Tiny Houses (Tiny Homesteads)

[Josh]

I live in a 44x20 “tiny house” (aka a double wide) with two bathrooms. Three bedrooms, too.

Mine’s just a tad cheaper than that one which runs around $300,000. My trailer is valued by the county at about $10k.

[temporal1]

Brighton, CO / Colorado Tiny Home Festival / June 24+25 2023
https://coloradotinyhousefestival.com/

[Josh]

Brighton, CO / Colorado Tiny Home Festival / June 24+25 2023
https://coloradotinyhousefestival.com/

In other words, a “trailer park”.

[Ken]

In other words, a “trailer park”.

Exactly. Tiny homes that can be transported intact on public highways without expensive wide-load accommodations are tailor-made for factory manufacturing. It is absurd to do them as one-off custom jobs which only doubles or triples the price.

Manufactured homes are a GOOD thing and should be a reasonable option. But these "bespoke" custom-made tiny homes just seem silly. Settle on a few idealized designs and push them out by the hundreds with economies of scale and better manufacturing techniques. And they will cost far less.

The mobile home industry has traditionally served the lower end of the market. No reason why they can't expand upwards. The main issue is finding spaces to put these things since more mobile home parks are closing than opening these days.

[Josh]

In other words, a “trailer park”.

Exactly. Tiny homes that can be transported intact on public highways without expensive wide-load accommodations are tailor-made for factory manufacturing. It is absurd to do them as one-off custom jobs which only doubles or triples the price.

Manufactured homes are a GOOD thing and should be a reasonable option. But these "bespoke" custom-made tiny homes just seem silly. Settle on a few idealized designs and push them out by the hundreds with economies of scale and better manufacturing techniques. And they will cost far less.

Speaking as someone who lives in a trailer, I’m not sure I’d agree they’re “good”. In particular they take a lot more maintenance and don’t last as long as a traditionally built house.

The mobile home industry has traditionally served the lower end of the market. No reason why they can't expand upwards. The main issue is finding spaces to put these things since more mobile home parks are closing than opening these days.

Trailer parks are undesirable and most people don’t want to live near one. Do you want a trailer park opening right next to you?

[mike]

In other words, a “trailer park”.

Exactly. Tiny homes that can be transported intact on public highways without expensive wide-load accommodations are tailor-made for factory manufacturing. It is absurd to do them as one-off custom jobs which only doubles or triples the price.

Manufactured homes are a GOOD thing and should be a reasonable option. But these "bespoke" custom-made tiny homes just seem silly. Settle on a few idealized designs and push them out by the hundreds with economies of scale and better manufacturing techniques. And they will cost far less.

Speaking as someone who lives in a trailer, I’m not sure I’d agree they’re “good”. In particular they take a lot more maintenance and don’t last as long as a traditionally built house.

Trailers or manufactured homes are very good in that a person just starting out can afford to buy or rent one. It's a very good thing that there are options for homes that don't cost hundreds of thousands of dollars. Given the increase in regulations and stringency of building codes and the rising cost of materials and labor, it seems we are moving toward ever more expensive homes and buildings. More than ever it is challenging for those starting out in home ownership. A trailer is not a great investment, so I would view it as a contingency plan or a temporary home while saving for an upgrade, but in some cases it just isn't a bad idea all around. People make it work as a long-term residence all the time. It works.

[temporal1]

Josh:
Trailer parks are undesirable and most people don’t want to live near one. Do you want a trailer park opening right next to you?

This thread, started in 2017, was intended to explore alternative “tiny” ideas for housing, many examples have been shared. It was not intended to attract those with no actual interest, no ability to envision a time when alternatives might be needed.

Being a widow, esp visiting family for extended visits, i realized what little i need for housing. Very little.
Lots of people of many ages+descriptions are in similar circumstances, conventional housing is at a premium in many places.

Pray the world never arrives at a place where housing is so regulated there is no room remaining for resourcefulness+innovation.

Tiny houses began as extremely frugal contraptions, over years, these continue, BUT, they are becoming more sophisticated [and more costly]. In 6 years, i’m not as spry as i was. My original interest has moderated, realizing i need to be - not counting on being strong+able .. in early life, the joy is becoming stronger+more able with each year, eventually, that peaks, each year brings some loss.

It’s pretty interesting. (These are best case generalize scenarios.) No guarantees for any age.

Trailer parks.
i’ve never lived in one, never hoped to. i’ve had friends who did, i see pros+cons .. definitely, some trailer parks are undesirable, some are crime-plagued, etc.

For balance, there are lots of desirable trailer parks, often in the south, where climate is easier on them, lots of these are communities of 55+, snowbirds, etc. In their last years, my in-laws lived in such a community in winters, after pneumonia became a recurrng problem, the doctor advised warm winters. It was a nice community with lots of active seniors. Trailers, for sure.

But, trailers, tents, apartments, what have you, the quality of life is dependent on morality, self respect, respect for others.
These things do not require fortunes! And they’ve been accomplished the world over.

Drugs+crime devastate. Often involving lots of money. Money is not the core problem. Evil is.

The festival in Colorado, to my understanding, is a gathering of tiny homes on wheels coming together to share ideas, probably to buy+sell units, etc. i don’t believe the photo above is a “park” of residents. It’s a temporary gathering of individuals.

There’s no “settled science” about what’s unfolding with tiny homes.
i read about some areas being developed for communities, they vary a lot. Some are pricey with lots of amenities, some are being constructed as inexpensive shelter for homeless. Nothing settled. Some are put on permanent foundations, possibly no longer qualifying to be “tiny homes” (on wheels). There’s a lot of variation in every way, including state+local laws.

To repeat, moral people with self-respect and respect for others can thrive with little. Proven throughout world history.
Drug abuse and crime eat up vast sums with poor outcomes. It’s destruction.

Trailers, manufactured homes, mobile homes, modular homes, prefab, etc., are all highly defined+regulated.
Some of these are comparable in quality (or higher quality) than stick-built. We learned about this in Switzerland, where they make good use of modular-type construction. Some of these, put on permanent foundation, are pricier than conventional construction. All these are highly regulated. Even so, finding locations to build is often the biggest challenge (no one wants to live near them).

Tiny homes as discussed in this topic, are often second homes on land used for family, various types of rental units, etc.
There are some who are adding significant income by offering space.

There are lots of ideas. i’m glad for that. Thus, this thread.

Josh, i appreciate your additions about trailers, earlier, george added some suggestions. mike just added some insights above.
It’s wise to look at all options. (True. There’s a romance about tiny homes that highly regulated housing lacks.)

Last winter, a small mobile home near my son in Michigan came on the market. It appeared to be in nice condition, in a nice location, at a good price. i would consider it! It sold right away, no surprise.

At this time in my life, i realize, it’s not the space or appearances that interest me nearly as much as being near family.
i think that’s reasonable. In the PNW, i live very happily in a -tiny- footprint. Extreme. Even that is not affordable.
Lots of prime real estate there is dedicated to drug abusers and criminals.

In the past, people like me would swoon over unreachably expensive neighborhoods. Those still exist.

Now, the swooning is between the wealthy areas and the no-man’s-land of drugs+crime on their doorsteps (more+more, on everyone’s doorsteps, as empty-headed politicians move the latter all around). Instead of fixing anything, they “spread the joy of drugs+crime.”

[temporal1]

Some of the links posted earlier in this topic no longer open.

Presently, i’m enjoying designs on dreamtinyliving - but, warning, i suppose these would be approaching $200,000, maybe more, and much more, depending on land and whatever development/improvement costs. i realize, for many, $200,000 is dirt-cheap.

DREAM TINY LIVING / your tiny house dream everywhere
https://www.dreamtinyliving.com/

SMALL HOUSE WITH LOFT DESIGN IDEA 640 SQFT
https://www.dreamtinyliving.com/2023/06 ... -640-sqft/



i like the idea of leaving my family something they could use as a rental. i don’t feel confident that could happen.
politicians are busy figuring out how to burn through the elderly’s assets. they’re very good at it.

[temporal1]

NORTH CAROLINA

Tiny homes community to help unsheltered population officially opens
https://portcitydaily.com/local-news/20 ... lly-opens/

.. Founded by Dr. Tom Dalton and his wife, Kim, both medical professionals, the community is more than a housing initiative, it offers support services and job training, a 4,000-square-foot community center, garden area, and so far five tiny homes.

The homes are 400 square feet, a single-adult residence. They’re turn-key ready and consist of one bedroom and one bath, complete with full kitchen appliances.

The Daltons were inspired by the project after learning about Eden Village of Springfield, founded by David and Linda Brown.

To bring the vision to life, the Daltons worked with Thomas Construction Group, LLC and architects LS3P.

“After spending time and hearing his motivation and the case for the people we should service, seeing the pure divine inspiration, I was sold,” Chris Reid, president of Thomas and a board member at Eden Village, said in a press release. “Thomas has always been about the community — one of our mantras has been to invest in the community through ‘people we know’; the Daltons fit that bill.”

LS3P joined the initiative, Design In-Kind — donating time, equaling 20 hours a year per employee, and resources.

Almost 40 more community partners donated or discounted services as well.

The residences are open to individuals who have been homeless for more than a year and have a mental or physical disability. Renters are locked in at a $300 per month rate for the entirety of their stay, which has no end date. The cost covers utilities as well. ..

i wish them well.


Eden Village is a community with one-bedroom tiny homes available for the chronically homeless,
specifically for those with disabilities. - - (Port City Daily/Amy Passaretti Willis)

These appear to be on permanent foundations, maybe with city utilities.

[Ken]

Trailer parks are undesirable and most people don’t want to live near one. Do you want a trailer park opening right next to you?

I do live near one. It is perfectly fine. Good people live there: https://goo.gl/maps/UdcuSZ1Q1yQE5s5B7

And there is another more modest one on the other side of town. Also perfectly fine. People need to live somewhere: https://goo.gl/maps/cEEMf3LaQxs9KHwD9