Seven Reasons to Consider a Micro Home

Or Get a Minihouse, Tiny Cottage, Little Cabin, Miniature Log Home or Studio Condo 

The economy is getting tough. It might be time to head for a shack out in the woods. If so, here are some great reasons to consider a tiny house, microhome, small cottage, or mini cabin. If the size of your dream home has been shrinking with your portfolio, it might be time to consider a dwelling the size of a Thoreau House or Unibomber Shack. A teeny, tiny, cottage, cabin, minihouse, or microhome is an extreme measure, but it might be an affordable housing solution. A few Americans have traded traditional homes for microhouses as small as 150 square feet. Here are seven reasons to consider tiny home.

Thoreau Cabin Replica. Photo by RhythmicQuietude at en.wikipedia [CC-BY-SA-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0) or GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html)], via Wikimedia Commons

First, microhouse designs are economical. According to CNN.com, Bill and Sharon Kastrinos live in a tiny 154-square foot house the size of a garden shed which cost them $15,000 and has utility costs of only $15 per month.

Second, to fit into a microhome, a lot of material items have to go. Typically, micro house dwellers sell excess clothing and possessions or donate them to charity. Then micro house owners have to get creative with space-saving techniques and be fanatical about getting rid of an old items when new items are brought into the home. There's simply no room to mindlessly consume.

Third, if you are an ecologically minded, a microhome has a minimal impact on the environment, a small carbon footprint, and can be designed to be super energy efficient. If you want to power a home with an alternative energy source, the low energy demand of a microhome makes it far easier. It would be very easy to design a solar powered microhome.

Mississippi Cottage - Photo By Jennifer Smits (This image is from the FEMA Photo Library.) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

Fourth, microhomes may help the poor rebuild in America after disasters. Many small, old, homes occupied by the poor and elderly were wiped out by Hurricane Katrina. The big box housing chain, Lowes, offered the Katrina Cottage series of small home designs as an affordable way for people to rebuild. In Mississippi, small cottages provided a way out of trailer life for hurricane survivors.   Even smaller microhomes may make home ownership viable for the poor without exposing them to dangerous and dishonest mortgage situations.

Fifth, many microhomes are mobile. To dodge zoning laws, many microhomes are built on a trailer chassis and are classified as campers or mobile homes. If your job moves, your home can move with you.

Sixth, microhomes make great vacation spots. The cost of prime vacation real estate is climbing as oceanfront, lakefront, and mountainside lots are snatched up. Building an economical structure makes a vacation home much more attainable.

Seventh, in the most crowded cities, some people are squeezing into ultra-small condominiums of only 300 to 400 square feet. In high priced real estate markets, tiny condominiums allow people to live closer to urban centers where they can avoid long commutes and enjoy amenities like parks, museums, and restaurants.

It's getting tough to sustain the American Dream in an era of economic instability and recession. Affording a 30-year mortgage in a time of 2 and 3-year job tenures can be daunting. For some Americans, the answer might just be to think small. If you can't think outside the box, at least, you can shrink the box.

Sources:

"Downsizing to 100 square feet of bliss," Thelma Gutierrez and Traci Tamura, CNN American Morning, 10/22/2008, http://www.cnn.com/2008/LIVING/wayoflife/10/22/tiny.houses/
"The 298-square-foot condo," Melinda Fulmer, MSN Real Estate, http://realestate.msn.com/buying/article2.aspx?cp-documentid=6285435
"Move Over, McMansions: Microhouses Are on the Rise," Annelena Lobb, Wall Street Journal Online, June 14, 2006, http://www.realestatejournal.com/buildimprove/20060614-lobb.html
http://www.lowes.com/lowes/lkn?action=pg&p=2006_landing/Katrina_Cottage/KatrinaCottage.html