Tiny houses versus campers

Is 850sqft a tiny house?
 
CasterTroy said:
Trailer? But that's like.....eww
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Well, I have lived in a single wide for going on 32 years. I guess I am just trailer trash and offensive to some. I am OK with that.
 
upnover said:
Well, I have lived in a single wide for going on 32 years. I guess I am just trailer trash and offensive to some. I am OK with that.
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I spent my entire childhood in one. Those were the looks I got from every kid on the bus until college
 
ramjo said:
I would live in a "tiny house" but it wouldn't be 7' wide, 20' long, & 13' tall, wouldn't be mobile, and I definitely wouldn't be pooping on a composting toilet. Also probably wouldn't be married either....

.I don't see any cost savings in the ones they build on TV, It seems like they run about double the price per square foot of a normal house. But I'm not a numbers man so I could be wrong.
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Hahah you know you want to take a bath in an old water trough though.
 
ramjo said:
.I don't see any cost savings in the ones they build on TV, It seems like they run about double the price per square foot of a normal house. But I'm not a numbers man so I could be wrong.
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/\ this those houses on tv are stupid expensive for the square foot price.

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camper..... Im not hip enough for a tiny house, but according to some of these post I live in a tiny house already... well almost.
 
Loganwayne said:
/\ this those houses on tv are stupid expensive for the square foot price.

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The one the guy around here was sellin was 48K.
 
So having read the majority of these comments, I feel like I'm a qualified engineer/contractor now...but the big question for me then is...if these things aren't really designed to move, what's the point of paying $50k for 350 sq/ft??? According to Zillow, there are 1,402 homes for sale in NC right now between 500-1500 sq/ft for under $50k. I can understand minimalist, but I can't understand cramped. And if the price point is the concern, I doubt you're sitting on some killer beach front property or mountain view where you just want something to keep the rain off your head.
 
Fabrik8 said:
That's actually what we're considering for our next house, if that happens. It wouldn't be a true tiny house, more like a very modest house (maybe 800-1000sqft). The shop would store the stuff that doesn't need to be in the house, which is most of my stuff.
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Our last house was ~1000sqft. If we didnt have kids, I would have never moved. If it would have had a 2nd bath and bigger closets I think we would have been fine there, even with the 2 boys. House now isnt much bigger, but feels like a ton of space comparably.


Biggest thing Im curious of. How do local governments classify these things? Ones built on a permanent foundation I can understand, but the "mobile" ones. In my county it is illegal to use a "camper" as a primary residence. So these would need to be classified as a mobile home or camper, I would guess the latter.
 
paradisePWoffrd said:
Biggest thing Im curious of. How do local governments classify these things? Ones built on a permanent foundation I can understand, but the "mobile" ones. In my county it is illegal to use a "camper" as a primary residence. So these would need to be classified as a mobile home or camper, I would guess the latter.
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Yeah, that's the biggest problem with the mobile ones, like the one belonging to the people building the house behind us. It's not a permanent structure, not subject to building codes, etc., so there's zoning and codes and all sorts of stuff that comes into play. That's how they got kicked out of it on their build lot.
 
Loganwayne said:
State averages out at upper 90s per square foot... But location makes a huge difference. In wnc you'd be lucky to get a house built for 125 sf with good quality stuff

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This place makes em starting at 65K.Looks ike they are under 400 SF.
Tiny Homes | Alpine Tiny Homes
 
We lived in 880 SF for 12 years, plus a one-car 'garage.' With two large dogs and three kids. The third kid (really, his stuff) definitely made it a little too cozy but if there had been a second toilet we probably could have rolled on minimalist-style... If not for our redneck bullshit. We needed more land to park stuff. :lol:
 
The biggest thing for me would be
I wouldn't have as much space to have to clean.
I would however have to change habits as in, not collect "stuff"
If I had one(tiny house) it would be permanent, not a fan of the ones that have wheels.
For more space, I'd look hard at making a basement as well, and a higher roof for a room upstairs.
As far as cost, I'd have to do it myself, that cuts the cost down considerably, as in I'd say 50% or more.
 
I myself live in a fairly small house (by most folk's consideration, 1100 ft2). I also have 4 acres of nice mountain land. My monthly payment is right around $700/month.

There are a lot of 1 bedroom apartments that rent for the same price. I don't have much storage inside my house, but I do have a shipping container in my driveway to keep stuff in.

I don't foresee a nice tiny house (including either buying or renting land) being significantly cheaper on a monthly basis. The buyer wouldn't be able to get a conventional loan on a trailered home, which means you'll either have a short-term/high-interest loan, or pay cash (and who has $60-70k to drop on one of these, plus at least a 1 ton truck to pull it with so realistically $80-90k for the tiny home truck/trailer combo). Which pretty much defeats the point, in my opinion.

Finding a little house on decent land that you can get a conventional loan on seems to be the cheaper, more realistic option - unless your nomad jobless burning man lifestyle dictates otherwise.

If this is the case, buy a pusher motorhome or convert an old school bus and sell t-shirts, "incense", and sea shell necklaces out of it.
 
Just build an 850sqft garage apartment in the country on some acreage, and build a big shop for all the redneck stuff. Works fine for me :D too bad my wife won't let me move into the shop so she can fit all the kids in the house :confused:
 
jeepinmatt said:
Just build an 850sqft garage apartment in the country on some acreage, and build a big shop for all the redneck stuff. Works fine for me :D too bad my wife won't let me move into the shop so she can fit all the kids in the house :confused:
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Everything about your setup, other than the stairs was my plan. Wife was more conventional.
 
I know a guy who has a 100X80 shop w living quarters in the front of it.Nice set up but he's single.
 
Buy an old school bus. No camper tax, no roof leak, no house tax. Paint over the windows and put parts in from a camper and you have a mobile house that will last.

/endthread
 
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