• Maria Kentala
  October 30, 2023, 6:58 am

  way over priced. The house around the corner from me is a 3 bedroom 2 bath house plus a yard is selling for 185,000.00. So the Felicity home you would have to have a mortgage. The purpose of going Tiny is not to have one. So if I am going to pay that kind of money I would go with a real home.

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  • James D.
    October 30, 2023, 12:12 pm

    Apologies, but I’ve mentioned this multiple times already that costs aren’t determined by just size. The houses you’re comparing to weren’t built with the same amount of work, details, etc.

    Tiny isn’t going to change the simple fact not everything is built the same, not to the same quality, not to the same level of details, not with all the same materials, not to the same level of durability, not with all the same included features, etc. So the costs are not all going to remain in the same range just because of size!

    Also, unless it’s brand new the average house price isn’t determined by how much it cost to build but only the present resale value according to the present market. The tiny house has to be much older/used before it’s comparable to most regular house properties, even those built to the same level of details, etc.

    Besides, it’s not the mortgage that’s the real problem but the long term costs as those are what determine whether the debt can be handled or become overwhelming. Used properly, a mortgage is a good tool to allow people to get options they otherwise would not be able to, like being able to escape financial situations such as renting a home that prevents saving to purchase a home but with the mortgage someone can escape that situation and divert their funds towards paying off the purchase instead of continuing to rent a home they don’t want to live in anymore. So it’s not something to always be avoided, it just has to be used properly!

    It’s long term costs that make people unable to deal with a mortgage or any other form of debt. For example, you may be able to purchase a larger home for a similar price but that larger home will have a larger long term cost and that adds up over the years to easily exceed the purchase price of the home. The larger long term costs also means reducing what funds you could have used for your lifestyle and ability to achieve other goals.

    So it’s much more than just the purchase price of the home that matters. A property, once owned, can be anything from a money saver to a money pit. Like paying more to have a more durable home, a healthier home, a home that requires less maintenance, a more energy efficient home, etc. can attribute to numerous cost savings over time that can exceed the purchase price of the home and give a net benefit in the end.

    Versus a cheaply built home that requires lots of maintenance, deals with mold and other issues, can be unsafe to live in long term, waste energy, etc. and that all can make it a money pit that costs up to multiple times the purchase price of the home over the years. Meaning a lower purchase price doesn’t mean it’s a good deal…

    Bottom line, details matter and as long as you are okay with the trade offs you can simply choose a more lower cost tiny home, but there are reasons why some homes cost more…

    Fact is anything built can have a very wide range of costs, size being only one of many factors. So a larger home built similarly to this tiny could run into the millions, for apples to apples comparison, that points out that how it’s built and with what details can’t just be ignored and only focus on the size.

    There’s just many tiny homes that are built to higher level than most regular homes, after all they’re cramming more functionality into a smaller space and it’s harder to do, but that also means you can simply choose a more simple and easier build to get to a lower price… Just mind the trade offs and make sure you’re okay with them…

    Tiny isn’t a magic solution, which means it won’t change that affordability is what you make of it with your choices and that you actually have to make choices and not just take everything out there as having to fit just your criteria and no one else’s… Not everyone is willing to make the same trade offs, so there isn’t going to be just one price for everything!

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• Paul
  November 3, 2023, 4:24 am

  Bravo, well said. In my language it’s like comparing the cost of a Mini to a Rolls Royce. Yes it can be done but there’s this little thing called orders of magnitude.

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