For some people, living in a grandiose house complete with luxurious amenities is a dream come true. But for others, a 500-square-feet tiny house is enough to sustain their everyday life.
If you have been in awe of tiny house designs you see on Pinterest and been hooked to Netflix's "Tiny House Nation" series, then you have probably daydreamed of owning and living in a tiny home one day.
Tiny house living has been gaining popularity among people from all walks of life. And while the term is synonymous with living in a cramped by well-organized residential space, it could also be a source of extra income for some people and an alternative living arrangement away from their family.
But aside from the "cuteness" of tiny houses, there is more to know about tiny home living than meets the eye. Below are some of the legal, financial, and social factors you have to consider when deciding to embrace tiny home living.
Legal Constraints
One of the biggest challenges in tiny house living is the legal aspect of being a tiny homeowner, which varies from state to state. The challenge mostly arises for people living in tiny-homes-on-wheels or the roving RVs that do not have a permanent address. It turns out that the idea of parking your home in different places is not allowed in most major cities.
California, which had 15.5 percent of tiny homes, has been changing its law on tiny house living. It is due to the increase in the homeless population brought by a lack of affordable housing and expensive property values.
Some California cities like Fresno, San Jose, and Sonoma have passed laws recognizing tiny-homes-in-wheels as a residence.
To Build or To Buy?
Another factor you have to consider is purchasing a pre-made tiny home or hiring builders to build yours from scratch. Nowadays, tiny houses can be easily purchased online, like the retailers from Amazon offering pre-made tiny houses from $7,000 to $50,00.
The Swedish furniture company IKEA has also ventured into making 187 square-foot tiny houses for only y $47,550. The house model called Vista Boho XL is complete with solar panels, composting toilets, a heated water supply, power, sleeping area, living space, kitchen, and bath.
Lifestyle Change
Living in a tiny house can be cute and fun, but can you live up to the lifestyle change that comes with it? Tiny house living will require a serious downsizing of your everyday stuff because too much clutter will only cramp the space and not serve the purpose of downsizing.
"Compared to a 2,400-square-foot home, you have a small space that needs to fit the bathroom, kitchen, living room, bedroom and dining room," Tiny Home Industry Association board member Lindsay Wood told Inman.
Before deciding to live in a tiny house, Big Skills Tiny Homes founder Sean Ticknor suggests renting a tiny home on Airbnb for a week or two first to find out if the lifestyle will suit you.
It turns out that some people will only like the idea of small houses but will eventually realize that the space is too small for their lifestyle.
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