With the rising price of goods slowly eroding the average homeowner’s purchasing power, more and more people are turning to tiny homes as an alternate form of housing. While a tiny home may seem like a temporary solution to a future house upgrade, building or buying one can realistically serve as a long-term living solution.
Not only are tiny homes easier to construct and manage, but they’re also thoughtfully constructed with you having a large say on its customisation. Furthermore, tiny homes, in large part due to their size, come at only a fraction of the cost of traditional houses. This brings down the cost in all categories of the house’s construction and acquisition—from procuring raw materials to hiring contractors.
If you’re keen on owning an affordable home, tiny homes can serve you well. Here are six tips on getting a bang-for-your-buck deal when buying your new abode.
1. Have a Budget in Mind
The budget is the number one consideration for every prospecting homeowner. You should be realistic about how much you can and are willing to spend for this undertaking, all while keeping in mind the length of any mortgage terms you’ve signed. Building a home, even if it’s a tiny home, is bound to be filled with expenses that will add up over time. From buying the initial lot to material costs, these costs can tally up to five digits and beyond, even for small-scale projects.
As such, be sure to have a clear idea of how much you’re willing to spend before starting the project. A tiny home will on average cost around $75,000, but this can go up or down depending on the amount of customisation you plan to add, as well as other factors.
With that being the case, be sure that you have a plan of how you want to allocate your money to ensure that you’re getting everything you want from the upcoming construction.
In short, having a budget helps you keep your costs under control and gives you a guiding plan that you can work with throughout the project.
2. Secure Financing
While tiny homes are considerably cheaper than normal homes, they’re still quite costly in the grand scheme of things. This is especially true if they’re your first major property (or property-on-wheels) purchase. If you don’t have the savings to get a tiny home, there are many alternative avenues for you to secure funding. For instance, you can apply for personal loans from lending institutions, credit unions, and banks. You can scour around for different lenders and find the ones that offer the best rates.
You can also consider getting a home equity loan. That said, it may be better to save up since the interest rate can be quite high. You can use a savings calculator to know how much you need before you take the plunge (see Westpac’s article for more information).
Besides that, if your home is recognised as a legitimate dwelling space by the Building Code of Australia (BCA), then you can also apply for a first-time homeownership grant. This government grant will give you a grant or duty exemption if you’re eligible.
Once you’ve secured your financing, now it’s time to execute the construction or acquisition plan in full force.
3. Source Affordable Materials
If you’re building your own house, consider going the extra mile and finding materials cheaper than the market rate. While it may seem hard, there are a few ways you can find them for free. One way is by asking around large construction sites and requesting any spare building materials. Big construction projects have spare materials that they might just throw away, so it pays to ask.
That said, that method can be a hit or miss… more often the latter. A more reliable way is to look for unused materials in secondhand shops like eBay and Facebook marketplace.
There, people may sell things like reclaimed hardwood and concrete that provide nearly identical quality and character to storebought batches.
Besides these materials, you’ll also want to gather everything that’ll make up the base of your house. This includes fixtures, joists, studs, sheathing, tools, plumbing, and other essential components of your home.
Once you’ve gathered the items, you can begin laying the foundation. Do note that you’re bound to buy more materials throughout the process, so don’t immediately imagine that your initial purchases will cover everything you need.
4. Get Hands-On During Construction
Hiring contractors is the best way to ensure that your construction project goes on without a hitch. They’re very capable of seeing your project through from start to finish. But if you want to keep your running costs at a minimum, it’s important to oversee the project regularly to ensure that the project flow is as optimised as it can be. Check in on your carpenter team and know the problems and progress on the ground. Then, adjust your future decisions accordingly.
Furthermore, for some basic projects like acquiring furniture or shelves, you can consider honing your carpentry and DIY skills to create these pieces of furniture yourself. Building things is much cheaper than buying them in the store.
That said, you don’t want to rely on yourself for all projects. Know your limits. For instance, plumbing and electrical work would need the expert hands of licensed professionals. This is to ensure that your building’s utilities are compliant with local law and up to code.
5. Use Sustainable Furnishing
Besides the house structure, you’ll also want to pay close attention to the type of furniture and fixtures you choose to decorate your home. If sustainability and affordability are your main priorities, opt for recycled and upcycled materials. These can include materials made from things like bamboo, recycled metal, and hardwood.
If you’re downsizing or moving out of your home for the first time, you can bring some of the furniture from your old home and turn it into something appropriately fitted for your tiny home.
By choosing sustainable furniture, you’re playing a part in promoting an eco-conscious lifestyle to the local community. Plus, it’s also easy to decorate green furniture and make it look spectacular in a tiny home.
6. Use Energy-Saving Appliances
Incorporating energy-saving appliances in your tiny home may require a higher initial investment, but they’re a good way to save money in the long run. Not only that, but you’re also reducing your carbon footprint by using these sustainable appliances. Given that your living space is already compact, choosing energy-saving equipment means you won’t be sacrificing much in terms of functionality or comfort.
A good way to check whether an appliance is eco-friendly is by looking at its Energy Star rating. The higher the number of stars, the better it is for your environment and your pocket.
Some appliances that can be found in more eco-friendly conditions include refrigerators, thermostats, and lights.
LED lights, in particular, waste less electricity while still providing brightness in your tiny home.
You don’t have to buy brand-new appliances either, especially if you’re on a budget. You can use the ones you already have back home. Alternatively, you can also buy second hand appliances to save on cash. Just be sure that the item in question is working optimally.
Good luck!