There are no easy answers to that question. Size alone does not fit a house into this category. You cannot, for example, say that any house which measures less than a prescribed number of square feet is a tiny home. Rather, it must meet other criteria: make the best possible use of its space, be environmentally-friendly.
WHAT ARE SOME ADVANTAGES OF TINY HOUSES?
-1. They can literally be hauled from place to place by attaching them to a car. And tiny homes are adaptable. You can, for example, purchase one - some cost as little as $15,000 - and park it down next to a larger house, affording you privacy but still positioning you to enjoy companionship.
-2. The joy of owning a small house cannot necessarily be measured in such practical terms. They represent a life style.
"If you are not interested in spending 30 years paying off a mortgage or earning money to pay heating bills a tiny house might be for you," Jay Shafer, president of Tumbleweed Homes which sells and manufactures these residences said. "They might also be great for people like me who do not like to do house work, who simply have better things to do with their time. And the fact I could not afford to live right outside of San Francisco if I did not have one is just a little extra bonus."
WHAT ARE SOME CAUTIONARY WORDS ABOUT TINY HOMES?
-1. Tiny homes are becoming trendy. Although they were unheard of only a few short years ago, you can now go into a book store and find whole rows of books about them. That means some unethical manufactures might be turning out substandard products, as they try to tap into a burgeoning market. So, the words "buyer beware" have never been more relevant.
-2. Zoning regulations which might keep tiny homes outside of some communities. Generally, cities are stricter about these matters than are small towns or rural areas, But it is always a concern, although opposition is lessening as tiny homes become more trendy, Mr. Shafer said.
"The housing industry and lending corporations have been known to work together," Mr. Shafer said. "That can make it hard to get financing for a tiny home. But at this point, I have heard of companies that specialize in making loans to people who buy them. That will probably happen more and more."
