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After quarantines and lockdowns became a normal part of life, Teja was looking for a place of his own instead of living with roommates — but when the average cost of a home in San Jose where he lives was over $1 million, there was just no way he could get into the housing market.

That’s when San Jose agreed to allow ADUs in the city, and Teja worked as a trailblazer to get his professionally-built tiny house on wheels approved on his parent’s property. He’s now using that experience to help others get legal tiny homes situated in the city. What do you think of his awesome tiny?

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His Legal Accessory Dwelling Unit Tiny House in Parents’ San Jose Backyard

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Janet got in touch to show us her lovely 320 square foot foundation home that was built as an ADU (accessory dwelling unit) on her son’s property in Danville, Kentucky.

Although this tiny home wasn’t Janet’s “Plan A” for a retirement home, it ended up being the best one, she says. Now she lives in her happy L-shaped home just steps from her son and teenage granddaughters. She cooks family meals a couple times a week and yet has her own private space.

Thankfully Danville recently allowed for ADUs, giving Janet this great option for retirement! See pictures of her home and read her story at the end of the post.

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Janet’s Retirement Accessory Dwelling Unit in KY

Janet’s 320 Square Foot Foundation Home on her Son’s Property 6

Images via Janet

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Here’s a tiny house you can walk to the beach from out of  Dennis Port, Massachusetts.

It’s called the Sand Pebble Cottage, available to book via HomeAway, and located within 1/2 mile from the beach, and 1/2 mile to the village of Dennis Port. What do you think?

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Sand Pebble Tiny Cottage Vacation near Cape Cod – The Dennis Port Tiny House

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Seattle is an interesting place to pay attention to for tiny and small homes because of these 5 trends, as showcased via the Seattle Backyard Cottage blog.

They’re all very interesting trends that we will very likely see spread to other areas. And who knows, you could very well be one of the first to inspire it. Let me tell you a little bit about these trends, and how you could possibly see them in other areas of the country and world.

Don’t miss other interesting articles and discussions on all things tiny and small when it comes to homes and real estate – join our FREE Tiny House Newsletter for more!

1. Newly adopted Seattle code allows for family-friendly DADUs… With an extra 200-sq.-ft. of space, many detached accessory dwelling units (DADUs) are being built for families.

Up until now a majority of cottages were being designed for aging parents or as rentals accommodating an individual or a couple without children. These new larger cottages are also being designed for families with children including a 900 sq. ft. cottage we are designing in Ballard for a family of five. And a 1,000 sq. ft. cottage for a family of four.1

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This is the Rainier Valley Cottage by Bruce Parker of MicroHouseNW. It’s a small house designed to be simple to build to keep construction costs low. What do you think of this design/build?

This Rainier Valley backyard cottage takes advantage of solar access and territorial views. The design of this cottage was intentionally simple to keep construction costs down and to make it easier for the owner who operated as the general contractor for this project.

Don’t miss other awesome stories like this – join our FREE Small House Newsletter for more like this!

Rainier Valley Cottage by MicroHouseNW

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This is the Laurelhurst DADU in Seattle, Washington by MicrohouseNW, they specialize in backyard cottages. This one is a 575-square-foot home with a 390-square-foot footprint. The cabin even features a living/green roof, exposed trusses, and interestingly enough, the bedroom is downstairs. Opposite of a loft, hehe.

DADU stands for Detached Accessory Dwelling Unit, which is basically just another term for a detached guest house. These guest houses are one way to design and build small homes while still meeting local building codes. And in Seattle, people are even creating their own homeowners associations (HOAs) and selling their backyard cottages to others. Yes, some have been listed and recently sold, and we talk about that in this article.

Don’t miss other beautiful small homes like this – join our FREE Tiny House Newsletter for more!

Beautiful Small Backyard Cottage in Seattle, Washington… The Laurelhurst Detached Accessory Dwelling Unit

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This is how accessory dwelling units (guest houses) are being restructured into condominiums so that they can be sold separately from the primary residence on the property. Pretty interesting, right? What do you think?

…increasingly people are using condominium agreements to sell DADUs separately from the primary residence.1

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How Accessory Dwelling Units Are Being Sold Separate From Their Primary Residences in Seattle

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Just got news that Governor Newsom signed historic housing legislation for California that allows homeowners to build up to two ADU’s (accessory dwelling units) on their property.

This legislation will definitely boost interest and demand for micro, tiny, and small homes in California – where extra housing just like this is desperately needed. What do you think? This is a good thing, right? I suppose, some homeowners will be upset about it.

Don’t miss other announcements like this – join our FREE Tiny House Newsletter for more!

California allowing homeowners to build up to two tiny homes on their property…

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Photo by Daria Shevtsova from Pexels

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This is one couple’s fisherman’s tiny cottage in Ballard. It’s a backyard tiny home they built which was featured over at the Seattle Backyard Cottage blog. I love backyard tiny homes like this because they’re a wonderful way to (legally) get more small and tiny houses built.

This idea reminds me of the article we did on the city who is encouraging homeowners to build backyard tiny homes. It’s such a great idea, isn’t it? Anyway, take a look at this beautiful little cottage below and let us know what you think about it in the comments. You can also read the interview with the couple who built it over at Seattle Backyard Cottage’s original article on it.

Please don’t miss other interesting tiny homes – join our FREE Tiny House Newsletter with more!

Fisherman’s Tiny Cottage in Ballard – Seattle Backyard Cottage

Fisherman Tiny Cottage in Ballard – Seattle DADU – via MicrohouseNW

Images via MicroHouseNW

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