Small living spaces - reality check

[offroad]

http://tinyhousetalk.com/cautionary-tale-on-tiny-houses/<br><br>Interesting reality check about living in small spaces. If you decide to attempt to put an rv in a small area chunk of land somewhere you might have more challenges than positive media would have you believe. It's not all roses out there trying to live a small footprint existance.&nbsp;

 

[VanLifeCrisis]

It sounds more like he had high expectations of certain progressive urban areas, and had an axe to grind when it didn't meet his expectations.

 

[Les H]

yeah, im not quite sure what to make of it myself. Even tbough, as a builder, I have made a nice , cozy 16x20 cabin for someone, it WAS on the same property as the main house. I cant POSSIBLY see fifty grand to PLAN the septic- the gorgeous cabin i built cost 27 grand, EVERYTHING included except water. When the code officer came around and saw it, he basically called it a storage shed, albiet it one with pergo floor, tounge and groove ceiling, insulation, wiring, sheetrock, a stone fireplace and a kitchenette and sleeping loft. Where i live here in the south though, if you wanted to live in a 55 gal drum and could figgure out how to do it, its fair game.

 

[offroad]

Dazar, Les,<br><br>All good points.&nbsp; maybe he did have an axe to grind, but the point is all those regulations mean you can not just put an RV on a lot and attempt to live, or a small house RV, or a single wide, etc.&nbsp; There are way too many regulation for what people are legally allowed to live in for new; while the piece of junk existing shack is fine.<br><br>My opinion is that if the average lowest income (lowest income 10%) of the local population can not afford it to buy, and meet a safe standard of living, then the regulations should be relaxed to make them work in the new property owners favor.<br><br>&nbsp;

 

[yesican]

Like Less, I too am building a 16x20 cabin with a half loft. Unfortunately, its in a subdivision with covenants (former homestead the family is dividing into&nbsp;2 acres parcels).&nbsp;I have to have a minimum of 1000 sf.&nbsp; So, I've added a 10 x 24 and will have to add on a few hundred more sf&nbsp;before I'm done.&nbsp; I've been living without water for 3 years...its getting old.&nbsp; But, I did put in a temporary septic where I can drain the kitchen sink, someday a shower, and a compost toilet that seperates urine; only the urine will go down the drain.&nbsp; To make it covenant worthy though, I've got to put in a real septic which will probably be several thousand dollars due to clay content on the lot.&nbsp;&nbsp; The point is, not all places, even here in Alaska, are you guaranteed that you can live in a small dwelling or live in the rough.&nbsp; Sometimes there are codes in the most unlikeliest of places.<br><br>Rae

 

[RV-Kitty]

to put in a real septic which will probably be several thousand dollars due to clay content on the lot.&nbsp;&nbsp; The point is, not all places, even here in Alaska, are you guaranteed that you can live in a small dwelling or live in the rough.&nbsp; Sometimes there are codes in the most unlikeliest of places.<br><br>Rae

<br><br>It's best to check all that out BEFORE buying the lot or land.&nbsp; Many people don't, then are in for a real surprise.

 

[yesican]

I knew of the dwelling size and septic requirements prior to purchasing the land.&nbsp; I was just pointing out that you just can't assume that remote living means there are no covenants...there could be.&nbsp; I am lucky in the fact that there is no completion date requirements which allows me to build as I get the money...I live in the 16x20 section of cabin and the addition is currently unheated.<br><br>Rae

 

[VanLifeCrisis]

Yeah i think basically it comes down to the specific place you live.&nbsp; In wv, you pretty much do you want outside of 'incorporated' areas.&nbsp; Even in those the rules vary widely.&nbsp; Most places here there are no building codes and no requirement for septic (i know people with outhouses) but if you put a septic in it must be inspected and subject to a slew of regulations.&nbsp; Its kind of a running gag here because you can see million dollar homes sitting next to a run down shack <img rel="lightbox" src="/images/boards/smilies/tongue.gif" class="bbc_img">&nbsp; But hey, thats the way i think it should be, your property should be yours, and even poor people should be able to live how they need to live.<br><br><br>I think im going to start taking pictures of some of the more interesting homes i see here on the side of the road...i wonder if people would be surprised <img src="/images/boards/smilies/rofl.gif" border="0" align="absmiddle">

 

[offroad]

dazar - more people should be aware of the condition poor folks have to live in. &nbsp;when money is given for any tragedy here or overseas, what of the people who are forced via financial or legal circumstance to live in poor areas. &nbsp;&nbsp;

 

[Les H]

Dazzer, yup here too. a drive down the road goes like this .... mobile home, mobile home , modest house, tin shack, 3/4 million dollar house, mobile home mobile home...lather, rinse, repeat.

 

[MaximumRide]

The fact is with tiny living / off the grid, you can't expect to have all the creature comforts that you would in a large home.<br>You have to give up things. but ive found that you can have a few select privliages, but to have these you often have to sacrafise something else that was already not so great.<br><br>and living tiny is defintly something that takes getting used to. I am currently downgrading little by little, but i know it will be worth it. I think its also about changeing our mind set. we are bombarded with large living, its what most of us have grown up with and its something that most of the population does; therefore, there has not been a lot of options to help with our tiny living needs bc before now there has ever been market demand for it. as well as their not being many material items for it (Unless you go to camp stores, and even what they offer can be very limited.) there is also a limited amount of info about tiny living. you really have to network to find it out and have a keen internet eye.<br><br><br>

 

[MaximumRide]

Dazar, Les,<br><br>All good points.&nbsp; maybe he did have an axe to grind, but the point is all those regulations mean you can not just put an RV on a lot and attempt to live, or a small house RV, or a single wide, etc.&nbsp; There are way too many regulation for what people are legally allowed to live in for new; while the piece of junk existing shack is fine.<br><br>My opinion is that if the average lowest income (lowest income 10%) of the local population can not afford it to buy, and meet a safe standard of living, then the regulations should be relaxed to make them work in the new property owners favor.<br><br>&nbsp;

<br><br>I'm sorry but F*&amp;% legalities, I don't think that the government could really understand what it means to have no money and be forced to live tiny.

 

[RV-Kitty]

Like Less, I too am building a 16x20 cabin with a half loft. Unfortunately, its in a subdivision with covenants......<br><br> &nbsp; The point is, not all places, even here in Alaska, are you guaranteed that you can live in a small dwelling or live in the rough.&nbsp; Sometimes there are codes in the most unlikeliest of places.<br><br>Rae

<br><br>Stay far away from subdivisions. Look for land (lots) outside the town limits and you can avoid a lot of these headaches. <br><br>Another thing to avoid like the plague are those Gated Communities with HOAs even if you're looking to build or buy a stick-n-brick house.

 

[super duty]

If people wouldn't accept covenants and restrictiojs and HOA's (by not living in those subdivisions) then there would be less ppl trying to impose rules. Just like telemarketers, if ppl wouldnt buy it, we wouldnt be bothered by them. At least I found a forum of ppl that aren't like the sheep out there, problem is, there are too many that are sheep (brainwashed) .

 

[RV-Kitty]

If people wouldn't accept covenants and restrictiojs and HOA's (by not living in those subdivisions) then there would be less ppl trying to impose rules.

<br><br>Some people want those restrictions to keep up their property value. I can understand that. If you pay $500,000+ for a home you don't want a trailer with 10 kids, 5 dogs and screaming drunks moving in on the adjoining property, or someone who collects yard ornaments like old rusty washing machines, bed springs, ancient car bodies on blocks and pigs and chickens on their porch.&nbsp; <br><br>

Just like telemarketers, if ppl wouldnt buy it, we wouldnt be bothered by them. At least I found a forum of ppl that aren't like the sheep out there, problem is, there are too many that are sheep (brainwashed) .

<br><br>Though I wouldn't want to live in a Gated Community, they work real well for many who do.

 

[accrete]

My wife and i live full time in a 38ft 5th wheel after downsizing from an acre+3 bedroom farmhouse. We enjoy the tiny living lifestyle but knew after some research that no one here on the northern coast of oregon &amp; southern coast of washington wanted anything to do with tiny homes. There is one small community that looked hopeful on the longbeach peninsula called seaview. It all looked good as we drove around during july and saw nice rv's (read 100k + value easy) under nice structures overlooking the ocean...then we read the fine print in the community... All RV's must vacate between ~November through ~April (i don't remember the exact dates but never the less it was a deal killer). The only way around the "Code" was to have the ability to build a structure approved by the HOA that the RV would be housed in and no one could see there was an RV in it. So basically...no full time live-ins. And the city council is not budging!

 

[Dazzlecat]

I am planning on buying a TT and living in it after selling my house. I am interested in building my own tiny house at some point but it's so discouraging to see that there really isn't any place for small houses except somewhere out on the middle of nowhere. <br><br>And looking at land prices is just a joke, anything close to any medium/big city costs a fortune. So if I want to homestead and live off the grid i'm looking at living somewhere very rural with no one else around? that sucks. If I had a ton of kids and a husband that might sound good but by myself that just sounds scary. <br><br>I really wish there were some communities of people living in small houses. I guess I'll keep wishing and hoping.

 

[accrete]

Here in Oregon and also what i've noticed in Washington, some of the tiny home models are welcomed at RV parks. Sure you are paying a landowner "rent", but really, in this day and age with high cost of land and maintenance, the little $450 payment i make to the owner of the RV &amp; Golf resort we have our _home on wheels_ is nothing in calculating what my peers are paying in property tax + utilities + maintenance. <br><br>You might look around at parks. Who knows you might find a nice community that would welcome you and a tiny home (on wheels).