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Small World: The Tiny House Trend

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Re: Small World: The Tiny House Trend

#241

Post by jkroso »

ChuckMcM wrote: post #230
Bjorkbat wrote: post #142

I really wish there was more diversity in offerings when it came to manufactured/trailer homes. To clarify, I'm not talking about RVs. I like tiny houses, but really only in the sense that I'm fascinated by unusually small things. Otherwise I think they're actually kind of ridiculous if your motives are to downsize and not pay $300,000+ on a house Trailer homes are pretty incredible when you think about it. They're t…

On one end of the spectrum is Blu Homes ( https://www.bluhomes.com/ ) which builds pre-fabricated homes that aren't quite so boxy as mobile homes. We looked at investing in them when they started up and perhaps getting one of their smaller units for a piece of land up in the Sierra foothills[1]. Shipping container homes are also a sort of niche thing at the moment. Realistically though it isn't the walls that cost th…

Those bluhomes are really expensive. You could have a bespoke home built in-situ for those prices. What is their strength?

Re: Small World: The Tiny House Trend

#242

Post by ChuckMcM »

ams6110 wrote: post #236
ChuckMcM wrote: post #230

Earlier quoted context omitted.

On one end of the spectrum is Blu Homes ( https://www.bluhomes.com/ ) which builds pre-fabricated homes that aren't quite so boxy as mobile homes. We looked at investing in them when they started up and perhaps getting one of their smaller units for a piece of land up in the Sierra foothills[1]. Shipping container homes are also a sort of niche thing at the moment. Realistically though it isn't the walls that cost th…

Blu Homes (from their website) are from $200K - $550K. That might sound cheap in some areas but if you're comparing to a traditional "manufactured home" it's close to an order of magnitude higher.

Absolutely. It is "cheap" when the median price of a home is $1.5M it is "expensive" when the median price of a home is $150K.

The point though is that it addresses the 'variation in pre-manufactured homes' question. There are people out there building pre-manufactured homes, that mix up the formula with high end amenities.

As I see it, there are two vectors on these things, their shapes, and what you can get inside of them. The traditional mobile home type home is limited to 'single' straight and long and 'double wide' and long. That accommodates and optimizes for the lot shapes that typical mobile home parks allocate for these homes.

Re: Small World: The Tiny House Trend

#243

Post by irrational »

boxcardavin wrote: post #122

I've lived in a ~250sqft 1940's era wood train car for the past 9 years, with my wife and now a newborn. It is doable if you enjoy the constraints and how it affects your decision making. I live about 5 miles from Seattle in a very rich neighborhood (a few blocks from the Paul Allen estate) on a large piece of land that is set aside as a reserve, while most of my neighbors have 5000sqft houses. As long as you have am…

Is this you?

https://www.apartmenttherapy.com/1949-railroad-boxcar-on-mer...

Re: Small World: The Tiny House Trend

#244

Post by ChuckMcM »

jkroso wrote: post #241
ChuckMcM wrote: post #230

Earlier quoted context omitted.

On one end of the spectrum is Blu Homes ( https://www.bluhomes.com/ ) which builds pre-fabricated homes that aren't quite so boxy as mobile homes. We looked at investing in them when they started up and perhaps getting one of their smaller units for a piece of land up in the Sierra foothills[1]. Shipping container homes are also a sort of niche thing at the moment. Realistically though it isn't the walls that cost th…

Those bluhomes are really expensive. You could have a bespoke home built in-situ for those prices. What is their strength?

7 days of on site assembly. If you are building a cabin in the Sierras (for example) where the building season is short, and the availability of skilled carpenters, plumbers, electricians, Etc. is challenging, you can transport this pre-built home and erect it.

Re: Small World: The Tiny House Trend

#245

Post by cevn »

boxcardavin wrote: post #122

I've lived in a ~250sqft 1940's era wood train car for the past 9 years, with my wife and now a newborn. It is doable if you enjoy the constraints and how it affects your decision making. I live about 5 miles from Seattle in a very rich neighborhood (a few blocks from the Paul Allen estate) on a large piece of land that is set aside as a reserve, while most of my neighbors have 5000sqft houses. As long as you have am…

I'd love to see pictures if possible

Re: Small World: The Tiny House Trend

#246

Post by dvtrn »

module0000 wrote: post #190
reidjs wrote: post #162

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I can't tell if you're being sarcastic, but this sounds like a miserable lifestyle to me.

That's funny - I thought it sounded really nice. It evoked nostalgia from the military. Different strokes eh? :)

>It evoked nostalgia from the military.

Well now I'm remiss of not getting to see what the comment was, since it's now flagged. I can appreciate that specific nostalgia w/rt living quarters.

Re: Small World: The Tiny House Trend

#247

Post by ams6110 »

justaguyhere wrote: post #41
tjr225 wrote: post #12

The Tiny Home trend and the "Van Life" trend are slightly unsettling to me - I wonder which forces are at play who intend to convince us that lowering our standards of living is cool? No judgement from me if you do choose to do these things, though. I do see the appeal. Maybe there is no conspiracy, maybe it is a coping mechanism. Edited "deeply" to "slightly" upon further reflection.

If you watch interviews of people who went the tiny house route, a lot of them started with "why do I need to be in debt (mortgage) for 30-40 years of my life?". There is a growing movement of people rejecting being in debt for decades and that is really a good thing. And if moving into a tiny house is carefully done, then it doesn't need to be lower standards of living.

> why do I need to be in debt (mortgage) for 30-40 years of my life

Because you're (hopefully) going to come out of the other side of those 30-40 years, regardless. In one case, you can have a house you own free and clear. In the other case, you're still paying rent to someone else.

And 30-40 years is the extreme. Paying just a little extra principal every month you can have the loan paid in well under 30 years.

Re: Small World: The Tiny House Trend

#248

Post by irrational »

haldora wrote: post #130
boxcardavin wrote: post #122

I've lived in a ~250sqft 1940's era wood train car for the past 9 years, with my wife and now a newborn. It is doable if you enjoy the constraints and how it affects your decision making. I live about 5 miles from Seattle in a very rich neighborhood (a few blocks from the Paul Allen estate) on a large piece of land that is set aside as a reserve, while most of my neighbors have 5000sqft houses. As long as you have am…

Have you documented this somewhere online, and do you have pictures? Using an old train car sounds very interesting and unique! I'd enjoy reading more.

Based on the description and OP's username, I think this might be it:

https://www.apartmenttherapy.com/1949-railroad-boxcar-on-mer...

Re: Small World: The Tiny House Trend

#249

Post by irrational »

rthomas6 wrote: post #146
bluGill wrote: post #126

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That northern tools trailer is rated for 1000lbs - you won't be able to have 2 humans inside without breaking something.

Excuse me if this is a stupid question, but why is 1000 lbs not enough? I weigh 150 lbs. My wife weighs about 130. What in the world is going to weigh 700 more pounds?

Weren't they talking about living in it? The wood and hardware will weigh considerably more than 700 pounds.
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