Barn Raising Sale

Your opportunity to save big on a partially built tiny house will be coming to a close at the end of this month (August 2015).

You can save time and money when you buy a house that has the basics done-for-you. It’s a great head-start. It’s a great solution for beginners because it will save you lots of time.

The Tiny House On Wheels Barn Raiser Sale

A rough idea of how this works is:

• You have four house designs to choose from. The link above will take you to one of those designs.
  If you want to see the others, and find out more about this great sale, click on the Barn Raiser link in the top menu.
• The foundation for the design you chose will be built on the frame of the trailer.
  The trailer includes:
  • Brakes
  • Lights
  • Underside flashing
• A fully insulated sub floor will be embedding into the trailer.
• The walls and roof will be framed and attached to the trailer.
• Water resistant sheathing for an integrated vapor barrier will be put on the frame.
• The house will be delivered to your location.
• You finish the house to your design, taste, wants, and needs.

And more…

To find out all the details, including financing options, click on the barn raiser sale link above. Then click on the Barn Raiser option in the top menu.

You’ll want to check this our right away. August 31, 2015 will be the end of their big $500 savings opportunity.

The 31st Magazine Issue Is Available

The one and only magazine about tiny houses for enthusiasts, and anyone just starting out has been published.

This issue is 75 pages long.

The cost of each issue is only $4.99. It’s a great value for the price!

Here’s the link to Get Yours Today

Living With Meaning

This book is on a slightly different track than what I normally write about – building or buying a small affordable homes. Instead it focuses more on living in a place that is fully functional for your needs. This does not necessarily mean that you need a very small house or a very big house, the author guides you through information and the thought-process that you need to build, buy, or remodel the most efficient house for you.

Not So Big House Book – Softcover

Not So Big House Book – Hardcover

In other words, you don’t need to sacrifice square footage for a better design. A small or smaller house than what you are used to can accommodate everything you could want or need when the design is well-thought out. Every inch of your house should be usable and used – what’s the point of having space that is not used?

She makes you think. She helps you to realize what really the most important things in your life are.

A few things to think about:

• Does a super-sized house make you feel better?
• Does all that extra “stuff” that you don’t really need or use make you feel better?
• Are you super comfortable in every room, every nook and cranny of your house?
• Is the design and layout the best it can be for your specific purposes and lifestyle?

For the most part, all those “things” that you buy are bought because you thought you needed them. But in reality, they are just a “feel good” substitute. And they fill up space.

The book isn’t about small houses, it’s more about making good use of your entire house. When you think about and consider exactly what you need, you usually end up with a house that is much smaller than what you think you should have to live comfortably.

A few of the authors other books along the same topic are:

Creating The Not So Big House

Not So Big Solutions For Your Home

If you are looking for some good insight into your life – what you have, what you need, why you want things, and why you do some of the things that you do, and you want to simplify and downsize, then this book is a great start into exploring what is most important. It is a way to a better life, a better house with intelligent design.

What Size Tiny Affordable House?

I am curious to see what size of house most tiny affordable house enthusiasts would like to live in so I thought I would ask you.

The Poll Is Now Closed

The results were evenly spread throughout 200 square feet to 1000 square feet.  I’m not really surprised – the results were as varied as the number of people that enjoy the idea of living in a house that is affordable (ie: small). The actual size is not what matters as long as it is small and using less personal and environmental resources. It was interesting to see what people thought was right for them… thank you to everyone that participated.

After a lot of research and time looking at houses that are tiny and small, we’ve decided the size that will suit our needs, and what we want to live comfortably.

Now we are in the process of deciding on the design (exterior and interior) that we would like. This is the more difficult part as there are so many ideas. We think we’ll probably end up with a combination of pre-made design and custom.

For us, we’ve decided that we need a place that is somewhere around 600 square feet. There are a number of reasons for this decision:

• We both have hobbies that take up a little space to do and for storage.
• We have three big dogs that live with us.
• We have two grown boys that come for a visit on occasion.
• We need to have a separate bedroom and it has to be on the main floor (neither of us are able to climb stairs all that well anymore).
• We both like to cook so we want to have a decent size kitchen area with enough counter-space for working and for some of the little appliances that we don’t want to do without.

We spent last winter in a condo that is approximately 650 square feet and it was the perfect size for us.

What Is Your Preference?

As a person with a natural curiosity about many things, this got me thinking about what other people would like in their small house. So there will be a series of polls starting with one on the size of house that you think would be good for you.

We would love to hear from people that are considering buying or building a little house as well as any of you that already live in one.

Another Debt Bites The Dust

We just managed to pay off another of our smaller debts – April was the last payment, And I am looking forward to one last payment in May on another of our debts.

In September we’ll be able to celebrate the end of all but one of our debts. That one last lingering one is our biggest one yet and we know that it will likely take years to pay that one off.

Regardless, by mid-May we’ll be down to two payments. And by September we’ll only have one left to pay off as quickly as we possibly can.

I can’t stress how great this feels. I know I’ve said it before but it really is a great feeling to finally be able to get rid of all these payments that were incurred during difficult times.

To finally not be living from paycheck to paycheck. To not have worries about how we will pay the bills that just kept piling up. And to finally be able to put some money aside for the future.

Saving even more – here we come!

******************************

Other exciting news that I’d happy to share (it’s not tiny house related)- I’ve opened the doors to my business. I have been working at SEO (search engine optimization) for quite awhile and have recently decided to extend my expertise and service to other people that are interested in growing their business online. I won’t go into great detail here because that is not the purpose of this site, but I am so excited about this that I wanted to share.  If you would like more information about these services, please Contact Me (you can find the Contact page under the About tab above) to discuss.

 

A Feel Good Story

I just read an article about a man that fell on hard times during the recession and illness. It’ about how he made the best out of a bad situation.

The gist of the story is that he lost his job, got sick, and lost his house. He made the decision to build himself a 20′ home on wheels to live in. He made sure to incorporate some of the momentos from his former home into his new home.

His new place is a combination of a tiny home and trailer. Designed and built on his own, from scratch.

These days, he has the pleasure of living well on less. He gets to live where he wants, when he wants. And he is able to travel south with his little home during the winter months.

Click the link to read and watch the video that tells all about the story behind the .

 

 

Save Time And Money – Have Your House Built

February Special Offer

Save hundreds of hours build time on a place that you can use as a house for yourself, a cottage, a guest house, or a studio.

Pre-Built House Sale
Save money in February 2014 – you can save at least $1000 on your new home.

Tumbleweed has come up with an unbeatable option for anyone that doesn’t have the time or the confidence to build their own tiny home. They call this program the Amish Barn Raiser.

They will build your home for you from the trailer up to the roof. It is then delivered to you or you can choose to pick it up.

You choose the style that you would like, and the size that you want and they put it together.

There are many options that you can choose from including whether to have dormers built in and with or without the roof done for you.

The basics of what is included in this deal is:

• Framing and sheathing.
• Insulating.
• Framed walls and roof that are attached to the trailer.
• A vapor barrier.
• And much more…

When you click on the link above, you can get the full scoop on this fabulous barn raiser option, the pre-built house deal for Feburary 2014 and all the specs.

These houses regular pricing for the basic build starts at $13,000 to $16,000.

The sale prices start at $12,000 to $15,000 which can save you $1000 per house. What a great deal!

But you’ll need to hurry as this sale is only on until February 28 at midnight PST. After that, the prices go back to the regular costs.

Another great feature is that financing is available should you need it.

You can get a new home, the cottage that you’ve always dreamed of, a guest house for visitors, or have a rental property built for a very reasonable price.

All you’ll need to do is put the finishing touches on it (depending on what you have them build for you), decorate it to your liking and move in.

Imagine getting a basic tiny house for a such great price. Order yours today and you’ll have it when spring comes around so you can enjoy the warm weather in style!

Tiny And Small Houses Can Be Found All Around Europe

The tiny house movement is making its way around the world, and tiny houses in Europe has started to make its mark. The recent housing bubble burst and the desire to go “green”, are among the reasons European home buyers are looking to go small.

As this type of housing is just starting to become popular in Europe, there aren’t a lot of companies building them. I’ve only found two sources so far:

and

The homes built in Europe are already much smaller than those built in countries like Australia and the US. How much smaller can they get? With the average size house being built in the UK at about 15.8 square meters, or 30 square meters in France, it seems that Europeans have already gone small. But there are other areas of Europe that are just now beginning to embrace the tiny lifestyle.

Economic Downturn

As with the US, many parts of Europe have recently been facing an economic downturn that has caused issues in the housing market. European homes prices were had increased substantially before the economic crisis, and then dropped more after the housing bubble burst than they did in the US. Many people can’t find housing, or can’t afford the housing that is available. Many of those people are looking to other alternatives.

For some, they have started to look towards very small houses; hence Tiny Houses Europe becomes more and more popular. They have found that these smaller homes have a much smaller price tag and can give them everything they need.

Designing with Tiny in Mind

Depending on what you need from your tiny home, the design of your house will be critical. Using every inch of space becomes more important the lower the square footage in your home.

You could have your little house plans designed by an architect who specializes in smaller spaces. They will be able to recommend a great design that will best fit all of your needs using less square footage.

Using design ideas like lofts, drop down tables and toilet/shower combos are great ways to get the most out of your small space.

The furniture used inside a tiny home is as important as the design of the home itself. Using furniture that can serve multiple purposes, like a pull out bed will be ideal in the design of the inside of your home.

Uses for Tiny Homes

Also referred to as a “micro home”, these small homes can serve many functions. Not everyone can live the tiny life on a full-time basis. They work well when placed in the back yard as a guest house or even a separate space for a student still living at home but desiring their own home to call their own. They also are ideal for an elderly parent who you want living close by that still prefers a private living quarters.

These smaller, less costly homes are ideal if you often travel to a specific location for work. One of these small homes will save you money over the cost of hotel or apartment rental during your short but frequent visits. Or for those who need a weekend getaway, you could build one in the country and use it as a vacation home.

Whether you want to hire someone to build your tiny house or build one yourself, you can be sure to get just want you want out of your design. You can build your house from the ground up, or you can buy kits that allow you to put the pieces together.

Green Houses

A popular trend these days, whether building a house big or small, is building environmentally friendly houses. Using recycled materials, solar panels, compost toilets among many other “green” options is a great way to minimize your ecological footprint.

Benefits of Living Small

Most people that move into a smaller home do so to free themselves from the much larger mortgage payment that comes with owning a bigger home. Some are even able to pay cash so there is no mortgage to weigh you down. Sometimes you can find a previously lived in tiny home for $10,000 or less. When it comes to building one yourself, you will find that many can be built new for under $20,000.

Whether you choose to build your home “green” or not, your small home will leave a smaller ecological footprint simply because it is smaller. The reason being is that there will be less energy needed and fewer materials needed to build the home.

Less square footage means less cleaning. For example, less floor space means that you would use less time and energy to mop and vacuum.

Limited space to store items will mean you will end up with fewer things in your home. You will have no choice but to keep your tiny space free from clutter if you want room to sit down and room to get around.

Maintenance costs for a house with less square footage will naturally cost much less than a house with more square footage. Your tiny residence will use less paint when it needs to be refreshed and less carpet or flooring when it requires replacement. Fewer supplies will mean less money, more savings, and more for you to do what you really prefer.

Energy costs will be considerably less for a smaller home.  You will find they are cut drastically when you cut the size of your home in half or more.  This is a huge benefit of living tiny.

Due to the housing crisis that has recently impacted parts of Europe, and the desire for many to “go green” or at least go smaller, tiny houses Europe has started to grow in popularity. Europeans are realizing that they can get everything they want from a small house with a small price tag.