Tiny House Hunters - General Discussion

[Grommet]

I liked the title they gave the smallest option: towable closet. Because, good God, that was ridiculous.

I don't get the wide range of prices. Some in earlier episodes were $60k, which seems high. Maybe that was all due to finishes and appliances, because it can't be location.

[zxy556575]

I'm not sure I can continue watching since my ears hurt from hearing myself yell at the screen: BUY A FREAKING TRAVEL TRAILER ALREADY!!

 

Here you go, folks. $18K.

[Sims Addict]

Yeah I always think these houses would be fine for a week's vacation but to live there fulltime, no framing way, particularly with my partner who I love and adore but would murder him in the first month.

The couple who "needed" a king sized bed and a home office, you need to leave Carmel and get an apartment not a tiny house in your mom's yard!

 

This all day. If I was single and longed to downsize without a mortgage I may try it, but no way with any other living being (including a dog). Plus, I couldn't imagine having to climb such steep stairs to go to bed each night. At least with a regular two-story home, you can stand fully erect while you drag yourself up the stairs after a long day. All of the crouching and hunching over would get old...quickly.

[NYGirl]

I was just watching the apple orchard farmers and their quest for a tiny home so that they don't have to remove any apple trees.

 

I gotta say I LOVED the homes they looked at.  The reason?  The bedroom is not a loft..it's a regular bedroom.  I would think these are just a little larger than the ones I've seen so far but they are not towing it or anything..just leaving it on the farm.

 

But if I have to hear her complain about certain rooms being so tiny I'll scream.  I keep saying to the TV...BUT YOU WANTED TINY!!!!

 

Meanwhile they picked the largest one  750 sq feet!!  I've seen condos that size or smaller in NYC.

[auntieminem]

They are having a THHs marathon today.  When the family of 6 came on I had to stop watching.  Those parents drove me insane with their togetherness.  It was so sad when the 9 year old said she thought it would chaotic to live in a tiny house.  I would like to see an update on this family.  Are they still in that tiny place?  You don't have to live in a tiny house to have family togetherness. 

[StatisticalOutlier]

You'll notice that the traveling nurse was staying in an RV park--you can see the big motorhomes around her house. 

 

I know which RV park she's in and looked up the monthly rates.  They do it in 28-day increments, and it's $800 plus $40 for the dog, plus electricity.  But that rate is available only from October 1 to April 30.  If she's going to stay there at other times, it'll be either $325 or $400 per week (including electricity), depending on what site she's in, plus $21 for the dog.  And that rate isn't available over holiday weekends, so she'll be paying the daily rate of $60 or $70 for four days (plus $12 for the dog) if she's there over Memorial Day, July 4th, or Labor Day.  So her monthly rent could be around/over $1,600 a month in the summer there.

 

And add to that thousands of dollars every time she wants to move.

 

For her, especially, a regular RV would have been a much better choice.  It's not as precious as a tiny house, but infinitely more practical.  One of the nicest things about doing temporary assignments by bringing your own lodging is that you always have all your stuff with you and don't have to unpack it.  A real RV would have much more storage for everything, including kitchenware and the like, than any tiny house.  And it would be vastly easier to move around and you could use it for sightseeing between assignments..

 

And for the record, I don't think she could have pulled even that tiniest home with a small car.

Edited July 11, 2015 by StatisticalOutlier

[NYGirl]

The woman who wanted her house on her friend's horse farm was a hoot.  At first she annoyed me with her friend measuring every single room but by the end I kind of liked her.  She really didn't want a tiny house ..I don't care what she has talked herself into.  The one she picked was really nice and she decorated it so beautifully!  I almost wanted to move in!!!

 

The family of 6?  As soon as I see them I change the channel.  I've yet to see it..only the very end.  It's ridiculous....these people are idiots.

[zxy556575]

For her, especially, a regular RV would have been a much better choice.  It's not as precious as a tiny house, but infinitely more practical.

 

Exactly! Precious is exactly the right word -- some of these people seem to be hung up on the "movement" as a fad to accessorize their imagined lifestyles instead of being truly informed about what will work best for them. I got no beef with people downsizing to a smaller house or apartment, but paying a premium for one of these gentrified places when a manufactured home would work perfectly well and be tiny and be on budget is absurd. But most of them would chew glass before they'd live in a "trailer park."

 

The no-headroom loft would be a deal-breaker for me, too. I've lived in several studio apartments smaller than 300sf, but they either had a Murphy bed or a day bed that doubled as a couch. (I'm a big fan of wall beds.) But I did live in those alone. I agree with others that a second person would have been problematic.

Edited July 12, 2015 by lordonia

[StatisticalOutlier]

 But most of them would chew glass before they'd live in a "trailer park."

 

But see, those who travel around WILL be living in trailer parks because they have to be hooked up to electricity and sewer systems.  Well, you might call them "RV parks" or "campgrounds," but a rose by any other name...

 

That's what I don't get with the ones who want to travel with their tiny houses--they're not designed for that and you're going to be living in a trailer park anyway.  Why not just have a trailer?  And when you settle onto a piece of land somewhere, buy a tiny house then and move it once and it won't be beat all to hell from being dragged all over the place.

[auntjess]

I loved the horse woman's friend, because she finally said what I haven't heard on these shows--"you don't want to have to climb down a ladder to go to the bathroom, in the middle of the night."
And with the nurse, why couldn't they have just added a couple more stair/shelves, and it would have been an easier climb for her and for the dog.
I can't imagine not going stir crazy in either of those places, especially the nurse, who's in a strange town.

[abbyzenn]

The only one I've seen is the woman moving to the Big Island Hawaii.  She insisted on a house that was moveable - she's on an island much of which is covered with lava where the heck is she going to move it to????

The best one in my opinion came with land and had a deck the same size as the house.  Since you can have year round outdoor living in Hawaii why not pick that one?

She picks on with the loft bed that you have to make the bed sitting on it because there was no space - no could you stand up.  Since I get up several times a time to use the bathroom I'd kill myself falling down the ladder.

[auntjess]

After someone here mentioned all the other costs for the nurse, and I guess good RVs are really expensive, she might get one of those smaller hauling trailer, and get a complete kit for moving.
You'd get separate sheets, plates, pots & pans, shampoos, etc.  You'd keep them packed up when you're at home, and just hook up when it was time to move.

[Cranky One]

I've pretty much have thought the same exact things as this author did while watching tiny home shows!

https://medium.com/@Hipstercrite/dear-people-who-live-in-fancy-tiny-houses-21fdc639ce55

[CherryAmes]

Serious question, what is a traveling nurse?

 

I know my namesake was once a "visiting nurse".  I wonder if that is the same thing?  Anyway here's the wiki take on a travelling nurse: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Travel_nursing.

[DownTheShore]

Loved that house with the round window, too, but thought it was hilarious that she was saving weight with the decals instead of real tile, yet she put in that heavy steel stairway - instead of an all-wood one which would have been lighter and which could have had storage cubbies under it.

[DownTheShore]

I liked the way it looked, too, but it just seems to me that if you're going tiny, you should maximize storage space whenever possible, and that a "normal" staircase is wasted space.

[StatisticalOutlier]

I've known a few traveling nurses and to me, it would be a great way to live.  Well, except the nursing part, which I just couldn't take.  But being paid really good money to test drive places all over the country?  Sign me up!  But not if I have to arrange and pay for a fucking semi-tractor to move my "tiny house" every time I take a new assignment, just to end up living in another trailer park.

 

Mr. Outlier and I have lived in a 40-foot motorhome for over 10 years now, traveling around.  He is able to work remotely, but because we're mobile he can also do on-site visits to clients if it's somewhere we want to go. 

 

The moho has slide-outs, and when they're extended we have 400 square feet.  We've had no issues sharing the space even though we didn't even live together before moving in here.  We obviously did some downsizing, but not as much as you might think because we weren't hoarders to begin with, and this RV, as opposed to a tiny house, has an enormous amount of storage.  Like we have our windsurfing equipment in here, and three mountainbikes (two folding and one regular sized), golf clubs, snow skis and boots and clothes, sewing machine, kitchen appliances, an enormous assortment of tools.  And every bit of it lives inside--no bikes hanging on the ladder for us.

 

To me, a stationary tiny house with a storage shed or whatever for that kind of stuff would be great.  The small living space is fine, as long as my windsurf board doesn't have to double as a bed. 

 

The problem, of course, is that the motorhome is not precious at all.  In fact, it's rather heinous.  But we wanted a lifestyle, and chose an abode that would work with that.

 

With the mobile tiny house crowd, it's obvious their first desire is the tiny house, and then they try to make it fit into a lifestyle.  If you ask me, it just doesn't work.

[Kiddvideo]

The only one I've seen is the woman moving to the Big Island Hawaii.  She insisted on a house that was moveable - she's on an island much of which is covered with lava where the heck is she going to move it to????

The best one in my opinion came with land and had a deck the same size as the house.  Since you can have year round outdoor living in Hawaii why not pick that one?

She picks on with the loft bed that you have to make the bed sitting on it because there was no space - no could you stand up.  Since I get up several times a time to use the bathroom I'd kill myself falling down the ladder.

I would've snatched-up that land/house/deck so fast. She seemed like she was running away from her life on the mainland and thought being nomadic and off-the-grid would fix her problems. I hope it worked out for her, but you know the saying, "Wherever you go, there you are."

[DownTheShore]

That's going to get old fast, living in a tiny house like that with a big farting dog...

I would have chosen that house with the deck, too. I wondered why it was so important for her to be able to move her tiny house.

[auntjess]

 

Mr. Outlier and I have lived in a 40-foot motorhome for over 10 years now, traveling around.

Just to compare, I watched some episodes of  Going RV, and it looks like you really get a lot more for your money that way, and a bedroom with a door, and on bottom level, and you can stand up.

I didn't realize when I commented on the nurse, that it's only the bus-like ones that are very expensive, and the others seem as cheap as a lot of the tiny homes.

They sure see, to offer more cozy space, even though the color schemes are pretty boring.

 

[DownTheShore]

That's cute, and a nice change from the "walls o' wood" that seem to be in so many of the American ones. I liked the use of the solar panel.

[StatisticalOutlier]

Something else that has occurred to me about the ones they intend to be trailered--you're limited to road-legal height, which is 13'6".  I think that's why those are so impractical.

 

If you don't need to use it on roads, you can go higher than that and get some critical space in the sleeping loft so it doesn't feel like an MRI machine.  Of course, if you're putting it on a piece of land there's generally no reason to have a 150 square foot footprint in the first place, but then again there's no reason for a lot of the limitations they're suffering.

[Amethyst]

Yeah I always think these houses would be fine for a week's vacation but to live there fulltime, no framing way, particularly with my partner who I love and adore but would murder him in the first month.

 

 

Plus, I couldn't imagine having to climb such steep stairs to go to bed each night. At least with a regular two-story home, you can stand fully erect while you drag yourself up the stairs after a long day. All of the crouching and hunching over would get old...quickly.

 

Word to both of these.  I think tiny houses would make a killing as vacation properties because they're so charming and have all the luxury finishes that people want in a traditional home.   I could probably stay in one for a few weeks comfortably.  However, living in one of those full time seriously limits what you can bring in because they aren't built to house much.  I don't see how you can grow into it, and forget trying to raise kids in one of those.  But a trailer/motorhome/RV really is more feasible for long term living.  Like the homes in the link Lordonia posted (thanks, btw) had sturdier layouts and much more storage.  And the master bedroom being on the main level is a huge benefit, imo.  Cramped loft dwelling might be ok for a kid, but not ok for an adult with aging joints.

 

The bed situation irks me because I saw Tiny House, Big Living tonight and this guy had a "creative" alternative to using a ladder: a climbing wall.  RME.  I don't think it's a great distance or anything, but do they ever consider what could happen if they get injured and can't climb so easily?  And since this is his entertaining space, I'm assuming he wants other people to join him up there.  Not everyone can scramble up a climbing wall.

No, thank you.

[BradandJanet]

Word to both of these.  I think tiny houses would make a killing as vacation properties because they're so charming and have all the luxury finishes that people want in a traditional home.   I could probably stay in one for a few weeks comfortably.  However, living in one of those full time seriously limits what you can bring in because they aren't built to house much.  I don't see how you can grow into it, and forget trying to raise kids in one of those.  But a trailer/motorhome/RV really is more feasible for long term living.  Like the homes in the link Lordonia posted (thanks, btw) had sturdier layouts and much more storage.  And the master bedroom being on the main level is a huge benefit, imo.  Cramped loft dwelling might be ok for a kid, but not ok for an adult with aging joints.

 

The bed situation irks me because I saw Tiny House, Big Living tonight and this guy had a "creative" alternative to using a ladder: a climbing wall.  RME.  I don't think it's a great distance or anything, but do they ever consider what could happen if they get injured and can't climb so easily?  And since this is his entertaining space, I'm assuming he wants other people to join him up there.  Not everyone can scramble up a climbing wall.

No, thank you.

 

These tiny houses are not "forever" houses for most people. Maybe not even "very long" houses. Kids, arthritis, unhappy large dogs, and annoying personal habits magnified will take glow off these little creations.  I wonder what the resale values will be for pricey custom-built, hard-to-tow trailers once the fad dies down. 

Edited August 26, 2015 by BradandJanet

[Kiss my mutt]

The couple who had four indoor cats had me smh.

[Honey]

I start to panic if I get "down" to 10 rolls of toilet paper, and 10 rolls of paper towels.  Maybe you'll save money on a mortgage, but you sure aren't saving money by buying anything in bulk.

 

Nope, I'll take the biggest house I can possibly afford, thank you.  Our house is 3 stories and 5 bed/5 bath and sometimes even that is too small.

[DownTheShore]

I don't understand people with pets living in a tiny house -like those 4-cat people or the ones with the big dogs. Doesn't seem fair to the animals because they have to keep moving out of the way.

And why do couples have to both be in the tiny kitchen at the same time? Is it that hard to take nightly turns being the one who cooks, or if only one usually cooks, the other go sit on a chair or something?

I've been wondering how well those tiny homes on trailers are going to be after a couple of road trips. There's no structural steel in the majority of the framing, and bumps and potholes and railroad crossings have got to start taking their toll on the structure sooner or later.

[Kiss my mutt]

I'd really be curious to see how long people actually last living the tiny house way. I'm sure in a few years there will be articles like "Why I gave up my Tiny House". Spoiler: it was too tiny.

Do all of these homes have bathrooms? There was one young college aged woman who had a tiny house on her dad's property that they built together but they never showed the bathroom which made me wonder if she just went to her dads. This show also stood out to me for the demonic elephant mural her friends painted for her.

[Mittengirl]

That elephant mural would keep me awake at night! The eyes were, indeed, demonic. I guess it takes a special kind of artist to paint such a horrible picture of such a gorgeous animal.

I feel guilty sometimes that I have two indoor cats in my thousand square foot home. I can't imagine four in a tiny home. And don't get me started on the large dogs some of these nitwits keep penned up in their trendy homes.

I have yet to see one of these shows where I didn't think that a RV/5th wheel would make more sense. Maybe there are zoning ordinances that favor a tiny home over a trailer? Although most are on wheels, so...?

[Kiss my mutt]

I'm hoping the dogs get to spend a lot of time outdoors! I also can't imagine the smell of the litter boxes in a 400 or less square foot home from 4 cats!

When they showed that Japanese wooden box thing that is the bathtub on a recent show my first thought was, please, don't let that be the toilet! I'm intrigued and baffled at the same time over tiny houses.

[Neurochick]

I've pretty much have thought the same exact things as this author did while watching tiny home shows!

https://medium.com/@Hipstercrite/dear-people-who-live-in-fancy-tiny-houses-21fdc639ce55

 

My problem with them is that they have no head room; many apartments in NYC are small but they do at least have headroom.  

 

 I thought that article was silly, I mean what did  people do before they lived in MacMansions?  What did people do before everybody had their own bedrooms/bathrooms/man caves/family rooms/playrooms?  They survived, didn't they?  

 

I mean when did people decide they needed to live in 585888 square foot homes with 100 bedrooms and bathrooms?

Edited August 28, 2015 by Neurochick

[suedehead]

All I see are glorified playhouses that will one day sit in the back yards of their normal size homes, sans appliances/working bathroom, being enjoyed by their kids.  

 

Hated the couple who were moving to their parents back yard. "I politely informed the truck driver that he WAS getting this home moved". Screw you. Hated their decor.

I agree. Posturing for the camera.  Yeah, right, Goober. You're a badass.  That driver would squash that lil turd in a second. 

Edited August 28, 2015 by suedehead

[Neurochick]

The Oregon pear farmers had the best house. None of those impractical lofts. It was small but didn't feel cramped.

[DownTheShore]

I think that Texas college-aged woman's bathroom was behind the wall with the zombie elephant on it.

I actually liked her tiny house, thought the layout made sense with the kichen along the back wall, allowing a lot more room for the living room. That stairway/bookcase combo she created was ingenious. There was a lot of room left over where she could later add storage.

[peggy06]

I only saw the one with the couple moving into parents' back yard. I missed the beginning where they presumably explained why, but it did amuse me when they had a king-size bed squashed into the bedroom area. Something about "tiny house" and "king size bed" just doesn't compute.

[DownTheShore]

Because the parents lived in Carmel CA and the couple couldn't afford the prices there to buy their own home.

What I was wondering/observing during that episode:

- who owns all those cars that were under all those tents?

- of any town, I'd think that Carmel would have city ordinances to prevent secondary living units being erected willy-nilly in residential zones.

- that woman is going to look more and more like her mother as she ages

- I disliked the husband; he seemed very smug.

---------

I saw HGTV advertising that there would be a Tiny House marathon on Labor Day, starting at 2pm.

Edited September 4, 2015 by DownTheShore

[peggy06]

Because the parents lived in Carmel CA and the couple couldn't afford the prices there to buy their own home.

What I was wondering/observing during that episode:

- who owns all those cars that were under all those tents?

- of any town, I'd think that Carmel would have city ordinances to prevent secondary living units being erected willy-nilly in residential zones.

- that woman is going to look more and more like her mother as she ages

- I disliked the husband; he seemed very smug.

---------

I saw HGTV advertising that there would be a Tiny House marathon on Labor Day, starting at 2pm.

Thanks. My thought would be, "You have to live in Carmel?"

[Neurochick]

That was the impression I got. Or...the nice home they were moving from was under water mortgage-wise or in foreclosure.

I am watching this episode now and that is my feeling too. If that's the case, good for them. Why buy a house you can't afford? Besides the smaller the house, the less space you have to clean.

Edited September 5, 2015 by Neurochick

[StatisticalOutlier]

Because the parents lived in Carmel CA and the couple couldn't afford the prices there to buy their own home.

What I was wondering/observing during that episode:

- who owns all those cars that were under all those tents?

- of any town, I'd think that Carmel would have city ordinances to prevent secondary living units being erected willy-nilly in residential zones.

 

I'm only slightly familiar with the area, but I had the same reaction as you did with regard to their being in Carmel.  But then I heard mention of "Carmel Valley," which sounded to me like an area out in the boonies, and all the cars under tents seemed to confirm that.  There's no way they're living in the same Carmel where Clint Eastwood was mayor.

[DownTheShore]

I saw the repeat and heard the "Carmel Valley" this time too, so I guess that made the difference.

I thought those white cabinets made the place look pretty sterile. I'm normally for the largest tiny house offered, but the one they chose just didn't make me want to move there. I thought the first one was more homey. I actually agreed with the husband that there was just too mich wood in that second home - reclaimed or not. I thought it would have been better used as accents, either as the floor or a wall or the ceiling. My eyes needed a visual break.

[Artsda]

I just saw this show for the first time and it was the family of 6 from LA moving to upstate NY in Corning. They were just ridiculous, I felt so sorry for the 2 older girls they were obviously not happy and on board with being packed in like sardines in a rural area across the country. The husband wanted to build a shed/den outside? That defeats your purpose isn't if he's building himself a room of space for himself while the poor kids can't even sit up without hitting their heads in that loft.

 

That loft was so tiny. It didn't look like they could live up there as a bedroom. Now the 14 year old will probably want to move even earlier as possible and bet she picks a school back in LA.

[DownTheShore]

There just seemed like there was a lot of backstory to that CA-to-NY family that we weren't told about, that would have that move at least make some kind of sense.

[proserpina65]

My problem with them is that they have no head room; many apartments in NYC are small but they do at least have headroom.  

 

 I thought that article was silly, I mean what did  people do before they lived in MacMansions?  What did people do before everybody had their own bedrooms/bathrooms/man caves/family rooms/playrooms?  They survived, didn't they?  

 

I mean when did people decide they needed to live in 585888 square foot homes with 100 bedrooms and bathrooms?

We survived, but we had headroom.  There's a whole world of living space between a McMansion and a gloried shed.

[izabella]

I'm only slightly familiar with the area, but I had the same reaction as you did with regard to their being in Carmel.  But then I heard mention of "Carmel Valley," which sounded to me like an area out in the boonies, and all the cars under tents seemed to confirm that.  There's no way they're living in the same Carmel where Clint Eastwood was mayor.

 

Carmel-by-the-Sea is the Clint Eastwood town, and it is in Central California, near Monterey (so, it's closer to NorCal).  It is super expensive.  There are two Carmel Valleys - one is small and near Carmel-by-the-Sea.  The other Carmel Valley is just north of San Diego.

[nicepebbles]

I saw the tail end of the family of six. I couldn't believe they brought that house. I was aghast when they said there were going to turn the attic into a bedroom. Say what now? I'm even more aghast after finding out they moved their family across country and 6 people have to live there. The part I saw said they had kids but I didn't know they had 4.

 

I like the idea of a tiny house. I could probably never live in one too small since, as much as I love my husband, I'd have to get away from him. I need my space. Plus, even if you pare down stuff, you need storage space for basics. These places never seem to have enough even for that. And I like to cook so I need space. And in the middle of the night, the idea of climbing up and down a ladder to use the bathroom is none to appealing.

[DownTheShore]

They always want room to entertain friends, but they never have the room to store either the necessary dinnerware/flatwear, or the stacks of paper/plastic supplies needed.

Yes that sofa may turn into a bed, but where are you going to store the bedding?

Thinking about this, I'm really surprised that SC Johnson/Ziploc Space Bag isn't running commercials during these shows. That would be a great storage solution.

[izabella]

I want to know where they dispose of the, um, "compost" from the composting toilet.  No, really.  Where does it go and how does it get there and aren't there laws against dumping human waste? 

[psychoticstate]

I caught a marathon of this yesterday and I am just flummoxed by the people with children, especially the Florida couple that moved into the green packing box.   So they are going to sleep in the SAME ROOM and the SAME SLEEPING UNIT as their two children?  Um, say what?  Do they not plan on having sex ever again?  Sorry but that's the first thing I think of.  Don't you want your privacy? 

 

In the same vein, the CA couple with 6 kids going to NY is fucking insane.  The 13 or 14 year old daughter needs her privacy.  I'm glad they didn't go for the cabin that would have required EVERYONE sleeping in the same loft.  No teenager wants to share their space with 3 year olds - - or her parents.  I cannot understand why these parents didn't seem to grasp that concept.  Not only that but when I was a pre-teen and teen, I wanted my friends to come over and hang out and even spend the night.  There is no room in that tiny house for friends to come over and hang out, much less spend the night.  I understand wanting to spend time with your family but these parents may be doing damage by not allowing their kids any privacy or dedicated space to themselves, especially after being in a house where they DID have that.

 

The Carmel Valley couple needed a throat punch or ten.  I'm sorry but they were assholes.  They struck me as the type of people who were looking for a tiny house because it was trendy.  They were demanding and the things they wanted weren't exactly conducive to tiny house living.  And I noticed too when the couple was debating over which tiny house to choose the husband very firmly said what house they were going to get - - he gives me a very controlling vibe.

 

I too loved the Hawaii house with the gorgeous deck and yard.  I would have taken that in a second.  If you're going to spend a lot of time outside (and why wouldn't you in Hawaii?) you can make the indoors work for you if that outside space is the trade off.

 

I loved the horse lady's end result.  I wasn't sure when she was doing it but her furnishings and how she placed them were just gorgeous.  The place looked much larger when she was done.

[auntjess]

Did anyone else wonder if the sound healer yurt lady had placed her yurt and bathroom back on the market?
They showed same to a woman who was looking for a tiny house, but I don't think she bought it.
 

[DownTheShore]

Wasn't the sound healer yurt lady's bed up on a platform, with the toilet area underneath? I think her yurt was bigger, too. I was wondering why the designer friend wasn't suggesting that to her friend as a space solution.

I too loved how the horse lady decorated her place. That had to be one of the most comfy & classsy looking tiny houses that we've seen - and I'm not even a fan of her horse art.