Tiny Homes PDF

Tiny homes have several benefits. They are less expensive to buy and maintain than a traditional house...

Tiny homes have several benefits. They are less expensive to buy and maintain than a traditional house. Traditional houses in the United States cost about $375,000 on average. Cleaning and TINY upkeep add extra cost. The average cost of a tiny home is $20,000 HOMES to $50,000. Monthly expenses, including parking, water, electricity, and Internet, Tiny homes do not have a lot of space inside total about $700 per month. for furniture or other objects. Tiny-home owners enjoy life with fewer belongings in small spaces. They keep only what they need. They buy In 2000, University of Iowa professor Jay Shafer wrote and use fewer goods. With fewer things a newspaper article about his tiny home. It was just to clean and repair, housework is 96 square feet (9 sq m), about half the size of a one-car done quickly. Homeowners have garage. Shafer said living simply at a low cost allowed free time to do things they more time for doing things he liked. He was not burdened enjoy. They can spend by upkeep and mortgage payments. more time outdoors and devote time to their Before the 1990s, few people lived in tiny homes. community. They might People became more interested after a book about living do volunteer work or join in small spaces came out in 1998. Then, Shafer’s article a community garden. started today’s tiny-house movement in the United States. In 2018, a survey found that 53 percent of Americans would Many tiny homes have a loft inside consider living in a home of 600 square feet (56 sq m) or less. to create extra space. © Learning A–Z All rights reserved. 1 www.readinga-z.com 2  Beyond these benefits, tiny homes have a smaller Credits: Page 1 (top left): © Fotoluminate/Dreamstime.com; page 1 (top right): © iStock.com/DianeBentleyRaymond; page 1 (bottom left): © Mireya Acierto/Photodisc/Getty Images; page 1 (bottom right): Michael Matthews/Alamy Stock Photo; page 2 (top): © Mike Morgan/The Washington Post/Getty Images; page 2 (bottom): © Kenneth K. Lam/Baltimore Sun/Tribune News Service/Getty Images environmental footprint than traditional houses. Tiny- House Size home owners produce less waste. Tiny homes use less land, water, and energy. Solar and wind energy cause little or no pollution. Tiny Tiny home: 400 square feet (37 sq m) homes can be completely Average U.S. house: powered by solar panels, Do 2600 square feet (241.5 sq m) and at a much lower cost You than powering a Know? You could fit 6.5 tiny homes traditional house. Sizes of tiny homes range inside one average U.S. house! from about 65 to 1,000 square Most cities have rules feet (6 to 93 sq m). The typical about where and how House Cost tiny house is between 100 and homes can be built. Tiny 400 square feet (9 and 37 sq m). Smaller homes are built on a $$ homes don’t follow many Tiny home: trailer with wheels and can be of these rules. However, $50,000 towed to different places. Larger $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ some places have homes are built on a permanent Average U.S. communities of tiny foundation, like traditional houses. house: $375,000 homes and encourage people to build them. Homes on wheels can avoid some local rules. Unlike houses on foundations, they are not Who Wants to Live in a Tiny Home ? considered traditional houses. People can place these tiny homes on land owned by someone else and easily move the home to a new place if needed. 28% yes, In the United States, would Tiny-home living encourages people to build strong ties 53% of adults say they buy 47% to their community. It gives them an opportunity to think would consider buying no about the importance of their belongings. Tiny homes a tiny home. 25% might provide economic freedom while helping the environment. buy They are a good housing choice for many Americans. Sources: US Census Bureau; NAHB © Learning A–Z All rights reserved. 3 www.readinga-z.com 4