I try to be a minimalist, but I know from watching enough episodes of “Tiny House Hunters” on HGTV and similar shows to know I don’t want to live in a tiny home.
You’re definitely going to save money if you live in a tiny home of 500 square feet or so. The low cost can allow you to buy a tiny home outright without a mortgage, though you may have to rent or buy some land. And the small size will definitely get you to cut back on your belongings. People who live in a tiny home can cancel their Costco membership.
But unless you’re already comfortable living in such a small amount of space — especially with another person — there are some things you may not be prepared for.
Here are four things you should know before buying a tiny home:
Built to be mobile
If you’re going to build a tiny home yourself on-site, that’s one story. If you’re going to have a company build your tiny home, expect it to be mobile (on wheels) so you can drive it to an RV park, private property or elsewhere and live.
A house that doesn’t move on wheels takes enough of a beating from the weather and occupants so that things wear out and have to be replaced. A tiny home can cost more to build than you think so that it can withstand a move.
Energy needs
Just like an RV, a tiny home will need hookups for water, electricity and sewage. A tiny home can be built to go completely off the grid so that it doesn’t need public utility services — with solar power, a water tank and composting toilet — but chances are that at least one service will be needed.
If a tiny home is built well, it will be very energy efficient and its small size should be enough to guarantee that less energy will be used.
Fewer, smaller belongings
Having fewer belongings is an expected part of living in a tiny home. Storage areas can be tight and small, so plan on buying things that fit in the new spaces.
A smaller couch, for example, may have to replace an older and bigger couch, or you may want a portable bedroll instead of a mattress to take up less space when it’s not being used.
Insurance, financing change
If you’re going to make your tiny, mobile home actually mobile, then hauling it has some different expenses than a standard home does.
If the house is certified as an RV, you’ll need RV insurance. If the home is built on a trailer, you’ll need cargo trailer insurance. You may also want a basic homeowner’s insurance policy to cover theft and damage from fire, for example.
If you can’t afford to buy a tiny home outright so you can live debt-free, you may have difficulty getting a loan for a tiny home from a traditional mortgage lender. They may require that a home have a foundation and could have minimum loan amounts, which could require borrowers to get an RV loan or an unsecured personal loan.
I still don’t want to live in a tiny home
After saving money and having fewer possessions, one of the best things about a tiny home to me is going mobile. I like the idea of being able to work on the road, as I sometimes do as a freelance writer, though I usually take vacations without having to work.
But for me, the chance to live in a tiny home is too heavily weighed with downsides.
Unless my tiny home had wheels, like an RV, I don’t think I’d want to move a tiny house to a new location too often. The costs of moving it could get hefty, and the hassle of finding a new spot to rent could get tiresome if done too often.
I don’t necessarily want a huge home, but less than 500 square feet total would be difficult for me to live in, I think. We’re expanding our kitchen area and are adding a dining room of about 200 square feet onto our house, which I’ll write about soon, mainly so that our small kitchen/dining area can be big enough to accommodate more than the three of us.
Cooking and eating together as a family in a tiny house? I can’t imagine how that would work.
The post Are You Really Ready to Live in a Tiny Home? I’m Not appeared first on Cash Smarter.
