Anybody Here ever moved from Large House to Tiny H

[tony58]

The question is:Anybody Here ever moved from Large House to Tiny House?I'm tired of the Large house (3000 SF)all the upkeep,always needing to do maintenance,big taxes,big yard(3 acres) etc. I know I'm ready for a smaller house and yard.Just not sure I would be able to live in a tiny house?I've never lived in an apartment or condo,don't want to be next to anybody.So I will go from a house of some kind to a nursing home or you know where.Its just two living here,my wife and I.I do have a 30x40 foot detached garage for all the toys.So where ever I move to I will build a 40x60 foot garage.Main thing I'm looking for is small yard and house.Also have thought about building a House/Garage combo?Also looking into a barndominiums
So has:Anybody Here ever moved from "The Big House to Tiny House"? If so what are the pros and cons?

 

[Doog]

I'm in the process of getting my big house ready to sell. I already have a home in Florida with a zero lot line yard. I feel your pain.

 

[tony58]

Originally Posted By: Doog
I'm in the process of getting my big house ready to sell. I already have a home in Florida with a zero lot line yard. I feel your pain.


Yep,I've been here almost 45 yrs.Junk, Junk and more Junk.

 

[OneEyeJack]

The idea of a "tiny house" is beginning to look more attractive all the time.

The problem here in S. Cal is the permit process and the chance that even if you get permitted and build you could very well lose in the near future. The government does what they please and they already know what the community wants without even asking.

 

[Panzerman]

Why not just live in a garage. Not sure how keen the wife would be. But sounds like you still want a big garage, just little house , so eliminate the house live in the big garage. I think I could see myself selling my house and barn and moving to the beachside to just live in a condo. My wife says I would miss tinkering in the garage, but tell you the truth if it wasn't there, I am not sure I would feel obligated to go out and tinker.

 

[hr1940]

We moved from a big house to a smaller house. We gave away things to family and friends so we could fit in the new house. We lived there for 13 years and decided we wanted to live close to lakes. Then we moved here to Arkansas to a smaller house. The things you love may not be anything your kids would want and you have tell them to take the things you want or it is gone. The smaller house meant less cleaning, cheaper utilities, etc. We enjoyed the extra time to travel and go fishing. We found the house for us outside the city limits. Now that I am alone the house is all I want to take care of. My dogs like having a nice yard and I do not worry about the neighbors complaining about them. We have a lot of deer and other wild life and so the dogs bark a lot.

Make sure it is a place you both like. Make a list of what is the most important to you and then try to find something that meets your needs.

My friend built a big garage for their boats, trucks, etc. They then took the top and made it into an apartment. The master bedroom looks out over the Arkansas river -- a beautiful view

Helen

 

[The_Jeff]

Are you attached to your community? Move to a town with an advantageous mill rate and few services, eg farmville. Also a "pole barn" may have a lower tax rate than a "garage", with little effective useability differences.

 

[Pop_Rivit]

A 40X60 garage may severely limit your choices; a smaller yard with a smaller house may not have the room for a building of that size, once permitting, zoning and setbacks are taken into account. Depending upon your zoning regulations, a house/garage combination (other than the traditional attached garage) may not be permitted.

One of the biggest cons of a small house (in my opinion) is the lack of guest space. Not a concern if you don't have guests visiting, but if you have kids and grandchildren the lack of space could get extremely claustrophobic in short order.

 

[Dave Hess]

Having space for grandkids is very important.

Valvoline motor oil had a commercial a few years back in which a guy lived in a shed and had a big garage for all his toys / vehicles.

 

[Al]

This. I personally think its important to have a room where you can spend your time. In my case we have an addition with a cathedral ceiling....mega built in book shelves (3 walls are almost all books). We have our TV there. We spend 95% of our day when we are indoors there. You may each need your one space in which case you might need 2 rooms.

 

[aquariuscsm]

I personally want a HUGE house with a HUGE yard. We're in a small rental (we've been house shopping forever it seems) and I want the largest house with the biggest rooms,biggest yard,and most open floorpan I can find. My dad had a mid century modern art deco house,and that's what I really want. Seems no one ever wants to sell them and when they do they're $$ and they get scooped up as soon as they go on the market. I like my space and privacy. Neighbors on top of you is the biggest pita when you have a small yard.

 

[Eddie]

I grew up in a 800 SF Midwest home, got married and moved into a 2,750 SF home. Kid grew up and moved to Florida. Live in a 3bedroom 2 bath 1450 SF home that is easy to clean, inexpensive to cool & heat and lower taxes. We love it. Ed

 

[Donald]

While we all have too much stuff, we do need a place for our important stuff. When my wife and I retire will will downsize and move to a more retirement friendly state. But we will start at least 1 year ahead of time going through our stuff to determine what to keep.

A Japanese lady who writes books and columns on organizing says to only keep things that "bring you joy".

 

[supton]

Originally Posted By: Pop_Rivit
One of the biggest cons of a small house (in my opinion) is the lack of guest space. Not a concern if you don't have guests visiting, but if you have kids and grandchildren the lack of space could get extremely claustrophobic in short order.


We have a starter home and this issue bugs us. We could invite 1-2 people over at a time, but it gets crowded real quick. My disabled FIL can't visit either, as it's too much effort to lift the wheelchair over various steps up/down to get into the house. When my mother visits over the summer she gets stuck into the camper instead.

 

[Andrew1972]

A smaller home can have 2 bedrooms and a third room that doubles for guests and works. The key is buying something brand new or recently designed to be ultra efficient in energy and space usage with ample storage.There is incredible value in making one of these homes as folks age they want small and efficient.

 

[Dave Hess]

Originally Posted By: aquariuscsm
I personally want a HUGE house with a HUGE yard. We're in a small rental (we've been house shopping forever it seems) and I want the largest house with the biggest rooms,biggest yard,and most open floorpan I can find. My dad had a mid century modern art deco house,and that's what I really want. Seems no one ever wants to sell them and when they do they're $$ and they get scooped up as soon as they go on the market. I like my space and privacy. Neighbors on top of you is the biggest pita when you have a small yard.


HUGE house = HUGE $$$

 

[IndyIan]

Originally Posted By: tony58
The question is:Anybody Here ever moved from Large House to Tiny House?I'm tired of the Large house (3000 SF)all the upkeep,always needing to do maintenance,big taxes,big yard(3 acres) etc. I know I'm ready for a smaller house and yard.Just not sure I would be able to live in a tiny house?I've never lived in an apartment or condo,don't want to be next to anybody.So I will go from a house of some kind to a nursing home or you know where.Its just two living here,my wife and I.I do have a 30x40 foot detached garage for all the toys.So where ever I move to I will build a 40x60 foot garage.Main thing I'm looking for is small yard and house.Also have thought about building a House/Garage combo?Also looking into a barndominiums
So has:Anybody Here ever moved from "The Big House to Tiny House"? If so what are the pros and cons?

Small lot and big outbuildings don't really seem to go together. If you get a few acres+, you don't have to mow and maintain the whole thing like a golf course. I only mow maybe a half acre around our house and would do less but the kids need some lawn to play on. I also do a strip along each side of our driveway to the road. Takes no time at all with the riding mower.
Personally I like watching the natural succession of plants turn some of our fields back into forest, and the wildlife move in again.

 

[Doog]

Originally Posted By: Mr Nice
Originally Posted By: aquariuscsm
I personally want a HUGE house with a HUGE yard. We're in a small rental (we've been house shopping forever it seems) and I want the largest house with the biggest rooms,biggest yard,and most open floorpan I can find. My dad had a mid century modern art deco house,and that's what I really want. Seems no one ever wants to sell them and when they do they're $$ and they get scooped up as soon as they go on the market. I like my space and privacy. Neighbors on top of you is the biggest pita when you have a small yard.


HUGE house = HUGE $$$


+1 I built a monster on a 2 acre wooded lot. I love the house but our third child is off to college in the fall so just two of us don't even make a dent in the place. Too much upkeep and taxes are too high to stay.

 

[Quattro Pete]

A little over a year ago we moved from a 3000+ sq ft house to a 2-br apartment (about 1200 sq ft). It's a temporary move for us, but we've now been here longer than we initially anticipated. I miss not having a basement that was partially my man-cave, and I miss not having a huge garage for some of my tools and tinkering. We still have a 2-car garage now, but apart from the cars themselves, there is really no room for anything else in there.

A lot of our stuff is sitting in storage, waiting for when we buy a house again.

Things I don't miss about owning a house:
- high property taxes (location dependent, of course)
- landscaping work
- snow removal
- maintenance/upkeep (even though it was a new house, things would still occasionally break and needed fixing)

 

[ecotourist]

For retirement we're in the process of moving from a mid sized 3 BR + den house (2050 sq ft) to a slightly larger 2BR + den house (2350 sq ft). Our property is much bigger (now 0.5 acres) but we have a lot less storage space. We had a full size (undeveloped) basement and we now have a full size crawl space. I don't fancy storing much down there.

We're young and healthy retirees. We wanted to ensure we had a good size space for guests and this new house fits that bill nicely. Fewer but bigger rooms is a good idea. Less storage space isn't. Deciding what to keep is painful.

Being too exacting about what we wanted would have been a waste of time. In the community we're moving to there are very few (almost no) building lots, so you have to pick from what is for sale. We must have looked at 100 houses over 3 years before finding this one.

We plan to stay here forever but would consider moving into a smaller place (a condo maybe) if our health deteriorates.

My understanding is that people don't do well in the truly tiny houses so I'd suggest looking into that carefully if that is what you're considering.