The popularity of tiny houses has exploded, and more and more people are making the leap into downsizing. Is it worth it? Absolutely. Tiny houses may be the ultimate realization of the concept that “less is more.” If you are thinking about moving into a tiny home of your own, here are 5 compelling reasons to go for it.
- Save money
A well-designed tiny house has all of the charms of a traditional full-size home, but in a smaller and more affordable package. These days, that is a big deal.
If you were shopping for a home back in 2000, the median sales price in Q4 was just $172,900. As of Q2 2023, the median home price is $416,100. Think about that. Even accounting for inflation, that is an insane rise in housing costs! And real wages have not kept up with inflation or those rising housing costs.
A lot of people simply cannot afford even median home prices nowadays, and worry that homeownership is going to be forever out of reach. But tiny houses cost a fraction of what full-size homes do. So, if you are willing to downsize to a tiny home, you may very well be able to afford a beautiful, comfortable home that offers everything you need.
- Protect the environment
Climate change is an issue that many people have a growing awareness of. If you are concerned about your own contributions to climate change, tiny living is one way you can scale back your adverse impact on the environment.
When you are living in a home that measures only a few hundred square feet, that is a lot less space to heat and air condition throughout the year. As a result, you spend less energy to keep your home comfortable and liveable. This means your carbon footprint is lower than that of a person living in a traditional full-size home.
- Build your perfect dream home
Have you dreamed your whole life of customizing a home? If you wanted a traditional home, you would have only a couple of options. You would either need to spend a lot of money building a new home from the foundation up, or you would have to spend a ton of time, effort and money remodeling an existing property.
With tiny homes, it is different. You can actually build a fully customized park model home without breaking the bank. So, even though it may not have as many square feet as a traditional home, you can personalize every aspect of it from the paint to the trim to the railings to the interior finishes and more.
- Your forever home
Full-size traditional homes are not moveable. They sit in one location from the moment they are built until the moment they are demolished. There is simply no affordable, convenient way to disassemble and reassemble them in a new location. That means that if you need to relocate (for a job, for example), you might be forced to leave your dream home behind.
That is a heartbreaking situation you will never have to face if you get a tiny house. Your tiny house can be moved from one park to another, or even from one state to another.
So, not only are you getting your dream home, but you are getting that dream for life. You can feel free to move to take a better job or simply for a change of scenery. Every morning, you will continue to wake up in the home you cherish. The feeling of emotional security that comes from knowing your home is yours forever cannot be understated.
- Retire early (or at all)
When many of us were children, we simply assumed we’d be able to retire in our 50s or 60s. But life has changed dramatically over the past couple of decades.
Now, it is estimated that Millennials and Gen Z will need $3 million to retire by age 60. That means by age 25, members of this generation need $500,000 in retirement savings already to be “on track.” But, “According to a Vanguard report, adults between the ages of 25 and 34 had a median 401(k) balance of $14,100 in 2021.” Ouch.
The costs you pay for housing can have a huge impact on how much you need to save to be able to retire.
While moving into a tiny house may not be able to make the difference needed to retire for every person, it certainly can make the difference for some.
For example, maybe you have calculated that you can afford to retire in 10 years if you are making payments on a full-size house. But if you downsize to a park model home, you might be able to stop working years earlier.
Or perhaps you are in a situation where if you stay in a full-size house, you will never retire. But if you do the math for a tiny house, you might discover that retirement is within reach after all. You can then kick back and get some much-needed time to yourself after your lifetime of hard work. And you will be doing it in a beautiful home.
Let Us Help You Design Your Ideal Park Model Home
You might think that homeownership or retirement are out of reach, but a tiny house can save you hundreds of thousands of dollars over what you would pay for a traditional home. A tiny home is fully customizable, energy-efficient, and yours for life even if you relocate. In short, a tiny house can open up options in your life you never thought possible, all while offering other great benefits.
If you are ready to embrace the benefits of tiny living, please contact us. We look forward to helping you customize one of our tiny house models to become your dream home.
