The concept of downsizing in recent years has taken on a whole new meaning, thanks to the growing popularity of the tiny house movement. These types of residences are different from a standard small house, since one of the major attention-getters of the tiny variety is the very small environmental impact that it makes.
As with any developing venture, inhabiting these types of houses brings with it certain positives and negatives. That’s why the people at Basic Components urge a careful assessment of all the benefits and drawbacks before a final decision is made.
Some of the positives that come with this type of investment include:
- More than two-thirds of those owning a tiny house have no mortgage, since the cost to build it is much less expensive than building a small house and infinitely less than a standard or large home.
- Older individuals and empty nesters don’t really need a great deal of space, so the small living area means that maintenance considerations can be handled much more quickly and not take a huge chunk out of your wallet.
- Since the cost of the home is so much less, it stands to reason that any taxes on it will also be less. In addition, less space to heat a much smaller area means smaller energy costs.
- Not wanting to leave the comforts of home while traveling is something that can be accomplished by simply using a trailer to transport the home wherever you’re going. That’s not possible with a standard home.
- Those concerned with environmental issues can do their part by reducing their impact through those reductions in utilities, along with the fact that many of these structures are built with recycled material.
However, negatives do exist and have to be considered. Some of these are:
- One of the most obvious negatives for this type of house is the simple lack of space, which can breed claustrophobia in some cases. Within this issue is how limited the privacy can be, something that could potentially cause conflict.
- Due to that lack of space, activities that might have previously been viable within your residence suddenly become impossible to conduct. That will require finding a new place for them or being forced to give them up.
- If this is to downscale, there’s very little storage space to put away items that once comfortably fit in previous surroundings. That means either getting rid of those items or paying monthly storage fees to keep them around.
- Since this is a unique structure, any number of different zoning issues and building codes could apply to your situation. That may put in a crimp in exactly what you plan to build or where you plan to keep your reduced residence.
- Building this type of house might sound easy and inexpensive to build, it can result in a massive reduction in any free time and needing to find exactly what items are needed. Basic Components has extensive experience in the latter category, which should alleviate that issue.
The ultimate decision to go smaller with either a small house or tiny house will be based on how well you can adapt to the above issues. If you’re ready to get going, Basic Components is available to help you get started.
