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Most of the time we talk about tiny houses as our only home.
But have you ever considered owning multiple tiny homes, if you could?
After reading Laura’s post on tiny house living in the city versus the country, it really got me thinking about this.
Instead of one large house or condo, you’d have two- or maybe even more- small spaces in different locations.
For example, someone might decide they want to have a home in town and another out in the country with no neighbors.
Multiple Tiny House Ownership?
What are your thoughts on multiple tiny house ownership? Would you do it? I’ll leave you with my thoughts below:
I haven’t put much thought into this idea until now, but when I look back..
I’ve always wanted to have the ability to live in more than one area. And this is such a great way to do that. Plus you can even earn extra income by owning several tiny homes.
A tiny house in the woods and a little apartment a few blocks from the beach. Or a micro cabin in the mountains and a studio in the city?
And again, when you’re not using one, you can earn money by renting it out on websites like Airbnb.com.
Multiple Tiny Houses Versus One Normal Home
I also think this idea might convince some people to consider tiny homes because of the ability to live like a rich person.
Not many people I know get to have 2-3 different houses! And with tiny ones, it’s actually doable.
Can you see some people who have 3-4 bedroom homes being a little envious of someone who instead owns 2-3 tiny, or small homes or apartments in a few different areas of the world? I think it’s a great idea.
In fact Kristie Wolfe, of Tiny House on the Prairie, is someone who seems like she’s into this idea too. She already built her first home in Idaho. And now she’s working on her second one in Hawaii.
What The Community Says
I wondered how the average person who’s into tiny houses would look at this, so I asked them on our Facebook Fan Page. I said, “What do you think about owning more than one tiny house in different locations?”
And here are what I thought were some of the most interesting comments:
one in the mountains and one at the beach (11 likes)
kinda defeats the purpose (6 likes)
thought you were supposed to be able to move your tiny house? That way you only need one for both places… (4 likes)
I’ve traded the tiny house dream for full-time RV-ing. (3 likes)
or ONE tiny house on wheels that u can move twice a year!! (4 likes)
There’s a nice trade off for the cost of one conventional home, having multiple tiny homes in places you frequent, visiting family, a winter home down south, a favorite vacation spot…all without having to tow anything or move. I would keep everything in each place so i wouldn’t even have to pack a bag. (2 like)
right now i would be thankful for just one… (6 likes)
Related: Woman Builds Her Second Tiny Home in Hawaii
Would you live in town or in the country? If you could, would you do both? Especially if you could rent out your home/apartment when you’re gone? Or even trade spaces with folks from around the world for nearly free vacations? We could be on to something..
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Alex
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It might be nice to have one (or more) fixed locations and one mobile unit. Some friends and I also thought it might be fun to trade houses now and then like chairs at the Mad Hatter’s tea party.
I did struggle a bit thinking maybe it was greedy to have two tiny houses I wrote my thought process out today.
http://tinyhouseontheprairie.net/2013/02/23/twotinyhomes/
I have a permanent small cabin that I live in most of the year and a nice camper RV for when I want to live somwhere else for a time.
I would not spend a lot on a house on wheels for two locations.
It occurred to me that two tiny houses with a courtyard between, and covered by one roof, might work where zoning requires a certain minimum square footage. One could be the owner’s suite, the other a guest cottage (no kitchen); or one could be the living area, and the other the bedroom suite. That would work for folks who can’t (or don’t want to) negotiate a ladder to the loft. The possibilities are many!
Yes, Kathy R. I’ve always liked the idea of what we call a breezeway in these parts. Normally it would connect the main living quarters and a garage or a grandparent’s apartment. But having different options to maneuver around zoning restrictions is always helpful, and the ladder issue is already a concern for me at 59.
Nice…I have also thought of that….connecting to an art studio!!
For me, the point is mainly to own less, not more.
(Clicking “EDIT” doesn’t work, so I’ll add to my post above this way.) …although I do still want to own the house and the tiny piece of land it sits on and have the associated liberties and benefits, rather than rent.
I already have 2 and doing a third and likely do 1 or 2 more on my 100×100′ lot.
Why is rental income!!! Next is higher sale value, third is making real tiny homes available to those who want to live low cost or give tiny home living a try.
If more would build tiny home compounds like this it would great help our tiny home movement to get actual units out there.
Myself I need space area to live, it’s my work building stuff that takes the space. My best place would have a 150-200sq’ tiny home and a 2000sq’ workshop and another acre outside for building, RE and growing my food.
Man, I’d be building them 40 hours a week, if I could afford it!! I’ve always wanted to build rental property, but, it takes a pretty good investment, one that a LOT of people can’t get over! I am prepared, have a shop to work in, have more tools than anybody would ever need, 40 years of building experience, but, investment money’s always been a problem.
My son is building his tiny house now and is also about half done with one for me & his brother to retire to. When he is finished he will start one for my brother, retiring soon & moving home. This is all on a lot that just had one “regular” house on it. There will be a “community” room with a full size kitchen & laundry area. He could have just built a large house big enough for everyone but this way we can all have our indepence for as long as possible!!
I would like to own a tiny home and I think having more than one would be Awsome, but that would not be for the average person, because first all you have to own your own property to have one built or know someone who gladly put up with you while you construct your new project. I don’t have access to either one. I really thought about a tiny home, but I don’t have any property and you can’t get a loan for one. I do love the idea.
If I had enough to do what I really want to do I would have a motel village in the mountains.
Marie just because banks won’t lend doesn’t mean you can’t get property. Many landowners will take payments/make a loan themselves to you. It’s how I bought the land I’m on now, $300/mo for 5 yrs.
Robert, both your statements are not nessasarily true. You can build very light, strong, quality TH’s for little money. No reason one should spend over $1k to build one if well thought out.
Nor would it need a truck to haul one done right. Next yr I’ll be coming out with FG trailers, truck campers/shells for cargo or tiny homes that because they clean you the aero drag of the towing vehicle, need no extra power to tow a TH built for this.
Look to boat/aircraft style construction especially epoxy/plywood to build light, strong, low cost TH’s that are very easy to tow.
Coming from half way around the planet… could you please enlighten me as to what an FG trailer actually is?
Thanks in advance.
hi i like the tinyhomes but the cost is to high an i would need to buy a truck to pull one . thay are to heavy for a chev hhr to pull.
At age 62, we’re planning a ‘multi-tinyhouse’ family “compound’. With aging, very independent family members our small, accessible to city amenities via foot, bike, and bus, has designated houses, shop space and craft-commons house, all mobile. The idea of having another tinyhome in another state or territory was considered, but the tinyhomes we are constructing can be moved if we decide to find new space…instead, for now, we will tiny-rv to see (and temporarily live in) new places, returning within our tiny budget to stay in our fixed-site tiny home. Looking forward to other’s comments.
Great idea. I am hoping to hook up with like-minded people to do the same.
Does your local code actually allow you to do this, have multiple tiny houses on 1 lot? From what I’ve read in forums like this is that no matter where you go there is some bean counter who has a rule that says you can’t. EOS!
Codes in the US vary from extremely restrictive to none.
And most codes have holes in them like here in Tampa you can build to 150sq’ ‘shed’ without a permit.
By building another next to it joined by screws. Or build them 8-20′ apart and join them with a roof, later closed in.
Once the property is sold everything on it is grandfathered
in.
Many already dense sites like former camp grounds, hotels/motels, trailer parks are historically TH’s that can be converted, etc.
My home property was a Farm workers camp from the farm before pieced out so on a 33m x33m was 7 units.
On what FG is, just read the context and obvious it is fiberglass or as others in the world say, glass-fibre .
Fiberglass, metal and wood are the only likely materials for trailers.
A trailer… made of fiberglass? You are kidding me right? Fiberglass construction on the trailer yes… but the trailer itself? Never, ever seen one of them. Wouldn’t have thought that they’d be structurally strong enough to carry a Tiny House weight on top.
I would have three in the same little area. It would be like a tiny village of tiny houses. One would be for me to live in, one for a art studio and one for my collection of Goofy items. 🙂 the artist studio and collection house would also be used a guest houses. 🙂 It would have a pool between the three.
Amy said it yesterday, and I repeat: “One at the beach and one in the mountains” … That would be perfect for my wishes !!
As an entrepreneur, our main focus is on amortizing just about everything that we can. Since we work from home, in part (we also have offices), part of our home is income-earning in that way.
We also would love to have a place about 2 hrs from the city (one of our favorite, isolated locations in NZ), but couldn’t live/commute from there (we do need to be in our offices.
As such, our plan (it’s an actual business plan) is to build a small home out there (480 sq ft) and live in a small apartment (400 sq ft) or home (480 where we currently live) close to our offices.
This does make it more affordable, and since we are happy to holiday in the ‘off season’ we can earn on the “on-season.” And likewise, since we run our own schedules, we could holiday mid-week, leaving the weekends for renters.
The only expense, then (over time) would be the home in the city, which keeps us close to work.
But doing so small is definitely a way to make it do-able.
My wife and I are planning our 1st Tiny House and were discussing the multiple location option presented in the above article just a couple of hours before this newsletter arrived. We love the idea!
Actually, though not the cute tiny homes, my boyfriend and I live in Slab City and have multiple RVs (tiny homes on wheels). He has his rig (the man cave) and I have mine (complete with dogs who can get up on the furniture if they want, cuz my house) and another trailer for my art room/guest house, and another trailer for his workshop.
Works for us! No arguments on where the pictures should be hung, LOL…AND if one is messed up and we are too tired to clean it, we just go in the other environment! LOVE IT!
We’ve already been doing this for the past 15 years. Before my husband and I got married, I owned a tiny cottage in Michigan and he owned a 3 bedroom condo in Lincoln Park, Chicago. When we were married, we lived full time in the condo (about 1,800 square feet) and spent each weekend at my cottage. When he retired, we moved full time to the tiny house cottage and subletted out two of the three bedrooms in the condo, retaining the largest bedroom (10′ x 12′) for ourselves. Both bedrooms we rent are fully furnished so the two rents cover our mortgage 100%!!!!! So, when we want to boogie in Chicago, we have a wonderfully massive condo that is being paid for by tenants but supplies us with our own privacy and we still have our tiny house in the very rural area of Michigan. I think our city bedroom qualifies as our “tiny house” in the city, since the other areas are all shared by the tenants we rent to. It’s a Win/Win for everyone. We ONLY rent to long-term students who want a fully furnished home but still affordable ($450 each), our mortgage is being paid, and when we finally sell, we’ll have the money for our retirement.
Alex: having duplicates of everything at both houses makes life a breeze…but…you really have to keep track of the food/paper issue!!!! What I mean by that is ALL FOOD IS PERISHABLE and not having toilet paper sucks!, so if you don’t have a great tracking/inventory system, then you’re forced to take your draggin’ arse off to the grocery store, as soon as you arrive. 🙁 And…if your tiny house in the country is 16 miles away, one way, you get pretty angry/frustrated at this silliness. So, I solved this problem very easily, after years of running out of stuff. I have a grocery app on my tablet and two of the listings are “Cottage Needs” and “City Needs”. I also have a Pantry App that lists 100% of every kind of food at both places. So, let’s say we’re in the City and heading out to the Cottage. I check my Pantry app because I want to make Pad Thai when we get there and see that I’m low on Rice Noodles and Fish Sauce. I then add both ingredients to my Grocery app and also see that we used the last of the butter and milk when we were last out there. So, we load up on groceries at the half way point after stopping for a nice lunch and when we arrive at the cottage (or city) we don’t have to leave for ANY reason, because we brought it all with us. Sure saves on stupid, expensive car trips to buy sugar, a hoodie or toilet paper!
Yah, you’re tooooo modern!!! A simple pencil and tablet does the same thing!!!!!!!!….Just kiddin! Great advice for sure!
My retirement plans include a converted ISBU home in the Alaskan interior with a “detachable” tiny home on wheels that I can take wherever.
My vision is to build and own 4 tiny houses; currently, I have three. I want to buy an acre or two, then build like a 30-foot by 30-foot deck with a hot tub or fire pit (or both) in the middle, then position one tiny house on each corner. One tiny house would be a kitchen, primarily; the second would be a gigantic dressing, closet, and storage area; the third would be a luxurious bedroom; the fourth would be a TV and living room. There would be bathrooms in two of the four tiny houses.
If you wait a little while, I’ll build it and then show the world.
Tom B.
Tom: Other than the novelty effect of having a house broken up into rooms, what’s your thinking on this? Back in the Old, OLD days, kitchens were separate from the house just so they didn’t burn down the house! Or, as my Gran had on our farm, we’d have a Summer Kitchen where she’d do all the preserving and butchering. Granpa had a smoke house for all that ham and fish caught in the lakes. Yum!
Getting back to the multiple small rooms = one house, I’ve seen that done in Architectural Digest and they were all centered around a grand pool. Very posh idea, very nice to look at but impractical if you live “Up North.”
I’d say impractical most anywhere… imagine, going between the main house and the kitchen when the weather is atrocious. No wucking fay
Thanks for this topic, Alex. I think multiple tiny home ownership may be just right for some people.
People have mentioned that a tiny house *should* be mobile – but that isn’t always the case. Our tiny house is very much permanently fixed to a mountain. If we want to live anywhere other than the country then we need to do something different – which is why we are staying in town for the winter.
I don’t like the idea of the community shaming anyone because of some belief that being able to afford two tiny houses means somehow you’ve sold out or are being greedy. I think each individual’s experience is their own and everyone should be able to what works for them in this situation.
One of the reasons I live in a tiny home is so that I can have another! My first tiny home is attached to the land in a city at the beach, and I will roll my second tiny home onto my five acre ranch in the desert that is between two mountain ranges. Summers at the beach, winters in the desert–who could ask for more?
I will be building a tiny house on a trailer this summer, and we have already planned on having multiple tiny homes. We are currently a family of four with a 3 year old daughter and an infant son. Many people question the viability of a tiny house with a family, but I think multiple homes are the answer. Our current plan is to allow our daughter to build her own tiny house when she gets old enough to want her own space. As Sicily from La Petite Maison has taught us, giving a tween/teen the opportunity to build their own tiny home promotes independence, agency, and education, all the while building something that will provide them with a sustainable living space while they are in college. Granted, this isn’t quite the tiny house vacation home that you are positing, but I think a series of tiny houses connected by decks or clustered together on a piece of land is a beautiful way to maintain a sense of space while promoting multi-generational family living.
I am well into the 1st build (started in June stalled for winter weather in late December) But hope to have the caboose completed by Mid summer. Then I will turn to my other 8×20 frame and build “The Depot” a support tiny trailer that will contain my shop and toys and tools as well as mechanicals that are needed for off grid living. They two units will be angle parked to form a vee and a deck will be built between much like the railroad station platform.
I think it’s a great idea!!! Most people dream of having two houses in different places and with tiny houses its totally possible for those of us without huge incomes. congrats to Kristie! $8000 for a piece of land in HI? that’s awesome.
I thought it’d be cool someday to buy a campground with a lodge for family reunions and build little bungalows as sleeping quarters for family members. Everyone could eat in the main house, but they’d have their own bath and sleeping area for privacy. If I only had the money….
This may contradict what I noted concerning TH communities but be that as it may corporations could build communities of these around the world. This would be cost effective in that they would not have to worry about hotel reservations and their own personal staff could attend to all of their personal needs and maybe even a few wants. The staff could have profiles, portfolios, and dossiers on those who would be in sporadic residence. They could even have their own airport and conference center near the community, and security would be much tighter.
I have some plans (rough) that I drew up for what I call the “Tiny shed homestead” Where I live there is a historical farm that has the houses lined up in the shape of a “U” for protection and ease of use of the different buildings. I really like the idea, and that is what I went for, I have a main house, guest house, garage, outdoor kitchen, school house, then the different animal houses, one for chickens, rabbits, sheep or goats.
This is a dream of mine, we have property, but we also have a hefty loan. I have it all planned out, if we sold our house and property, we could buy a small plot of land, and have our “Tiny shed homestead”. Dream small!
When I was a young fellow I had the good fortune to stumble into a place that rented old Airstream like trailers. We got propane and electric and water included and the rent was only $25 a week. It was a godsend for a working guy just starting out. I would love to own four units and rent out three of them. A bit of income and a sense of helping others would be wonderful. I hope regulations would not cause me to have to charge prohibitive rent. These days who knows?
I would like this kind of living. Add a garden and a place to do laundry and it would be ideal.
Personally, I love the idea! We live in Texas but have family in Western New York. I often think of a tiny house for up north to visit in the summers. I envision a tiny house plus a hard-back tent (some call it a wall tent) for the kids would make us a very nice little compound.
BTW, love the site and I seem to be bringing up tiny homes more and more on our show. I’m intrigued…but my wife’s not convinced. Yet…
Thanks for all the great original content, Alex, and for curating other great relevant info from around the web!
Hi Everyone, I am new to the tiny house concept and am wondering if anyone knows if Tiny Houses work okay in Hawaii? I am planning on moving there
and buying inexpensive land and a tiny house might be affordable if it is doable! Enjoy..
I have been drawing up plans and getting ready to build 2 tiny houses. One house will be in the backyard of my son so I can be close to the grandkids and the other will be in a Florida RV park where I can be close to my parents. In the summer I will be with the grandkids and the winter I will be warmer with my parents. Win Win!
Most really rural areas dont care what U live in.Where we live in Maine some people do live in Camps,Old School buses,Campers, Shacks Mobile homes and Etc.
Some dont have full facilities.You can buy land here very cheaply.
I just bought 2.5 decent acres for 9.9K..Probably some cheaper than that is available.Old wrecks of houses are cheap too.
When you get to more urban or suburban areas you have more of a problem.
Multiple homes kind of kills the simplicity thing,but it seems the real aim of lots of these people is to live undercover in some highly desirable locations.So….
Hello! I think a tiny house in two or even three favorite spots is a terrific ifea!
I love that idea. And when your kids get older you can ship them out to the country tiny house. 😉
One word: snowbird! I’d love to dodge New England winters in a sunny clime, but return for spring, summer and fall.
Multiple tiny homes makes sense to me–and I don’t want to drag any of them around on wheels. My status as ‘world class house guest’ (I’m about to have business cards made up) is going to come in handy when I retire in a few years. I have mayn places to visit and some of them I will be a houseguest and others I will rent something for the initial visit. I have a plan to ultimately be an old lady in Oregon with my friend from 6th grade. We both grew up in Michigan. If her house doesn’t accommodate the two of us, I will have a tiny house nearby for mutual support. I am also interested in investigating the warmer winter areas for a location for a tiny house where I would have friends to watch out for it when I’m off visiting or at my other tiny house. The friends doing the watching could rent it for me, use it for their own visitors or as an escape for themselves. We could work something out about income and management fees. Maybe they would build the tiny house and I could rent it from them in the winter! Options abound!
I am thinking about having the tiny houses built alike, so in the dark I could find my way to the “necessary” with a minimum of being “jarred” awake!
Good hints on the aps for pantry foodstuffs, etc. Sure a list or binder or scroll would be effective, but “there MUST be an AP for THAT!” in this situation.
I live permanently in a small house of 585 square feet in the country and I have an RV for escaping to the city when the need presents itself. I find this gives me the best of both worlds. Some may have two TH’s on wheels. People have different needs and requirements and all are valid. Thanks for sharing. Cheers from Australia
Thanks Brian! I like the sound of the way you are living. 585 sq. ft. home and an RV 🙂
Brian, Your lifestyle sounds great! A home in the country, just the right size and an RV to travel. Too many people here still want the Mc Mansion life, of huge mortgage and upkeep and showing off. I have a smallish cabin in a rural neighborhood, but would like a smaller place and an RV to go to other country places when traveling, like by a lake or stream! A tiny house would be a bit small for 2 people and pets, but love the decor and use of space and storage. They are so much more homey than an RV, with the use of wood interiors. I am near enough to cities, but avoid them. Australia has always fascinated me. I enjoy the HGTV home buying shows filmed there, novels and movies! Had to write as you mentioned your country!! 🙂
Hi MountainGypsy, thankyou for your comment and interest. Yes many people here like the McMansion Lifestyle too however once the children, if there are any, have moved on,then these same people seem to prefer to down-size. I originally had a number of very large houses but as I got older I found myself living in just a couple of rooms. Tiny houses don’t suit everyone however so have a look at Small houses 500 to 1000 sq ft as these seem to offer an alternative. Australia is a very large country with large distances between major centres. Having a permanent small house is not a problem here as there are ways around council rules. (ie THs on wheels in the USA.) Also country towns here always seem to have affordable blocks of land about a quarter acre or so with small houses already on them. I am originally from New Zealand which is similar in lifestyle to Australia, albeit all in a couple of small islands. Thanks for the chat. Cheers from Australia
Just me again, Brian from Australia. Have a look at the following link. It is my current Small House and Alex put together this video from photos I took. Cheers.
https://tinyhousetalk.com/living-simply-585-sq-ft-cottage-downsizing/
Brian, Thanks for writing! I so enjoyed the pictures of your home. You really found a gorgeous place, and your decor suits it perfectly. I really like the exterior trim, very Australian to me. Love the cat! It amazes me how people still want the McMansion house, with huge mortgage, too much to to care for, high taxes, maintenance etc. I had a house built that was about 2000′ and another 2 remodels of around 1600′. The remodels were fun, and the homes were a nice size, but just too large. I live in the second one. It was too good a deal, but larger than we needed. Most people, unless they have huge family or endless guests, I bet spend most of the time, in the LR or kitchen, or in front of a TV or computer. That small area is like a closet in a large home! But I am retired, and am past the show off stage or thinking I need more space. I also have learned, one has too much stuff, if so much of it is in boxes and never used! lol A place your size, would suit a lot of people, just hard to find, here unless you go to the neighborhoods you don’t want in. (in some towns) It is great, when older small homes are redone, and are perfect! Thanks for writing, (from CO, USA.)
It might be fun, not to own more than one, but to have access to more than one. For instance, Tiny House vacation exchanges. If I want to vacation in Wisconsin, and a tiny house person in Wisconsin wants to vacation in my state, then we could swap tiny houses for a few days or a week, and not have to pay for accomodations, leaving more money to sight see. Just a thought…
Marsha, Great idea, on the tiny house exchanges! Sounds like more fun, and more people could enjoy the experience. Exchanging a regular house is not as attractive. This would be economical too. Also liked the idea of some, of owning 2 tiny homes in different places or climates. Those could also be rented or exchanged. I so hope that the rules or permits will be modified soon, so more people can have this life style if wanted. Older trailer or RV parks should be a good place to upgrade to tiny homes.
…but then, I have a bus, so I can pretty much just drive to where
I want to be and hang out at Walmart! Lol!
I would do multiples and use them for rentals. I would worry about having such a nice house as my second home, for a few months in winter in Arizona let’s say, and would rather have just a regular travel trailer instead. If someone were to damage my place I only used a couple months out of the year in Arizona, I would much rather it be some $5000 travel trailer then a $50,000 tiny home. And since I wouldn’t be there 10 months out of the year to keep an eye on it, I would really worry about it. So something this nice I would only use for my main home. Or for rentals on my property, or near me, as I said before.
You’re SMART to worry, Patricia. Unless you ask for a very, very hefty Security Deposit up front and have some friend/family member who can keep an eye on your property, you have a high chance of having your renter trash your place!
I speak from 12 years experience in this matter. We have a 3 bedroom condo in Chicago where we have one of the bedrooms for ourselves when we need to sleep in the City but we rent the other two rooms out to Uni students. Despite credit checks, references and a two month deposit, you’d be shocked at how many “Nice Girls” turn into the “Tasmanian Devil” when “the cat’s away”…meaning the owner! We’ve had girls move their gang banger boyfriends into their room on a permanent basis; we’ve had girls throw flash mob parties in the place when they know that neither the other roommate nor we will be around. Things damaged include a TV that had the screen broken, a sofa that was destroyed by multiple people jumping up and down on it so the legs got forced INTO the wooden frame; a microwave that was burnt out by a Nutter microwaving a stainless steel pan inside of it and walking away…yadayadayada.
Mind you, in the 12 years we’ve been doing it, we’ve had some perfectly perfect girls that have become life long friends of ours but we’ve also had those trouble-makers that make you question just “WHY?!? are we renting out these rooms?”, too.
So, stay your course, Patricia, keep on dreaming your dreams for the travel trailer and other home, so you can have your cake and enjoy eating it, too! 😀
I am sorry that you had those experiences Cahow. And I know you are not the only one. I was actually talking about renting out tiny houses on a nightly basis, to tourists. I have a property in Vermont and having cottages that I could rent out has always been part of my plan for my land. Part of the reason I like the plan is that my cottages would be available May through October, leaving me free to do other things during the winter. Other things, like go spend January, February, and the first part of March in Arizona! I was thinking about where I would stay when in Arizona. That’s what I meant by I wouldn’t be comfortable using a tiny house, because it would be sitting vacant the entire time I was gone and I would worry about vandals. Tiny houses are NOT cheap, as we have all seen. Well, unless you’re going to build it yourself, which I am not. A travel trailer I wouldn’t worry about as much. And while I could put something with a property management company and rent it out while I was in Vermont 10 months out of the year, I actually like the idea of just draining the plumbing and leaving it stored it one of those big lots where people store their motorhomes. So far my research seems to show that people who rent cottages on the nightly or weekly basis, actually take really good care of them. I don’t hear horror stories from people who rent in that manner, certainly not the kinds of stories that I hear from people renting on the monthly and yearly basis. Thanks very much for your kind hearted support and enthusiasm. The vast majority of people in the tiny home community seem to be the salt of the earth. Thanks
Good Morning to you, Patricia. 😀
Thanks for your empathy about my occasional bad renter. I think the difference between weekend tourists and long-term renters is that the long term girls got “too comfortable” and began thinking (or NOT thinking) of the place as their parents, where they could get away with anything.
Having read your post, it appears that you have really had your Thinking Cap on straight and that you’re well on your way toward realizing your dreams. I do want to give you a well-meaning “Head’s Up”, however. I don’t know HOW you can find out if the Tiny Home rentals you dream about would/could be actively rented out, short term, but I strongly suggest some kind of study or market research for your area before you pound the first nail into a wood beam.
Why? Because of a very sad EPIC FAILURE of a Tiny Cottage Rental Community right down the road in the resort community that my husband and I live in. (type into a search engine www. snootyfox dot com.) They had 100% of EVERYTHING that Tiny House Lovers would want: swimming pool, tennis courts, walking trails, community hall to enjoy your meals…everything! They could barely get ANYONE to stay there and this year, it was dismantled and sold off, piece by piece, tiny house by tiny house. 🙁
It made absolutely NO SENSE that this place failed…in theory. It was family friendly. They allowed pets. It was the perfect blend of wild country with city luxuries, being a mere 1/4 mile away from Lake Michigan, for chrissake! But, fail they did, despite ALL the effort that was put into it’s conception and design. I’m frankly shocked that it wasn’t a raging success but apparently, the vacationers that come out our way wanted REAL luxury vs. Glamping/Tiny House living.
Best of luck to you, Patricia. I hope that your dream lands on more fertile ground. <3
Unfortunately this is one of those situations where I won’t know if they will come until I build it. But I’m actually going to start with travel trailers. And probably just one or two to get going. If there’s an interest in that, then they’ll probably be an interest in cottages later. This is a business plan that I’ve been working on for many years and have done a lot of research but unfortunately there’s really just no way to know for sure because I’ll be the only one in my area doing it. I can’t look to a similar model in my area to see what their occupancy rates are, but the average through most of the summer for all forms of stay hotel, motel, camping, etc. is 30%. And during fall foliage which is about a six-week stretch, occupancy source to nearly 100% in Vermont. I will start with a roughly $10,000 travel trailer, if he doesn’t fly it doesn’t fly, not going to be a big deal. I am however fairly certain that this idea will work just fine. Not Planning on getting rich, just some additional income off of my farm. People love privacy, and I have a large farm. The trailers and/or cottages will be spread out so that you have complete privacy, dogs and horses welcome, facilities for both, tremendous views, complete quiet, etc.. The trailers won’t look like travel trailers, they will be completely remodeled. No weird beige and brown explosion of squiggly bizare patterns, ugh! One with kind of a Shabby Chic thing, and one that looks like the interior to a log cabin. Each will have a nice little deck with a screen room, a barbecue grill, and probably one of those little soft sided semi portable hot tubs too. There are power lines that run right thru the middle of my farm, the cottage locations should be doable with power. One of my inspirations is the rescue where I adopted my last two dogs, Glenn Highland Farm border collie rescue in upstate New York. They do vacation trailers, cottages, and camping spots, and they cater to people traveling with their dogs which is a very large portion of people who like to travel. Their farm and my farm are extremely similar except I have better views I think. That and they ask twice the price that I will, and their trailers sit side-by-side which doesn’t give people privacy. Her business model is to create a sense of community with the trailers so close together, which is popular, and she does quite well. My business model is based on privacy. You won’t be able to see anyone else not even the lights of another house, from your trailer/cabin. All of their funds go toward the border collie rescue there. I will offer to give a portion of my proceeds to that rescue, especially if the dogs people are traveling with are former Glenn Highland dogs. My hope is to be able to bring some of her clientele to me and send some of my clientele to her. More than likely I will also be fostering a dog or two of hers over the summer which will give that dog a little more visibility with my campers, and maybe I can find a dog or two a home as well. Feel free to Google them and look under their vacation section on their website and you can see what she offers and what she charges. While you’re there take a look at the dogs, Border Collie’s make excellent fur friends! Cheers!
I’m going to wish you a Field Of Dreams Experience, Patricia: If SHE builds it, THEY will come!
I loved reading about your plans and dreams; I’m sending along to you all the well wishes for your venture that I can fit through this posting!
My current goal is to convert a school bus for mobile living on a smaller budget and save money for a bit of land somewhere down the line. Then I could build a house on a trailer, but with less worry about transporting it so often and have more freedom with regards to design. So yes, I can definitely see having more than one tiny house.
We have the idea of having multiple tiny homes on one property and connect them by covered breezeways. One house would be the kitchen/dining. Another could be master suite/bathroom. Another one would be living/game room. and another for kids/guests. Maybe in a circle or hexagon and put something like a pond or fire pit in the center. What do you all think?