I am obsessed with Tiny House shows on HGTV. When I say small, these houses are small. Like really small.
There’s Tiny House Hunters, Tiny House, Big Living, and Tiny House Living. It has become the new obsession. Own a small house and live more!
It intrigues me that people would downsize to a house that is as tiny as a hermit crab’s dwelling.
Have you ever considered buying a Tiny House after watching these shows? I have and in today’s post, we are going to learn why a tiny house might be a good option and if a tiny house really saves you money.
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Why Buy a Tiny House?
These houses have been around for years and can be considered a glorified, upgraded trailer and in some cases that is what you are buying. However, when making any home purchase there are many factors one must consider. Here are some reasons one might consider buying a tiny house:
- save money
- live more
- build up savings
- minimalist living
- enjoy nature
- travel more
So you are considering buying one of these boxes. But you have to ask yourself, is this just a fad?
If you are ready to give up your large house because you want to budget that HUGE mortgage bill in other ways, this is a viable option.
Perhaps you want to travel more, but do not have the extra money with your current mortgage. Also, maybe you are having a hard time paying your bills and need to downsize.
Many people who buy tiny homes look for ones that provide outside living space. This would be great in a warmer climate because you could technically use your tiny home as a place to eat, sleep, cook and use the restroom, but use the great outdoors for most of your entertainment purposes.
Things to consider when buying a tiny house:
- weather
- storage
- outdoor living space
- give up possessions
- kids
If you are looking to buy a tiny home to save money, you must consider the above. If you plan on being outdoors often, of course, you want to consider the climate. Does your area have a rainy season or a snowy winter? In Michigan, we are trapped inside for weeks at a time as the temperature plummets to below freezing. I get cabin fever in our condo! I can’t imagine my kids bouncing off the walls in one of these cozy houses.
If you have kids or are planning on having kids in the future, will tiny house living be too cramped? In winter, my kids run around the house like I just opened all the monkey cages at the zoo. Could you take this pent-up energy in a small house? I’m not so sure I could.
Also, ask yourself if it will “really” be cheaper. Will you end up paying for a storage unit because you are not willing to give up your possession?
If you are considering becoming more minimal, perhaps you have already begun to purge your belongings and won’t need extra storage.
Perks to Owning a Tiny Home
But let’s consider this… You could save so much on your mortgage and open up your budget. According to The Spruce.com, you can build a tiny home for around $12,000 (this is on the low side). Think of all the traveling you could afford to do if you had a small mortgage. You could also pay $12,000 off easily and not have a mortgage.
Do you have a bucket list? I do. And traveling to Tahiti is on it! Unfortunately, this won’t happen for many years so I dream about this perfect paradise often! Yet, I often wonder too, if I lived in a tiny house, could I afford the trip now? Living in one of these small homes would open many possibilities that you may not have had the money for otherwise.
Also, living in a tiny house would make you take a look at what you really need! You could finally declutter your life.
Learn more about letting go of your stuff here: Learn How to Let Go of Items You Once Loved
Tiny Home Perks
- travel more
- more family time
- save money
- environmentally friendly
- energy-efficient
- declutter
- Less cleaning
- bigger yard
Cons of living in a Tiny House
I don’t know about you but my family and I stayed in a tiny hotel room for a week on vacation and we were starting to get on each other’s nerves by the end of the week. Could we live our lives in such close quarters? It would definitely take some adjusting!
Again, if you are living in a cold climate, you may be trapped inside your tiny home. In Michigan we have very cold – I mean below zero cold – winters. We often don’t go outside unless we need to. We also have tornadoes. So climate is a consideration.
Reason’s NOT to Buy a Tiny home:
- living in a tiny house (yeah, I said it)
- no privacy
- get rid of half of your possessions
- being TOO close to your family
- resale
When buying a home, resale should always be a consideration. This is one of the biggest downsides of your small house. The resale value is low.
You really need to ask yourself if this is a longterm living. If you only plan on living in the tiny house for a few years, you may have a hard time selling it according to the real estate site trulia.com.
In Conclusion…
We live in a condo and aspire to buy a bigger house at some point. With two kids and tons of toys, our condo feels cramped. Plus we have no yard for our kids to run & play – granted there is a park across the street. But I often ask myself, do we really need more space or should we just be purging all of our unused items?
There are many perks to owning a tiny home like more travel and less “stuff” to take care of. I think saving money on building a house would be key for me.
But I have to ask myself, is this more of a fad than a long-term residence and do most people buying these tiny homes have kids?
For now, I think I will keep my condo.
All in all, I don’t think living in a tiny house is for me, but it definitely works for some people and the average person is able to travel and live the dream because of the low mortgage payment.
What do you think? Could you live in a tiny house? Why would you want to?
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Take care – Sarah
