The Joy of Tiny House Living. Chris Schapdick
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Pew Research Center, divorce rates consistently hover just below 50 percent), or a new career with different needs. There are many reasons why someone might be looking to downsize and save money in their thirties and forties. Plus, the same benefits of mobility and remote work that apply to the younger generation certainly hold true for middle-aged folks as well.
When you get to the older generations, many people may be looking to downsize or travel more. Their children may have moved out of the house, and now they’re living either by themselves or with a partner in a house that has outgrown their needs. Downsizing, the empty nest phenomenon, saving money, and being able to relocate are main drivers for folks in their fifties, sixties, and even seventies.
Cutting across all of these generational aspects is the element of people rethinking what it means to have a house. The standard notion of traditional housing doesn’t really appeal to everyone anymore. You may be living in a space not really designed for your personal needs. The tiny house movement is founded on creating a personalized space and building only what you need. When you build according to your vision, and not someone else’s, you invariably create something that is uniquely your own. Homes have always been an expression of who we are; we decorate them a certain way, we fill them with certain furniture, and we paint them certain colors. Tiny houses take it a step further: not only can you personalize the decoration and the fixtures, but also the entire design. It’s your vision, not someone else’s, and this element of customization is a really appealing notion for people of any age.
One of the other benefits—and some people’s main goal—of going tiny is that you are lowering your carbon footprint. We all have an impact on this planet, and being able to reduce that in some fashion can be appealing. Another great by-product of the tiny movement is that people who have gone tiny tend to have more disposable income. For most tiny house owners, this disposable income will not be spent on acquiring more consumer goods, but rather on gaining new experiences. (I cover this in more detail on here.)
One reason that anyone, at any age, may be motivated to build a tiny house is that, unlike in traditional housing, every aspect of it is customizable. For example, I made these unique mock shutters to decorate the windows on one of my houses.
Solar panels and other forms of renewable energy can help reduce your carbon footprint in a tiny house.
IS TINY RIGHT FOR YOU?
You have to ask yourself many questions when you are considering going tiny. The main one that I want you to answer for yourself is, “Why am I doing this in the first place?” If you don’t have a good answer to this question, you need to find one, because it is important to have a clear answer before you start down this path. Beyond this essential question, there are a host of other somewhat philosophical, somewhat practical questions you should ask yourself as you consider if going tiny is right for you. Feel free to use the space at the end of this book to jot down your answers.
• What appeals to you about tiny houses?
• What’s your life situation? Is it part of the reason why you want to get a tiny house? Perhaps you’re an empty nester; perhaps you’ve gone through a divorce; perhaps you’re looking to downsize for some reason; or maybe you’re retiring.
• How will a tiny house make your life better? I know that seems like a strange question, but if a tiny house isn’t going to make your life better in some way, then why do it?
• What do you hope to achieve with a tiny house?
• What about the timing? What makes you want to do it now?
• Do you have concerns about going tiny? What are they? How will you address them? There may be a chapter in this book to help you out.
• Is it just you who wants to go tiny? Are friends and family supportive or unsupportive?
• Who else is impacted by your desire to go tiny—a significant other, children, family, friends? Are these people going to go down this path with you or alongside you, or what role will they play in the process?
• What’s holding you back? This is a huge one, because many people want to live in a tiny house, but they never take that initial first step down the path to owning one. Is it purely financial? Is it something more vague, like maybe this is not the right time, or any other excuse we so quickly come up with for ourselves?
Knowing your ideals will give you solid direction. For example, if you want this to be your morning view—if exploration and travel are the ideals you are pursuing—then you’ll want to make design decisions that allow you to get on the road quickly and easily.
Once you’ve established your motivations and goals for tiny house living, there are also practicalities to consider in relation to building a tiny house.
• Do you feel like you’re able to build it yourself, or will you be looking for someone to build it for you? In other words, are you going to outsource the process? If you are going to outsource the building and the timeline, there’s a high likelihood that this transition is going to cost you quite a bit more than it would if you were doing it yourself. You’ll find more detail about hiring a contractor on here.
• What do your finances look like? Are you selling a traditional house or something else to fund going tiny? Is it a prerequisite that you sell something before you can start? Will you be taking out a loan? There are more and more builders that offer financing for the tiny houses that they build. Perhaps you have the cash available to buy the tiny house outright, which is the best-case scenario. Regardless, you need to think about the financial implications of living tiny. You’ll find more detail about financing on here.
• Don’t forget—getting the tiny house is only half the battle, because you also have to park it somewhere. What are the local regulations for tiny houses in your area (or the area you want to move to)? It may seem like tons of people are building tiny houses and living in them, and that is definitely happening, but a lot of it is happening in a legal gray area where people are living under the radar, perhaps parked in someone’s backyard (read: legally owned property) somewhere. As tiny houses are garnering more and more interest, they’re becoming legal in more and more places—or the gray areas are disappearing. The path of least resistance is often to get legal clearance for tiny houses as Accessory Dwelling Units, or ADUs. This allows a tiny house to be placed on the property where another house resides, acting as an extension and expansion of living space. ADUs are legal in an ever-increasing number of places, such as Los Angeles, parts of Colorado, and New Hampshire. Look into your local laws by contacting housing and zoning commissions. You’ll find more detail about legalities in Chapter 5.
This tiny home sells for $48,000. Can you afford to buy a home like this outright, or with a loan? Or would your goals be better served by building a house yourself?
You may be utterly fascinated by the cute, modern look of tiny houses—but don’t make the mistake of assuming that means they are a good fit for you. Do you see any closets, or a washing machine or dishwasher, or a bathtub, in this stylish but tiny interior? Can you make the necessary