Tiny Houses - Big Ripoff!

Deft Tones

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Browsing utility trailers on CL I come see a tiny house on a trailer for sale.

8'x16'. $40,000. "All the amenities of home"

00000_4yZ2n5zPvg2_1200x900.jpg

So, to be clear, that's 128sq. ft. at $312.50/sq. ft.!

Random choosing of homes for sale off zillow...even the half million dollar properties (dwelling footage only) are under $170/sq. ft.....plus the substantial amount of land!

Like this 3300 sq/ft. 4 bed/4 bath way overpriced at 535k.

ISmqurdz5l0vv20000000000.jpg

Average home at 140k is about $70/sq. ft. And generally gets .33 acre lot

To be competetive this "mobile home" should be priced no more than 12k.

Forget any hope of maintaining resale value.

Unbelievable stupidity out there!Ĺ•
 

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Terry Soloman

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Browsing utility trailers on CL I come see a tiny house on a trailer for sale.

8'x16'. $40,000. "All the amenities of home"

View attachment 1372551

So, to be clear, that's 128sq. ft. at $312.50/sq. ft.!

Random choosing of homes for sale off zillow...even the half million dollar properties (dwelling footage only) are under $170/sq. ft.....plus the substantial amount of land!

Like this 3300 sq/ft. 4 bed/4 bath way overpriced at 535k.

View attachment 1372552

Average home at 140k is about $70/sq. ft. And generally gets .33 acre lot

To be competetive this "mobile home" should be priced no more than 12k.

Forget any hope of maintaining resale value.

Unbelievable stupidity out there!Ĺ•

Where I live you couldn't get the "overpriced" 4 x 4 on that property with a garage for less than $1.7-million. Yes, "Tiny Houses" can be overpriced. You need to do your homework just like anything else. :skullflag:
 

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Deft Tones

Deft Tones

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Where I live you couldn't get the "overpriced" 4 x 4 on that property with a garage for less than $1.7-million. Yes, "Tiny Houses" can be overpriced. You need to do your homework just like anything else. :skullflag:

Yes, I've worked on homes in the $3.5- $6.0million range on Marco Island, Fl. Nice houses....way over priced, but hey, it's the South end of the island!

Ha, that house, the 4/4 sold for 233K in 2002. I call BS on double value in 2016 in our market. No way!

Then you have a local guy pushing homemade trailers for 40K, or $300+ sq/ft....in my market. Must be some good crack he's smoking! :laughing9:

Even 40K, one could do much better than an 8'x16' trailer in your market, like a 18' trailer, amiright?:tongue3:
 

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Chadeaux

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Yes, I've worked on homes in the $3.5- $6.0million range on Marco Island, Fl. Nice houses....way over priced, but hey, it's the South end of the island!

Ha, that house, the 4/4 sold for 233K in 2002. I call BS on double value in 2016 in our market. No way!

Then you have a local guy pushing homemade trailers for 40K, or $300+ sq/ft....in my market. Must be some good crack he's smoking! :laughing9:

Even 40K, one could do much better than an 8'x16' trailer in your market, like a 18' trailer, amiright?:tongue3:

"... but we have to do this! The rest of the world can't have these huge houses, and neither should we."

"It's so 'green' and we need to help our environment!"

Yeah, right.

Look, first they need to do something about all the deer, elk, coyote, wolf, moose, and bear flatulence (among others) that's "destroying the ozone layer" instead of focusing on cattle. I mean, we're already doing something about gassy cows and sheep.

Simple solution: Eat more venison and carpet our homes with elk and bear hides. Environment saved.

Truth is, P.E.T.A. is anti-green!
 

smokeythecat

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I have a small, comfy house. And a cat box. And a food and water dish. I also have numerous toys. Don't need a trailer.
 

against the wind

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The average rent stabilized 2 bedroom apartment in Manhattan, (NYC), demands between $1,500. to $2,000. a month depending on how many times that apartment has been turned over. If that same sized apartment is rented at what is called"Market Rate", it will demand a rent that starts at $4,500. a month.
You can purchase a $100K, 2 bedroom house, in Western Pennsylvania with 20% down and end up with a monthly mortgage payment of about $750.
Yep, I'm looking to get out of NYC. It's time.
 

EastCoastmetal

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Personally I like my old farm house on 5 arces , paid $25,000 for , ya it will always be a "fix er upper" but its basically a solid old house with lots of room, I cant imagine bumping around inside one of those tiny homes like a prison cell, no thank you.


Anyways here is the cost on the materials to build one, if your buying from a store. well i am sure you could buy some items cheaper then this guy did.

"My Tiny House Costs"

Below I’ve listed my tiny house costs by item (most expensive to least expensive). I hope this is helpful in creating a realistic budget for your future tiny home.

Trailer (with registration fee) – $4,850 We purchased a Tumbleweed trailer. It’s important to have a solid foundation. Of course, you could save money by refurbishing an old trailer. You’ll need to be experienced with the engineering needed to support a tiny house. Also, time!
Kimberly wood stove & flue – $4,495 We splurged for the aesthetics, efficiency and off-grid capabilities.
Windows & skylights – $4,000 At the time Tumbleweed windows were custom ($$) sizes.
Structural lumber & sheathing – $3,000
Solar system – $2,800 We have four panels at 380 watts total, a solar generator and cables.
Siding – $2200
Insulation – $1200
Water heater – $1,125 We wanted a tankless, propane water heater that was compact, efficient and vented through the floor.
Composting toilet – $960 It’s fancy. No one likes to clean poo.
Refrigerator – $870 We paid for the off-grid capability.
Roofing – $800 This is actually cheap for new roofing.
Build plans – $769 We purchased Tumbleweed Cypress plans.
Plumbing. – $700 Tanks, water pump, RV hose, filter, pressure regulator and piping.
Mattress – $450
Shower tub, fixtures and shower fan – $440
Light fixtures – $400
Front door – $385
Propane heat blanket – $380 For extreme cold climates.
Flooring – $330
Propane misc. – $310 Tanks, regulator and piping.
Wood slab countertops – $300
Kitchen sink & faucet- $220
Ottomans & couch cushion – $200
Stovetop – $176
*For a detailed list of the above items (and more), click here

TOTAL TINY HOUSE COSTS : $31,460

Tiny House Costs. A realistic breakdown of expenses and what to expect
 

Oddjob

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I had invested on a Start Up firm in Germany about 7 years ago for Tiny Home building. I often invest in Start Up firms that I take a liking to if I can see a market.

The person who started the firm had first began his career as a cabinet maker and finish carpenter, things I know nothing about really. One evening we where at a shin dig in a big field and started talking about an old Circus wagen just sitting out there. Asked the dude throwing the party a few questions about it, how old is it (30s), what do you use it for (he said first it was used for storing his bees, then later for the sheep and in the last 16 years nothing at all.

Joking the owner said to me. why do you want to see if your big American truck can tug out of my field, but if you do, you have to keep it. Said he even still had the old title to it. First thing I thought being a paper collector is that if I had to tug this pig to the scrap yard just to have that old title then it is worth it to me.

First shocked that the tires held air, they where low but not all the flat. I ended up taking it home first, I wanted to rip through it for anything that may have been hidden in the floor or walls. It sat in my drive way for about 3 weeks and my wife said she wanted to speak to me about the eyesore outside. She said she had been looking at US websites and youtube on these tiny homes and that she talked with our friend and came up with some drawings.

I told my wife and friend that they should come up with a business proposal if they had an interest in building this thing out, then I would take a look at it and if it interested me I would come up with my own and my offer.

We went around the table for about 2 weeks on this idea and I settled on a plan, with owning 75% of the Start Up offering up funding and the use of a warehouse property I picked up dirt cheap at a Tax Auction that was confiscated by the German government.

First tiny Home took about 8K in total cost and was sold for 22K about a week after it hit the market. Not the worst figures but not what I was looking for and needed to improve greatly, however my friend had let me know that just after the first one he can see where he would change many things to reduce cost and production and wanted another shot. was happy to hear this because I had already lined up 3 more trailers that people just wanted off their properties.

Today he sells these tiny homes between 25K-290K Euro and he can make about 5 a year, he works alone. Mostly everything is customized according to general ideas from the customer.

I would not live in one at all and could not find a use in owning one my self. My friend since has moved into one he made with his wife. They actually tore down their house because it was cheaper to take his house down in his village than purchase something that had the two acres he was used to living on. Six other in his village and surrounding villages have done the same and now their main city is trying to come up with a city ordnance that prevents more from doing the same, but it has been two years and it has not gone anywhere. LOL

For those who have not seen these circus wagens before they really do not look like the new style tiny home used in North America, but are still fairly cheap to build your self. Cost can run anywhere from 4K to 30K. Finding the old trailers is too easy because farmer are just throwing them away. Just a couple examples, not an advertisement at all and if someone is interested in them do not contact me because I do not sell or speak from a business stand point at all in regards to these, I am only an investor/owner, I will also not put anyone in contact with my friend either.

Just a small disclosure above because I know I have a serious following of PC Cry Babies on here who try to distort, twist and take offence to everything I say.

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G.I.B.

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People charge what they do because they find enough people willing to pay it.
 

nh.nugget

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At the prices they try to get for those sheds on wheels why wouldn't you get a sweet RV? Alot easier to haul. I fell into a deal on my home. 2bdrm mobile, 3 car garage, 1/2 acre 32,000.
 

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