Most of us have always dreamed about living a mortgage-free life but don't really know what to do how to do it. Good thing, there is a solution that you want to consider even if you have to downsize and cut down on your space.
There is a growing tiny house movement wherein people have made life-changing decisions to trade in their large homes and mortgages for a debt-free tiny house. It will be a challenging journey for the uninitiated since it will take a lot of sacrifices, compromises and adjustments just to live the way you want. This socio-economic trend specifically aims at building smaller homes so that homeowners can free themselves up financially and do more what they enjoy from travelling to setting up a business from home!
Before you hit the ground running and jump into the tiny house bandwagon, consider your needs and preferences first. Do a lot of research and don't forget to talk to your family on your decision to go tiny.
What are your options?
When you reach to a point that you need to downsize, you have to decided what to do with your current home. You may have to consider to keep your larger home and rent it out for additional income that is you have the financial resources to pay for land and a new tiny house.
However, this may not be an option if you have a mortgage on your home, as the mortgage lender may not allow a homeowner to rent his or her home. You can also sell it so that you can generate the cash to build a new home mortgage free!
How small can you go?
Well it all boils down to your needs and preferences so deciding the size of your tiny house is all up to you! When you say small, it is no larger than 500 square feet according to tiny house experts. It is really a tough call when you are forced to give away certain things in your old home. To ease the transition and determine your limits, try closing off your spare rooms in your home and see if you and your family can live happily, comfortably and efficiently in a limited amount of space. You may want to go on a small vacation cabin or camping for a period of time so you can sharpen your life skills needed for that big transition to tiny house lifestyle.
After you determine the size of your tiny house, you have to evaluate your finances so that you will know if you have enough money to buy a house and lot without a mortgage. Small houses can cost anywhere from $10,000 for a very basic home designed to sit on a trailer to more than $100,000 for a custom-built, luxury tiny home.
Since trailer homes are no larger than 160 square feet with height maximums, you can tow it and move it anywhere. Although similar to recreational vehicles, trailer homes are different since these are constructed from higher-quality building materials and insulation that's made to last, much like to a typical house.
Whether on a trailer or set in a fixed foundation, some of these homes are built to run off-grid, with solar panels to generate electricity, rainwater catchment systems and composting toilets. Others are designed to hook up to permanent electric and water sources.
Choosing your location
Where you park or build the foundation of your tiny house is critical since some places don't have clear cut legal guidelines as to where you can build or set up your tiny house. It is so new that many counties, towns and cities don't know how to classify tiny homes on trailers. Some places have classified these RVs so that it makes them illegal to live in full time. Sometimes, local laws allow them to be parked in RV or trailer parks.
On the other hand, building a fixed tiny home may not be a cake walk if a town has minimum square footage requirements on new construction. Codes and ordinances are the reason many tiny homes are located in unincorporated areas of rural counties. When looking to purchase land online or through a real estate agent, it is always prudent to check local building codes, as even rural areas can have restrictions, such as the requirement that a home be hooked up to a permanent water source and sewage draining system.
Lifestyle change
As more people choose to downsize and build an accessory dwelling unit in the backyard of their homes, they tend to rent their bigger house to close friends, children or other relatives so that they maintain a close support group. This way of living can do a good job of supporting multi-generational housing.
Whether they live in a tiny house in your backyard, on someone else's land or park a trailer-based small house, you can further cut the costs – with the help of homeowners in the larger home – by bartering instead of paying cash for the rent of the land on which the tiny house sits. Ideas for bartering include doing house or yard work, childcare and even preparing meals for the landowner. For tiny-house homeowners on a tight budget, this arrangement allows them to make their downsizing dreams a reality while not having the expense of purchasing land. An added benefit can be being near loved ones.
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