Tiny house as a first home solution for my son?

[3Ts]

My comments on the travel trailer option: My wife & I lived in one for 4 years (including the winter) after we retired. Most of the time was in central Texas and we did see temps down around 20*F. I do have pictures of us in the snow and icicles hanging from the trailer. It takes a lot of propane to keep warm so we rented a 250 gallon tank (smallest size where they would deliver) from the local propane company and had them keep it full. We later moved the trailer to property we purchased (which did not have any utilities). Once a week, we'd move the trailer to a nearby campground for an overnight stay to dump our holding tanks and refill our fresh water and catch up on internet stuff. (We'd also take our laptop to a restaurant and surf the web while we ate slowly and always left a generous tip) Once we had electricity and water, we built a pump house and put a washing machine in it so we didn't have to go to the coin washeteria. We now live in a full size house.

The point being is that a couple can tolerate a lot of inconvenience if they know it's only temporary.

 

[rbstern]

New wrinkle: I was surprised to learn the county we live in has a "no tiny homes" permitting policy in effect as of earlier this year. Traditional / permanent construction or HUD certified manufactured only.

I've read the county ordinances, and can't find where they have the authority to create building policy by commission decisions without actually making ordinances, so I suspect it's just the county commission trying to give itself some leeway to figure out the tiny home issue.

Talked to the building permit office to try and clarify what authority the rule is based on. No answer offered, deferred to the county administrator. I also asked about permitting for a travel trailer in a semi-permanent RV type setup (dedicated electrical and septic hookup) on our property: Was told they "make exceptions" for immediate family / non-rental arrangements.

Hmm. County is growing, and suddenly we seem to have a lot more rules. Rules that can't be found in the form of ordinances. Gonna be interesting.

Thanks, all, for the continued input. Lots of useful comments and considerations offered.

 

[bcschris]

Sorry for the long backstory; just think it's necessary to get accurate feedback.

My son, currently living at home, just recently graduated from college and landed a very solid job with a stable company, working remotely. We're extremely proud of him. He earned it with hard work.

He and his fiancee are starting to look at rental properties in our area. Pickings are slim in the nearby small towns. If they go to one of the small cities within a 45 minute drive (Gainesville, GA to the south, Anderson, SC to the north), there are many more choices. Pricier, and some iffy neighborhoods the wife and I would not love to see them living in.

We have plenty of acreage with numerous potential home sites, although 75% of our property is in conservation status until 2024. We've always told him, if he ever wanted to build a house on the land, we would help in any way we could. He's open to that. One possibility is building/buying some type of tiny home to put on the property; not a trailer mounted tiny house, but something built on skids, like a 14x40 shed that many people seem to be repurposing for something like this. My back-of-the-envelope estimations suggest a 500 to 600 sq foot building, set up as a 1 bed/1 bath, could be nicely finished for about $40K, including plumbing, HVAC, septic, electrical and fixtures.

We have no zoning restrictions. If we did it in reasonable proximity to our current residence, we could skip digging a separate well. They could use our Internet access (something he needs for his job; we have excellent 1Gbps fiber service). Electricity install would be relatively cheap because of the established power lines on our property. In other words, there are a bunch of fiscal advantages to making a living solution here.

Downsides we readily acknowledge: Less independence from us. Also, they'd be building equity in something that exists on our land. If they left, we'd very likely never rent it to anyone else; certainly not a stranger. We value our privacy. We expect to leave this place to him (he's our only child); barring a financial disaster that forces us to sell, all of the property will be his someday. Any property improvements theoretically benefit him in the long run.

We could also just wait until 2024, and carve off a piece of land on the other side of our property, for him to build a genuine, stick built starter house on. More independent solution for them. They'll have spent about $35K tp $50K on rent between now and then, if they rent until then.

So: Thoughts on tiny homes for this type of solution? What haven't I considered? What are the challenges involved with tiny house type solutions? Thanks in advance for the comments!

My son and fiance graduated and have good high paying jobs. They opted to build a new yurt $21k. Now they are building as they go an off grid house. They do have a seperate shower and laundry room. I think I might have leaned toward a trailer of some kind. In the end the yurt will be an airBNB rental. Everyone charts thier own path in this life. My father used to say "just about the time you can stand them they move out". Having a son living nearby with the prospect of a grand child is enough to make my wife think that she has one foot in heaven. So, now that he is moving out you just might miss em. There is a great satisfaction having a son around to lend a strong hand. In the balance there may be a spouse along who needs a little more space....just saying.

 

[2manyrocks]

I think codes are great provided that every county administrator, code official, and member of local government actually lives in a house that is inspected annually and will pass the current code requirements.

 

[tradosaurus]

New wrinkle: I was surprised to learn the county we live in has a "no tiny homes" permitting policy in effect as of earlier this year. Traditional / permanent construction or HUD certified manufactured only.

I've read the county ordinances, and can't find where they have the authority to create building policy by commission decisions without actually making ordinances, so I suspect it's just the county commission trying to give itself some leeway to figure out the tiny home issue.

Talked to the building permit office to try and clarify what authority the rule is based on. No answer offered, deferred to the county administrator. I also asked about permitting for a travel trailer in a semi-permanent RV type setup (dedicated electrical and septic hookup) on our property: Was told they "make exceptions" for immediate family / non-rental arrangements.

Hmm. County is growing, and suddenly we seem to have a lot more rules. Rules that can't be found in the form of ordinances. Gonna be interesting.

Thanks, all, for the continued input. Lots of useful comments and considerations offered.

If you have enough land to do it I would just proceed with an RV or small trailer as long as you can keep it from being seen from the road.
Also install a gate and no trespassing signs so county can't come on your property.

 

[rbstern]

I think codes are great provided that every county administrator, code official, and member of local government actually lives in a house that is inspected annually and will pass the current code requirements.

Yes and no. Basic safety, sanitation and noise? Sure. But I have lived in places where the local municipality lives in your back pocket and tries to control everything short of thought. That's a miserable experience.

Maybe that's needed when you have a million people in a few square miles. Here, we have 100 people per square mile.

 

[rbstern]

If you have enough land to do it I would just proceed with an RV or small trailer as long as you can keep it from being seen from the road.
Also install a gate and no trespassing signs so county can't come on your property.

Couple of things in response:

1) Satellites and drones aren't detered by gates and signs. Most tax municipalities have access to high quality aerial imagery for reviewing property conditions and appearance of new structures.

2) I prefer to sleep with an easy conscience. We pay property taxes in exchange for county services. While nobody likes to pay taxes, it's an obligation we accept as part of the cost of living in a community. It's one thing if my local government is tyrannical. As far as I can tell, they are not.

 

[MossRoad]

Couple of things in response:

1) Satellites and drones aren't detered by gates and signs. Most tax municipalities have access to high quality aerial imagery for reviewing property conditions and appearance of new structures.

2) I prefer to sleep with an easy conscience. We pay property taxes in exchange for county services. While nobody likes to pay taxes, it's an obligation we accept as part of the cost of living in a community. It's one thing if my local government is tyrannical. As far as I can tell, they are not.

Yep. Our county uses satellite. They don't have to step foot on the property to see every structure. If I'm not mistaken, they pay a service that compares satellite photos year-to-year for changes and inspect accordingly.

Also, if they see something on your property from a satellite photo, and ask to see it, you don't have to show it to them. But that doesn't stop them from getting a warrant based on the photographic evidence. They'll get one, and be back. Ask my neighbor how that went.

 

[rbstern]

Yep. Our county uses satellite. They don't have to step foot on the property to see every structure. If I'm not mistaken, they pay a service that compares satellite photos year-to-year for changes and inspect accordingly.

Also, if they see something on your property from a satellite photo, and ask to see it, you don't have to show it to them. But that doesn't stop them from getting a warrant based on the photographic evidence. They'll get one, and be back. Ask my neighbor how that went.

Surprised they bothered with a warrant. Less trouble to just send an inflated tax assessment with a picture of "unnamed/unpermitted" structure, and then wait for the property owner to show up and dispute the assessment.

 

[2manyrocks]

Because they wanted to flex their muscle.