Build a house for less than $5000

[Storm]

I found this truly incredible article on Hacker News today.  At first I thought this structure would be massively unsafe, however, the pictures show how charming and livable it really is:

http://ciracar.com/build-a-house-for-less-than-5000

[Storm]

Here is a link to the builder's own website, which has much better details and information:

http://www.simondale.net/house/

[MediumTex]

I found this picture of the inhabitants:

[Storm]

To reply to my own article, here are some towns where land is free:

http://realestate.yahoo.com/promo/7-tow ... -free.html

[stone]

It does look nice but the UK is full of empty houses and very short of unspoilt hillsides to burrow into .

http://cache.channel4.com/programmes/th ... cles/home/

1 million empty homes (350,000 empty long term) 2 million families in need of a home

There is also the issue of empty space above shops etc that could become homes at little cost not to mention large houses with single occupiers etc.

[Storm]

I found this picture of the inhabitants:

One of my other hobbies is freshwater aquariums, and I really like this charming aquascape that someone made:

[Storm]

It does look nice but the UK is full of empty houses and very short of unspoilt hillsides to burrow into .

http://cache.channel4.com/programmes/th ... cles/home/

1 million empty homes (350,000 empty long term) 2 million families in need of a home

There is also the issue of empty space above shops etc that could become homes at little cost not to mention large houses with single occupiers etc.

There is also a much more practical structure that is used in a lot of poor countries: the yurt.

http://www.yurts.com/default.aspx

This works better on flat ground.

[Storm]

Another cool house plans website:  http://www.tumbleweedhouses.com/

[stone]

Storm, I wonder how well yurts would work in a very wet climate such as in Wales. I was just imagining being entombed in a few tonnes of rotting wool.

[KevinW]

I love the idea of these sorts of things. Romantic.

However they never seem very practical, at least in the US. Zoning rules mean you'd have to be in remote unincorporated land. So you'd have no city utilities and would need to build your own septic system and well, pay for electrical grid hookup or go off grid, use satellite internet, and supply your own reliable transportation back to civilization. When all is said and done it seems cheaper and more practical to buy a modest fixer-upper in town.

[Tortoise]

Another cool house plans website:  http://www.tumbleweedhouses.com/

I think I saw that exact house selling for about $1.2 million in the San Francisco Bay Area.

[stone]

I guess trailer parks across the world are full of low cost homes. About 20 years ago, I used to go rock climbing with someone who lived in a trailer park and his (admittedly dilapidated and tiny) trailer cost him £200 to buy and the trailer park charged him £3 per week ground rent or some ridiculously small amount like that. He liked it and it was next to where he worked.

[Storm]

I like the thought of living a minimal existence in a trailer home, as long as it had modern furnishings and was comfortable and energy efficient, however, this type of lifestyle gets thrown out the door once you have kids, as I've recently discovered...  You can never have enough space.

[stone]

I guess trailer park kids run riot outside .

[MediumTex]

I like the thought of living a minimal existence in a trailer home, as long as it had modern furnishings and was comfortable and energy efficient, however, this type of lifestyle gets thrown out the door once you have kids, as I've recently discovered...  You can never have enough space.

I spent about a year living in an RV when I was younger and it was awesome. 

I think I paid $200 a month to park it and maybe $20 for electricity (water and sewer were included).

People would act like I was crazy when I told them what I was doing, and I remember being surprised at how few people grasped the beauty of this type of living arrangement.

I remember thinking to myself frequently that it was probably going to be a long time before I owned my home free and clear again.

[alvinroast]

My wife and I were seriously looking into the tumbleweed tiny house option a few years back. The plan was when she lost her job we would sell the house, travel New Zealand and Australia for a year and then build a tiny house someplace in the US Southwest.

She started a new job the day after losing her last one, no trip to NZ and then the house market crashed.

Now it's cheaper to buy a big suburban foreclosure home than to build a tumbleweed house and you get the land for free.

There are a few things to keep in mind regarding houses and travel and living outside the US. I'm generalizing, but basically men have houses (and therefore think about things like selling the house for a tax free gain and buying/renting somewhere else. Women have homes. Unless they have to sell or are able to upgrade they just don't see it the same way. We don't have children and have more house than we need, but my wife really sees home ownership in an entirely different light. Living in a trailer only seems to work if you're single IMO.

We toured one of the earthship houses and both had major allergy attacks. I think it's a mold allergy from something in dirt, but I would imagine a hobbit house would cause a similar reaction. I recommend you try any living arrangement out before jumping in all the way.
http://taosearthships.com/

That said, I'm still hoping for a $5000 second home.

[Storm]

That said, I'm still hoping for a $5000 second home.

I think that's the best use for these tiny homes - an isolated safe house in the mountains for real SHTF situations.  5-20 acres of land with a well drilled upstream from everyone else.  Stock it up with some propane and some bulk foods like beans and rice.  A few well hidden caches of junk silver coins buried on the property, and you would not only have a nice vacation home; you'd have a real safety escape hatch in case things went south.