The Tiny House Movement

[DonDadda59]

Anyone heard of this before? Apparently there's a big nationwide movement of people who are ditching traditional homes/apartments and buying miniature homes that are a step above traditional RVs/trailers.

http://ww4.hdnux.com/photos/36/65/71/8085095/6/rawImage.jpg

http://media.treehugger.com/assets/images/2015/04/tiny-house-basics-shelley-joshua-7.jpg.662x0_q70_crop-scale.jpg

http://www.healthcaredesignblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/Wyoming.png

It makes perfect sense for big cities dealing with overcrowding and high real estate demand to develop new apartment models. NYC has started creating innovative, lego-like Tiny apartment (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v1MVqwvOqvY). The city is actually developing whole buildings filled with apartments like that to maximize living space while developing more.

But the movement isn't restricted to apts in big cities. It's becoming popular with College students who eschew traditional dorm life for the tiny houses. They can cost as little as $10K which means if an 18 year old gets one and lives there throughout undergrad and post grad, they can save tens of thousands on housing and have a nice chunk of change saved up by the time they graduate post grad.

I think the traditional American model has always been 'bigger is better' but some of these spaces look like great, cheap alternatives to traditional living. Some cool ones I saw:

Garage turned into Tiny House (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4l0bwDO_BME)

Storage Units turned into Apartment Building (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pnYm4J2vmB4)

A snowboarder's unbelievable tiny house (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sadOfmkTtpw)

Tiny lego style apartment (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=juWaO5TJS00)

Couple builds Tiny House for $22K in 4 months (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RSzgh3D7-Q0)

Teenager builds Tiny House from scratch (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gMRJ9lwzCaM)

I don't know if I'd live in one of these now, but I am intrigued. Couldn't help but think while watching that snowboarder's house 'This guy has figured life out'. I mean how much space do you really need (assuming you don't have a family)? That last kid from the vids above used money he saved working Summers at a camp and some money from his grandparents to build himself what basically would be a great studio apartment worth like $1,800/month in NYC. He can live there while going to school, save up a ton of $ he would've shelled out for dorms or other living arrangements.

Would you ever join the tiny house movement? :confusedshrug:

[DonDadda59]

I just heard about this earlier today. There's a tv show about it on hgtv

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51I7-SYZd5L._SX940_.jpg



I couldn't do it.

Nice. Gotta check it out.

I think it's best for college kids. It's a few notches above the traditional cramped dorm room and much cheaper in the long run. You save a ton of money and you'd have a nice down payment for a real house saved up at the end of grad school if that was your plan. The only problem would be finding a place to park it long term. I read some colleges are thinking about making lots where kids can park these things if they choose.

I used to work in Real Estate in NYC. You'd be shocked to see the cramped, dank pieces of shit that people pay $1500-$2,000/month to live in. Nowhere near as nice or spacious as some of these tiny joints.

[ALBballer]

It's a bit extreme for me but I think in general we Americans have been brainwashed to believe we need to live in these huge McMansions where most of the space would go unused. I have been trying to unbrainwash myself from this mentality of mass consumption by cutting the cord, reduced spending on clothes, reduced the amount of electronics I buy, etc.

I live in a place that is around 1300 sq feet. I could survive with half and would be comfortable with 800-900 sq feet for two.

[DonDadda59]

It's a bit extreme for me but I think in general we Americans have been brainwashed to believe we need to live in these huge McMansions where most of the space would go unused.

100% true. But with cities becoming overcrowded and space being limited, developers are moving more and more towards smaller spaces. And after the housing crash in '07-'08 I think people started looking for cheaper, simpler ways of living. If it's one guy or a couple and they're looking for somewhere to live, they figure why pay half a million dollars for a big house where they'll only use a small fraction of the space when they can pay $20-30K for a nice, comfortable space.

This company even makes tiny houses with luxury amenities (http://wheelhaus.com/)

[9erempiree]

Those tiny homes are not that bad.

There are tons of people that are into 'van life' as well. More specifically people in Canada.

If you want to watch something interesting. Go YT 'van life' it is interesting to watch.

[DeuceWallaces]

You keep comparing these to NYC prices, but you can't live with these in NYC. You'll be out somewhere were they're permitted. I've read several stories about people having to abandon them because they have no permit or zoning ordinance to let them dwell where they want.

Tiny House Hunters and Tiny House Nation are pretty funny shows to watch. Almost always some couple where one of them is not really into it and terrified while someone else having a crisis/life changing moment is trying to camp on wheels.

[L.Kizzle]

:biggums:

Who does this shit? How you gonna bring biches back to a Tiny House?

[DonDadda59]

You keep comparing these to NYC prices, but you can't live with these in NYC. You'll be out somewhere were they're permitted.

Well aware of that. Just pointing out that in terms of quality and space, you can do much much worse for far more $ living in a big city like NYC.

I once showed an apartment that was like 220 sq feet with an old-fashioned bathtub in the middle of the living room. Went for $1800/month. A lot of the now trendy and expensive apts in NY are just tenements that immigrants were forced to live in during the late 1800s/early 1900s, and they haven't been at all upgraded since then. But people are willing to shell out crazy amounts for them.


:biggums:

Who does this shit? How you gonna bring biches back to a Tiny House?

Switch to midgets/hobbits.

[ALBballer]

100% true. But with cities becoming overcrowded and space being limited, developers are moving more and more towards smaller spaces. And after the housing crash in '07-'08 I think people started looking for cheaper, simpler ways of living. If it's one guy or a couple and they're looking for somewhere to live, they figure why pay half a million dollars for a big house where they'll only use a small fraction of the space when they can pay $20-30K for a nice, comfortable space.

This company even makes tiny houses with luxury amenities (http://wheelhaus.com/)

Yeah but in cities they can build huge high rises where they can cram all the millennial they want. :D

Recently I have been checking out these townhouses that are obviously targeted towards millenials. The constant theme in the advertisement is "we millenials want to enjoy life and be known for the things we do not for what we own" type of stuff. They put the project in a shady area and are trying to build a community by building a park, urban gardening, local farmer markets and all sorts of hipsters things.

I'm all for a simpler way of life and living cheaper but I think these tiny homes are better for places "off the grid" where you can build a small self-sustaining home.

PS:

Those luxurious homes are nice. I'm all for the mid-century modern theme.

[falc39]

I guess this is the next step in order to hide away peoples' increasing cost of living. You have economists out there saying there is no inflation, yet as time goes on, people can only afford less and less. It used to be ordinary to raise a family with one income. It used to be you could pay for college through working, out of your own pocket, and without going into debt. Now they are trying to convince people that it's fun to live in what amounts to a decorated box of a home. Makes sense that they are targeting millennials since they are the ones that got completely screwed over economically. Lettuce be reality: People are likely into this not because of want, but because they can't afford better.

[9erempiree]

Well aware of that. Just pointing out that in terms of quality and space, you can do much much worse for far more $ living in a big city like NYC.

I once showed an apartment that was like 220 sq feet with an old-fashioned bathtub in the middle of the living room. Went for $1800/month. A lot of the now trendy and expensive apts in NY are just tenements that immigrants were forced to live in during the late 1800s/early 1900s, and they haven't been at all upgraded since then. But people are willing to shell out crazy amounts for them.



Switch to midgets/hobbits.

It's called vintage and old New York. People like that.

We have a bunch of old homes from the 60s worth millions because it was designed by famous architects.

What I've learned is always ask who the architect if a home is.

[highwhey]

You should see the nasty trailer parks out here in Phoenix. They're gross.

[ALBballer]

It's called vintage and old New York. People like that.

We have a bunch of old homes from the 60s worth millions because it was designed by famous architects.

What I've learned is always ask who the architect if a home is.

No it's more of a the most important thing in real estate "location, location, and location." Desirable places with limited housing (ie San Francisco and Manhatten) have some of the highest rents in the nation. It doesn't matter who the architect is.

[ROCSteady]

I want one! :pimp:

[~primetime~]

This company even makes tiny houses with luxury amenities (http://wheelhaus.com/)
These are a rip off. The largest one is $300k and is only 1500 sq ft.

My home is $350k at 4,000 sq ft...WITH land and it will go up in value as the years go buy.

These mobile units will likely only decrease in value similar to a car.

The smaller $100k ones make a little more sense but $100k is still a great down payment on a"real" home.