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[YorkieonmyPillow]

I agree with the OP; the prices on these "tiny houses" and through the tiny roof, it's insane; I think they are targeting younger people who have never lived in or owned a trailer/camper.

[151949]

Tiny homes are not built at the site where they will eventually be lived in - they are built on a trailer frame, at a factory - then towed to where they will eventually be lived in. Yes, in many cases they are a "custom" design because they aren't built until they are bought, but they are not in any way related to a custom built home. As a matter of fact -- when we ordered our trailer 2 years ago the company allowed us to either choose from the floor plans they have OR we could design our trailer ourself. Many companies allow campers and trailers to be custom designed.As a matter of fact it did not even cost anything extra to do that. As for people thazt are just opposed to any kind of factory built home in their town etc. - I find people who think they are better than anyone else because they have more money to be offensive, period.

[Tigriss]

I live in a double wide with 1.68 acres of land. I can afford it and will have it paid off sooner than my 15 year mortgage, 5 years early. Housing in my county is very over priced for the rural county that it is, but the few powerful families seem to think it is Buckhead Atlanta. A 2 bed, 1 bath with an acre down a long dirt road in the county appraises for 90K. Banks won't lend that for what it is. We have many homes on the market before the crash and even more now. People just aren't willing to pay those prices for a county that nearly went belly up when the local chicken planet closed!

[italia8140]

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@brii wrote:

Now it's a destination trailer.  LOL

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Thanks for the laugh!

[Spurt]

I had a cousin that wanted to down size and move away from all the traffic that seems to be everywhere in our city.  I went with her to look at a small mobile home---by the time she added in the cost of the lot and utilities it was not a bargain.  Home prices are very reasonable here in South Texas so she was better off just finding a smaller home in an outlying subdivision outside the city---much cheaper.  And mobile homes depreciate rapidly in value in terms of investment value.  But your options depend on what part of the country you are in and home prices and other considerations in your part of the country, and things like property taxes versus renting a lot etc etc ......

For me a tiny house would never work I need and want lots of storage space...

[ID2]

I always thought those that build and live in these tiny houses generally live natural and off the land. Having a trailer that is basically made of a lot of plastic goes against everything these people believe in. I've only seen these houses being built with totally natural products.

[Mominohio]

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@151949 wrote:

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@Mominohio wrote:

I don't watch the shows these are featured on, but have seen them in different articles, and the one difference I thought was that these tiny homes are most often put out on land, in some rather isolated areas. That could account for some of the price difference, maybe getting land or lot with it? Could they be built more solid and with more insulation than a trailer? Also, many of them, because of the isolated areas, don't have all (or any) utilities available, therefore composing toilets and wood burning stoves necessary.

And they may, for the most part, be just another fad that time will see come and go. Not that some people won't see benefit in them over time, but many people will tire of the lifestyle and move on to other things.

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Utilities or not it is against the law for them to just throw their used dirty water on the ground - like from showers and sinks. They need to have a septic tank even if they have a composting toilet.And even those need emptied out every few days. Plus where are they getting water? and electric? They still need a hot water heater and a furnace of some type.

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You are making a lot of assumptions. Many people live without electric. They either don't use electric at all or use solar generators or solar panels to supply all their electric needs.

Some areas have artesian wells, and you don't even need power or a pump to get water to the surface. We have such a well. Water comes out without either of those things, at about the width of a  stream from a fire hose. Several of our neighbors have the same.

Many people also live without hot water heaters and furnaces. Many in this area are heating entirely with wood (some with coal), and heating water on the stove, or in apparatuses that attach to a wood burning stove.

Fridges are made that run on propane, and the use of ice boxes still exists, as in climates that get cold enough, ice can be cut from ponds (or in our case, poured and formed in molds from the artesian well), stored in ice houses, and used in the warmer months.

And in many areas, your septic and leach fields are draining into near by creeks and ditches. It varies by locality, but many places, 'greywater' is perfectly legal to use  (that is all household water except sewage) and people build natural filters to use the greywater for other purposes (agriculture)

Composting toilets is a subject that can get rather complicated,and there are other options that people sometimes call composting toilets, that are actually something else. But the waste from composting toilets can be mixed with other things (sawdust and more in a process) and treated and is actually fit for composting and agricultural use. It is a more complicated process than just dumping the excrement on the ground, but research it is you wish.

I live in an Amish community, and they, along with many non Amish minimalist (and just plain poverty stricken people) live without many of the things we consider necessary requirements. As long as no health code violations occur, to each their own.

[151949]

The people buying these tiny homes being shown on HGTV are not intending to live like the bush people. Perhaps it would be an idea to be familiar with the subject before you comment.