TL;DR
*Circumstances*
-Bought land
-Zoning is okay
-Hooking up into ready well / septic / electric
-Researched a ton but scattered brained by all the factors
-budget for RV is about 20-25K
-would be living in it 5 years minimum before I can afford to build a small house
-Want to stay OUT of debt
*Concerns*
-Live 90 minutes south of DC so winters are not brutal but reasonably cold
-Research says cold sucks, worry about moisture, freezing pipes, buy with the underbelly heated, buy 4 season, buy arctic fox
-Utilities breakdown in RV's all the time?
-Skirting, I have no idea what I should do for that, just that some skirting is required to avoid freezing in winter
*Questions*
-No truck to move this around, if it is stationary can repairs be done as things break?
-Do any RV's have more of a "standard size" replacement for appliances that break?
-Something about the tires / wheels is a big deal right? Should it be stuck on cinder blocks with the wheels taken off?
-How rough will winters be if I take the proper precautions?
-In your knowledge and experience do you think I should do this or consider an alternative?
I am absolutely happy being a minimalist having a barn built to hold all my crap.. I currently live in a 1br 700sq ft apartment and have spent roughly 20K in the past two years. I rarely use the living room.. i really need a shower, bed, desk, kitchen and dryer.
Please provide me any useful threads / links if you know of any, I've reviewed many but I'm sure I've missed plenty.
Alternatives vs RV Pros/Cons
#1 Trailer Single Wide Modular home
Pros - slightly more space, holds standard appliances (400 sq ft for smallest option)
Cons -
- base 19k for the smallest cheapest I can find, more like 30k with small upgrades, trucking trailer from factory, adding AC unit, upgrading from plastic to porcelain sinks (yes it comes standard with PLASTIC sinks)
-My county has an ordinance requiring fire sprinkler system in "new buildings" so somehow a sprinkler system would have to be hooked up in any trailer
- As for quality.. seems like a 19k trailer
-As for building a house later, it will have to be removed which is more difficult than an RV
#2 Hire an architect and build the most absolute smallest house possible (that can later be expanded as piece of a larger home)
Pros - Constructed, stick built structure, or start with a "shell"
- My step father is a construction superintendent with experience and could help me with the labor process/connections to contractors
- No minimal sq ft limitations according to my zoning
- Would be built with superb quality, I have no doubts in his work is absolutely top of the line
Cons - No idea on how viable it is, I imagine an architect could come up with something
- Would be asking for a ton from my step father who is already very busy with work
- Would take up to 18 months
- No idea on the cost, but I would hope doing it yourself would be less than the average ($150 per sq ft)
- Still would have to hire electricians and other subs
- Any surprises could require me to take out loans, I have great credit but I'm currently in school full time and have a limited income coming in for the next two years
#3 Tiny Home
Cons - All seems viable options seem to be 40K++, so costly, you might as well go with the trailer mod home instead
Basically, the budget to build the well/septic will take a big chunk of my cash, the land was a big chuck of my cash. If I absolutely stretch my budget and pull all the strings I could bring that budget up to 40K for a replacement structure on my land. I went in thinking at the absolute worst I could resell the land cleaned up with the utilities ready or place a hitch trailer and it seems that as if that is how the $ is playing out.. how ever in diving into my research I realized it is not as simple as buying a 5k RV on facebook and hooking it up
Any insight, thoughts, on how you might proceed in my circumstances would be greatly appreciated! thanks in advance
*Circumstances*
-Bought land
-Zoning is okay
-Hooking up into ready well / septic / electric
-Researched a ton but scattered brained by all the factors
-budget for RV is about 20-25K
-would be living in it 5 years minimum before I can afford to build a small house
-Want to stay OUT of debt
*Concerns*
-Live 90 minutes south of DC so winters are not brutal but reasonably cold
-Research says cold sucks, worry about moisture, freezing pipes, buy with the underbelly heated, buy 4 season, buy arctic fox
-Utilities breakdown in RV's all the time?
-Skirting, I have no idea what I should do for that, just that some skirting is required to avoid freezing in winter
*Questions*
-No truck to move this around, if it is stationary can repairs be done as things break?
-Do any RV's have more of a "standard size" replacement for appliances that break?
-Something about the tires / wheels is a big deal right? Should it be stuck on cinder blocks with the wheels taken off?
-How rough will winters be if I take the proper precautions?
-In your knowledge and experience do you think I should do this or consider an alternative?
I am absolutely happy being a minimalist having a barn built to hold all my crap.. I currently live in a 1br 700sq ft apartment and have spent roughly 20K in the past two years. I rarely use the living room.. i really need a shower, bed, desk, kitchen and dryer.
Please provide me any useful threads / links if you know of any, I've reviewed many but I'm sure I've missed plenty.
Alternatives vs RV Pros/Cons
#1 Trailer Single Wide Modular home
Pros - slightly more space, holds standard appliances (400 sq ft for smallest option)
Cons -
- base 19k for the smallest cheapest I can find, more like 30k with small upgrades, trucking trailer from factory, adding AC unit, upgrading from plastic to porcelain sinks (yes it comes standard with PLASTIC sinks)
-My county has an ordinance requiring fire sprinkler system in "new buildings" so somehow a sprinkler system would have to be hooked up in any trailer
- As for quality.. seems like a 19k trailer
-As for building a house later, it will have to be removed which is more difficult than an RV
#2 Hire an architect and build the most absolute smallest house possible (that can later be expanded as piece of a larger home)
Pros - Constructed, stick built structure, or start with a "shell"
- My step father is a construction superintendent with experience and could help me with the labor process/connections to contractors
- No minimal sq ft limitations according to my zoning
- Would be built with superb quality, I have no doubts in his work is absolutely top of the line
Cons - No idea on how viable it is, I imagine an architect could come up with something
- Would be asking for a ton from my step father who is already very busy with work
- Would take up to 18 months
- No idea on the cost, but I would hope doing it yourself would be less than the average ($150 per sq ft)
- Still would have to hire electricians and other subs
- Any surprises could require me to take out loans, I have great credit but I'm currently in school full time and have a limited income coming in for the next two years
#3 Tiny Home
Cons - All seems viable options seem to be 40K++, so costly, you might as well go with the trailer mod home instead
Basically, the budget to build the well/septic will take a big chunk of my cash, the land was a big chuck of my cash. If I absolutely stretch my budget and pull all the strings I could bring that budget up to 40K for a replacement structure on my land. I went in thinking at the absolute worst I could resell the land cleaned up with the utilities ready or place a hitch trailer and it seems that as if that is how the $ is playing out.. how ever in diving into my research I realized it is not as simple as buying a 5k RV on facebook and hooking it up
Any insight, thoughts, on how you might proceed in my circumstances would be greatly appreciated! thanks in advance