Tiny Houses: The New Trend in Housing

With rising energy costs, the mortgage crisis, and economic uncertainty, tiny houses are becoming more and more popular. Are you tired of working your finger to the bone to pay for a house you'll be lucky to pay off by the time you retire? Are you beginning to wonder if you really need all the excess personal possessions? Are you looking to make less of an impact on the environment? If so, a tiny house might be for you.

A tiny home or micro-home is usually in the range of between 65 to 140 square feet whereas a small house is designed to meet the International Building Code and has at least one room of no less than 120 square feet. Since tiny houses are on wheels, they are considered travels trailers and do not require any building benefits. You can either buy them ready made or build them. Architect, Dennis Fukai, estimates they cost $75.00 a square foot to build even in inexpensive areas.

Although living in tiny house is certainly an adjustment, there are several benefits. Some of these benefits are:

• Since you live in a small space, you buy less and consume less.
• Lower utilities
• Lower taxes
• Less upkeep and cleaning
• Less time to pay off
• Tiny houses are easier to take off the grid
• If you decide you want to move, you can take your home with you. Tiny houses are usually towable.

Like everything else, just as there are advantages to tiny house living, there are disadvantages too. Some of the disadvantages are:

• They are not usually suitable for families.
• Building codes may prohibit houses under a certain size.
• Tiny houses can cost more per square foot than traditional houses. Usually custom furniture needs to built to fit in a small living space and compact appliances cost more than full-size appliances.
• Banks may not be as likely to make a loan on a tiny house, especially nowadays, after the sub-prime mortgage problem.
• You may not be able to adjust to living with less.

Jay Shafer was a leader in tiny house construction. While Jay Shafer was teaching art at the University of Iowa in 1997, he decided to downsize into a smaller home. Even though he had no experience buiding a house, between himself and a few friends, he built 100 square foot home to live in. Although he had no desire to build anymore houses, news organizations in Iowa City discovered his tiny house and publicized it. After other people found out about it, they started inquiring where they could buy a tiny house, too. In 1999, Jay founded Tumbleweed Tiny House Company. Now Shafer lives in another tiny house in Sebastopol, California where he runs his company from.

IChapin, an architect, says the miminal square feet for one person is usually 500 square foot with 700 square foot being optimal. If you're thinking about paring down to a tiny house, one of your most important decisions in choosing a house is what you need from your dwelling. What do you do on a daily basis? Do you go out to eat most of the time, or do you cook most of your meals at home? If you cook alot at home, you will need to buy smaller size appliances to refrigerate and cook your food. Do you spend a lot of time working on the computer or crafts or something else? If so, you might want a small built in work space. Are you in good health? Many tiny homes have loft bedrooms. If you're not able to go up and down stairs easily, you might need a sleeping area on the first floor.

While a tiny house may not be for everyone, it certainly is becoming more popular. Even if you don't want one for a permanent home, it might be a nice get-a-way retreat. People are even starting to build tiny houses out of pallets and storage crates. Some communities are even contemplating building this type of housing for the homeless. If you're interested in finding out more, there are plenty of websites and resources on the internet.