolet Metro 90 day: 34.44 mpg (US) Thanks: 20 Thanked 3 Times in 2 Posts	I've considered building a "tiny home" for a few years now. I'm cheap and hate spending money when I don't have to. I typically only use half of my house (and presently only heat and cool the room I spend the most time in but that's another story). The issues I've had is up front costs vs the return on investment. With a tiny home you have the issues of material costs, labor, safety (anyone can just pull up and make off with your whole house!), laws, and so forth. An RV isn't any better and is actually a little worse due to how crappily they are made (is crappily even a word?!). If you want a good long term tiny portable home, building one from scratch with enough knowledge is probably the best bet. If you can afford to spend about $20,000 to $30,000 you can build a decent off-grid portable tiny home that is well made and can last a lifetime with routine care. Again, I'm cheap and can't fathom spending that much for such a tiny home (I only paid $1000 for my home and have 1200 square feet to play with). Another option if portability is not a big issue is building your own trailer home. A sort of middle ground between a tiny home and a mobile home. In my state, so long as I keep the width under 8.5ft and the length under another length (can't recall it right off), then I can tow it on public roads without the need of special permits and such. I've been designing an 8ft wide by 40ft long trailer home for a few months now. Once I have the rough idea and some drawings, I plan to send them to a structural engineer (and others) to make sure it's SAFE. I can always hire someone with a big truck to tow it between point A and point B and can "park it" in most mobile home parks/campgrounds/private land with permission. The issue with such is still laws. The government seems to want you to live in a huge house with high property taxes. They don't want you saving money because it will hurt the economy (and their budgets). If you want to go real cheap, find some cheap land in some rural area that has few to no zoning laws and build a tiny home on it using salvaged materials where possible. You may be hundreds of miles from other people but might can get a decent home for under $20,000 and plenty of privacy.