They’re anywhere from 400 down to 100 square feet, and the smallest ones usually are built on trailers so you can move them. Tiny Houses are still growing in popularity, but people are giving more thought before jumping aboard the tiny house movement.
It turns out that downsizing your life to fit into a tiny house doesn’t always equate to downsizing the cost. Here’s what you need to know.
Buy It or Build It?
According to reports by tiny home builders, the median cost in the United States for a tiny house is just slightly under $60,000. The cost to build one starts at around $45,000. When you do the math, you see that it actually costs more to build a tiny house – more than $300 per square foot compared to about $150 per square foot for an average 2,000-square-foot home.
One of the reasons is that tiny houses require special appliances and fixtures. They’re both smaller, and they tend to be energy-efficient. You pay a premium for this.
You can reduce the cost if you choose to build it yourself. Business Insider reports that people who take a DIY approach can shave tens of thousands of dollars off the cost. But cost savings there can be eaten up if you won’t think it all the way through.
More Than Just the House
A tiny house has to live somewhere. Many are built to be towed like a trailer, but they still may require local building permits. It’s also possible that local zoning laws may not allow them. May places in the country have minimum sizes for dwellings, and tiny houses don’t qualify. Often the tiny homes that are built to be towed end up at RV parks. Long term leases for these spaces can run up to $1,500 a month, and a growing number of RV parks have decided to ban tiny houses to make room for longtime RV and travel trailer customers.
You’ll also have to downsize your possessions because your tiny home just won’t have room for it. Forbes recently reported that by the time you consider the frustration of not being able to find a place to put your tiny home, along with the extra expenses of having to rent storage, you might not save anything at all.
The Smarter, Less Tiny Alternative
Miracle Truss® offers a wide array of designs for metal and steel residences and cabins. They can be put up on your property for a fraction of the cost of traditional building construction. You’ll find it’s easy to pull permits because our DIY kits are engineer stamped to meet the specific requirements of your area.
The clear-span design offers cathedral ceiling heights, which means that you won’t get that claustrophobic feeling that many tiny homes offer. Check out our gallery of residences. Why downsize when you can build full-size?
