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Are you thinking of giving up your current home and embracing the tiny house lifestyle?
Well, before you make the switch, we would like to bring you up to speed on some pros and cons of small homes.
Sure, the whole idea of living in a tiny home may sound like a brilliant idea, and yes, they look so much fun on TV.
Still, before you decide whether living in a tiny home is a great move, we would love to take you through a few things you should consider before taking the plunge.
And just so you know, the tiny lifestyle isn’t for everyone.
But don’t just take our words for it; read through our pros and cons of tiny homes, and decide for yourself.
Pro: Manage your limited storage space and live more conveniently
Living in a tiny home will mean making the most of the limited space available.
Over the years, many tiny house owners have found intelligent ways to create extra storage within their homes.
For instance, we have seen some tiny house owners leverage pull-out stairs to create additional storage space within their homes.
Similarly, some tiny house owners have opted for foldable dining tables and sofas with extra storage space to store valuables.
Since living the tiny lifestyle means downsizing and putting every available space to use, you’ll be forced to get organized.
If you aren’t a huge fan of multi-purpose furniture, we are afraid to say that the tiny lifestyle isn’t for you.
The reality is, when you live in a tiny home, everything has to do double duty.
Nevertheless, if you think this isn’t such a bummer and you’re up for the challenge, then living in a tiny home is a great way to declutter and put every available space in your home to good use.
Con: Living in a tiny house involves downsizing.
Yes, living in a tiny home comes with a lot of thrills and excitement.
But when you’re faced with a decision to throw or give away more than 90% of your furniture, then reality dawns on you, forcing many people to abandon their tiny house dream.
Before you even decide to live in a tiny house, take a minute to work out all the details.
First off, you’ll have to realize that most of your everyday items won’t fit.
That said, if all this isn’t a big deal, then living in a tiny house wouldn’t be such a bad idea.
Pro: Building a tiny home is cheaper
If you’re interested in affordable housing or haven’t secured a million-dollar mortgage, then now is a great time to consider living in a tiny home.
While tiny homes come with many perks, you’ll be happy to know that building a tiny home is quite affordable, especially when you compare it to building or buying a traditional home.
According to available stats, the average tiny home cost between $100,000 or less.
And if you don’t want to break the bank, you can opt for flat packs or pre-built models as they cost less.
This isn’t to say there aren’t tiny houses that cost more.
At the end of the day, it all depends on your extravagance and the type of tiny home you want.
Also, instead of buying the land, you’ll need to park your home; you can choose to rent instead, which isn’t an entirely bad idea for those looking to cut costs.
Con: You’ll have to give up some luxuries
Of course, tiny homes are a lot cheaper to build, especially if you compare them to the steep prices of building a traditional home.
But guess what, living in a tiny home means saying goodbye to some luxuries.
First off, you’ll have to kiss goodbye to indoor spaces with tiny homes.
But if this isn’t an issue, then making the switch wouldn’t be such a bad idea.
Also, let us quickly add that while building or buying a tiny home is cheaper than traditional homes, remember that you’ll have to spend extra money on air conditioning, decent heating, proper insulation, and more.
Pro: Living in a tiny home means spending less on utilities
One of the perks of living in a tiny house is that you’ll spend less on utilities, and that’s because tiny homes cost less to run, regardless of where your home is located.
When you live in a tiny house, you won’t spend the same amount on lighting, cooling, heating, water, and other utilities you’ll typically pay for in a traditional home.
And if you want to cut down your cost even further, you can live off natural resources, such as deploying solar panels to power your home.
And for water, you can harvest rainwater for your daily use.
Con: Your tiny home will be pretty basic
Due to the small footprint that comes with your home, you can end up fighting your toilet under the showerhead, all in a bid to maximize the limited space you have.
Also, you may be forced to use toilets which you’ll need to empty every 4 to 6 weeks.
This is so because many tiny homes aren’t eligible to be connected with major plumbing systems.
Also, before you decide to live in a tiny home, ask yourself if you’re okay with having your toilet close to every other area in your home.
For the toilet issue, you can opt for a composting toilet.
This will save you a lot of headaches, especially when it comes to plumbing.
Pro: Move whenever you want
One of the exciting things about living in a tiny home on wheels is that you aren’t confined to just one spot, and that’s because you can wake up and decide to go wherever you want.
And just so you know, this is what many tiny home enthusiasts find appealing about tiny houses on wheels.
If you like to travel a lot or your job offers you a lot of flexibility, then you’ll love tiny houses on wheels as you get to live out your lifestyle in your dream home.
The only caveat is that you’ll need to park your home in areas designated for either RVs or tiny houses on wheels, and there aren’t a lot of them.
That said, if you live in a city where this isn’t an issue, then you’ll fancy every minute spent living and traveling in your tiny house on wheels.
Con: You’ll need a large tow truck to move your home
If you live in a tiny house on wheels and plan to move a lot, then you’ll need a decent tow truck to move your home.
This is where some people run into issues, as many states have laws stating what type of truck you’ll need to move your home.
Also, buying a decent tow truck to move your home around will cost you a fortune.
So factor this in when making up your mind about living in a tiny home.
Pro: Limited space to heat and cool
Living in a tiny home sure comes with many perks, and one we can’t stop talking about is how easy it is to heat and cool a tiny home.
This is all thanks to the limited space available in your home.
With a simple Haier window unit, you can efficiently cool your room without sweating it.
Also, heating your home during the severe cold of winter isn’t so hard when you live in a tiny home.
Plus, you wouldn’t have to spend a lot of money on heaters as some of the cheap options available on the market will be sufficient enough to keep your home warm.
Con: Small window unit AC can’t perform at an optimum
We get it that living in a tiny home means that you have limited space to cool and heat.
But guess what, sometimes, your small window unit AC may not suffice, especially when you live in an area with insane weather conditions.
And if that’s the case, you may have to spend more to install powerful AC and heating units in your home.
Pro: You can leverage alternative power sources
Living in a tiny home means getting creative about solving your water and power problems.
This is especially true if you live off-grid and don’t have easy access to water and power sources.
But guess what, when you live in a tiny house, we doubt if this will be such a bummer, especially since there are cheaper alternative power sources available.
Sure, installing solar will cost you more initially, but in the long run, you’ll find out it is a cheaper option, mainly because you won’t spend so much on maintenance.
With solar fully installed in your home, you can kiss goodbye to paying light bills.
Cons: There are no cons to installing solar as an alternative power option for a tiny home.
To be honest with you, there isn’t any con with installing solar in your tiny home, except, of course, you consider the initial cost of installing solar in your home.
Pro: You can install a combo washer/dryer
You’ll have to do laundry even though you live in a tiny home.
While some people may not mind stopping over at a laundromat or taking advantage of campground facilities to do their laundry, you can save yourself all the stress by installing a combo washer/dryer in your home.
And just so you know, this wouldn’t cost you a fortune.
We suggest opting for a ventless washer/dryer combo to save you time.
Alternatively, you can speak to a professional for suggestions on what should work for your tiny home.
Con: It doesn’t work as perfectly as you think
When talking about ventless combos, you’ll be surprised to learn that the word dryer is a misnomer, and here is why.
Because this type of washer/dryer is missing a vent, they don’t dry with hot air.
All it does is spin your clothes and wing them out.
Simply put, while it dries your cloth, it leaves it wet.
The only difference is that it isn’t dripping.
And if you were to opt for something that gets the job done, you may spend quite a fortune.
But if that isn’t a problem, then you have nothing to worry about.
Pro: Less footprint
When you live in the limited space provided by tiny homes, you’ll have a lesser footprint than when you live in a large traditional home.
Without a doubt, this is great for the environment.
So, if you have always wanted to protect the world we cherish, living in a tiny house wouldn’t be such a bad idea.
Con: limited space to explore your creativity
Sure, living in a tiny home means less footprint, which is great for our world.
That said, you’ll have limited space to explore your creativity.
And like we have earlier highlighted, the limited space available in tiny homes will force you to give away your things as you need to downsize.
Frequently asked questions
What are the significant downsides to living in a tiny home?
There are tons of letdowns that come with tiny homes.
Here are a few of them you should know.
Before making the switch to the tiny lifestyle, keep in mind that you’ll have to deal with issues like limited living space, zoning regulations, building codes, problems with procuring land to park your home, financing, limited storage space, and more.
Are tiny houses cheaper than traditional homes?
When you compare the price of tiny homes to traditional homes, you’ll agree that tiny houses are a lot more affordable, with prices ranging from $15,000 for a basic tiny home to as high as $100,000 for sophisticated models.
Can I rent land to park my tiny house structure?
One of the issues many tiny house enthusiasts have encountered when trying to accomplish their tiny home dream is getting land to park their homes.
Fortunately, you can rent one to park your home.
But before you make a move, it’s best to speak to local authorities to learn what’s allowed and what’s not.
