Do Tiny Homes Really Save You Money?
Lots of people are beginning to look at tiny homes as an option for scaling down expenses or to get into home ownership on a budget, but do you really save enough money to be worth sacrificing all that space? Let’s look at the real cost of living tiny. Tiny homes are inherently more cost effective than traditional homes, but how much you save varies wildly by the tiny home home that you choose.
Cost of Tiny Home by Type
We need to know what our costs are going to be to get into a tiny home to see if the long-term savings are worth it. Price-points vary wildly based on size, style, and options. Let’s look at the initial and ongoing costs of three common styles of tiny home and see how each fares in the long run. To keep the comparison fair, we won’t attempt to compare a complete DIY build. Almost anything can be built cheaper with enough free labor. We will look at 250 sq ft models public utilities in each category.
- Tiny home on wheels.
- Prefabricated Premium Barndominium from EZ
- On site contractor build
Tiny Homes on Wheels
Tiny homes on wheels of about 250 sq ft. are currently averaging around $55k. The average annual cost of living is $11,075. This factors in the following costs based on national averages.
What tiny homes on wheels may save in upfront land and prep costs, they can quickly eat up if relocated frequently. One could bring annual costs down by finding one cheap lot to park and stay, but then why have a tiny home on wheels in the first place?
In addition to the annual cost of maintaining the trailer (lights, brakes, tires, etc.), there is potential for serious unexpected costs if something fails during transport.
Prefabricated Portable Tiny Home from EZ
EZ makes an interesting product in the form portable buildings built to residential code and finished with electrical, insulation, flooring, heat/AC, and finished interior walls. A well optioned 12×24 will only run you $25k, but there’s still work to be done.
With relatively low upfront and annual costs, a portable tiny home from EZ looks like a no brainer. Don’t forget though, this is not a turnkey solution. It will be your responsibility to coordinate land prep, connection of electric, plumbing, cabinets, etc. There is a price to paid for convenience.
Since you won the land in this option, it opens the door to invest in a solar power system and/or a well to control your utility costs even further over the long term.
Contractor Build
Hiring a contractor (or several) to come to your site to build a tiny home is a good way to ensure a quality tiny home built exactly how you want it. This is an expensive option up front, but larger builds may offer unique financing options not available to the other two options to soften the blow. Average cost to build a turnkey 250 sq ft tiny home on site is $40k with an average 12 month wait to start.
If you can handle the wait time, this option is completely turnkey. When the contractors are done, you move in. With annual cost aligning with those of a prefab home, wait time and convenience will likely be the deciding factor between these two.
How Much Money Can a Tiny Home Save You?
Did you expect a tiny home on wheels to be so much more expensive than a permanent location? What do your annual home expenses look like compared to a prefab tiny home? With low bars of entry compared to traditional homes and very manageable ongoing expenses, tiny homes make sense for almost anyone not permanently tied to an urban center. Be sure to maximize your savings by ensuring your tiny home is efficient. Check out these articles on insulating your tiny home and heating and cooling to get the most bang for your buck!
Go forth with your knowledge and dare to live tiny!
