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Tumbleweed Tiny House (Original Post) Kaleva Nov 2013 OP
tumbleweed house is $440/sqft Mosby Nov 2013 #1
Are you looking at the homes on wheels? Kaleva Nov 2013 #3
I can't see myself living in a micro house, but Curmudgeoness Nov 2013 #2
When I was younger, I could handle the upkeep on a larger home. Kaleva Nov 2013 #4
Good point about upkeep. Curmudgeoness Nov 2013 #5
I'm house sitting my ex's 2200 square foot home. Kaleva Nov 2013 #6
Micro mobile homes Kaleva Nov 2013 #7
Costs to live in a small home Kaleva Nov 2013 #8

Curmudgeoness

(18,219 posts)
2. I can't see myself living in a micro house, but
Sat Nov 23, 2013, 03:16 PM
Nov 2013

some of those houses are not too small. Interesting concept. I doubt that I could afford one, because there is no way that I could build it myself so would need a contractor to add all that cost to the purchase. But if I were younger......

Kaleva

(36,147 posts)
4. When I was younger, I could handle the upkeep on a larger home.
Sat Nov 23, 2013, 03:51 PM
Nov 2013

Now a micro home would be a better fit. When the weather is good, I'm outside much of the time anyways. Although I don't know about the winter months when I'd be essentially snowbound for rather long periods inside a tiny house. But during those times, I could keep myself occupied with reading and taking on line courses.

I already do have a 900 square foot home with a full size basement on a 50X100 foot lot along with a separate garage and that I have found to be quite big enough. There's enough projects to do to keep me occupied most every day yet not so much that I get terribly run down just trying to keep up. Based on my experience living there, I could live quite comfortably in a single story 450-500 square foot home that had a full basement (basements are handy for storage, work area, laundry facilities, heating equipment and water heater) with a loft for a sleeping area.

Curmudgeoness

(18,219 posts)
5. Good point about upkeep.
Sat Nov 23, 2013, 04:07 PM
Nov 2013

The larger the home, the more time and energy (and money) it takes to keep it clean and everything functioning properly.

I would worry about myself in the winter, since I am so much of a homebody, especially when it is cold and icy. But since I have been thinking that an apartment would be so much nicer than a house, I might be getting to the point where this would be a very attractive alternative.

Kaleva

(36,147 posts)
6. I'm house sitting my ex's 2200 square foot home.
Sat Nov 23, 2013, 05:42 PM
Nov 2013

And there is a huge difference with upkeep. Just regular cleaning is much more of a job. And there's that big difference in property taxes, fire insurance premiums, utilities and so on.

Kaleva

(36,147 posts)
7. Micro mobile homes
Sun Nov 24, 2013, 11:51 AM
Nov 2013

Here's a link to one at 373 square feet.

https://www.factoryexpomobilehomes.com/micro.asp

Just dreaming but I don't think I'd go for something like that. Price isn't bad but it's the 2x4 wall studs and 20 lb. roof load that concerns me. But I do like the layout and think a beefier, better insulated stick built version would be very good.

Kaleva

(36,147 posts)
8. Costs to live in a small home
Thu Nov 28, 2013, 07:26 AM
Nov 2013

I have a small approx. 900 square foot home located in a small town in a rural area of Michigan where the property taxes are low. The home is paid for so there is no mortgage and below is the monthly budget.

$50 property taxes
$45 property insurance
$50 water and sewer
$25 curbside garbage service
$70 landline phone, internet and Netflix
$35 electric
$40 gas for heat, water heater and range (this is the average for a year)

$315 total

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