Posted on 06/03/2011 6:46:49 PM PDT by dynachrome
Having trouble qualifying for a home loan? Then consider what this inventive family of three did and buy yourself a Mississippi-style "shotgun shack."
Sick of working two jobs apiece to pay the mortgage on their 2,000-square-foot home, Debra and her husband Gary decided to give it all up and start over – by purchasing a 320-square-foot shack for $15,000 cash.
The video below, first submitted to the blog faircompanies.com on an open call for videos of tiny homes, shows the couple and their teenage son living mortgage-free in their surprisingly spacious abode.
The home includes a walk-in closet, conventional-sized appliances and even a lofted bedroom for their son that, the family boasts, is big enough to host sleepovers. Watch the video below to see just how far a little ingenuity can take you, even in today's prohibitive mortgage market.
(Excerpt) Read more at realestate.aol.com ...
“This is not my beautiful house....this is not my beautiful wife...”
I currently live in 900 sq ft not counting the basement or the large enclosed porch or the detached garage. 3 bedroom but one of the bedrooms is currently my laundry room. I live alone and it would be a little tough for me to downsize. I happen to know there was a family of seven in my house before I was in it and that was before they added on to it. It was originally about 500 sq foot.
I once dated a girl that lived in a one bedroom quonset hut with a finished basement and a good sized deck and large detached storage shed. No garage. She lived alone. That was a nice little house. Plenty of room for one person with all the modern luxuries.
“storage shed”
I think that was their business building.
Funny you should say that. When I'm partnered up with someone, they have to live in a tent at night, while I enjoy the cozy comforts of a shelled-in pickup bed (complete with two bedrolls and a 10-degree sleeping bag).
But for the last two years prior to this, I slept in the bed (unshelled) of a Dodge Ram, or else in the cab itself on nights that dropped below 40 degrees.
Honest truth: There is nothing more wonderful than falling asleep to the beautiful chorus of common poorwills in a desert canyon.
LIFE IS WONDERFUL!!!
Let's count our blessings!!!
Right there with you, sister. I will say a roof over your head is better than camping in a field BUT... we are definitely becoming a nation where this option is seen as “great” rather than just plain sad. IMHO.
Just the video makes me feel claustrophobic.
“I figure one of those composting toilets might do the trick”.
Or, one of those really cool wooden outhouse things decorated with the crescent moon and heck... add some stars, too. Joshing aside, you are way more adventurous than me.
I can fit 3 of those in my garage.
If that was their business building too. It's no wonder that they are living in a 300+ sq ft house. "Welcome to my business.... Please ignore that used mattress."
Here ya go. Not cheap! This is the cheapest one
“And you may find yourself
“Living in a shotgun shack
“And you may find yourself
“In another part of the world
“And you may find yourself
“Behind the wheel of a large automobile
“And you may find yourself
“In a beautiful house
“With a beautiful wife
“And you may ask yourself
“Well
“How did I get here?”
“... this is the cheapest one”.
Well, I guess you have to spend a bit of cash to make the poopy go away. LOL. As a bugout, hunting cabin... okay. A few years ago, I spent a vacation in a single wide with three kids, three dogs and a week of rain. Got to the point where the idea of shoving a fork through my eye sounded real good. Just experience, I guess.
So when Oprah did a show on these it was great! “how much room does one person need really”?
Now it’s being called a ‘shotgun shack’...
Weird how that works, eh?
Must be some union builders unhappy with the thought of people purchasing these...
I was just showing people condos for 45,000 with 1200 square feet. Same price per sf with a pool and clubhouse.
“This is not my beautiful house....this is not my beautiful wife...”
How did I get here?
I got tired of watching it. At about 5 minutes I had the urge to smack that condescending broad.
>>Why do people praise “tiny homes”, yet ridicule trailers?<<
LOL I started laughing thinking about the nice accomodations us soldiers had in Nam, a tent. Or when we pulled guard duty and slept in a covered foxhole. Yessir, American soldiers are spoilded. I would have given a weeks wages for a tiny trailer.
Beats me. Best move I ever made. However this park has gone way way way way off the deep end. Lot rent is highest in the state. i hear they have a pool thought. it’s always locked when we try to use it.
There is a field of weeds that looks like it might have been a nice tennis and basketball court at one time. Theres a park but I have been told there is used drug needles in the sand.
So why is it the best move I ever made? Because in a month or two a truck is going to show up, remove the trim around the bottom of the house, unhook a few pipes and wires and MOVE my home to a much nicer, cleaner, cheaper park.
My house payment is zero. My lot rent payment is going to be about 3500 bucks a year. my property tax bill is 250 a year...
Compare that to a 1500 dollar a month mortgage and it’s a no brainier. I have an extra 1000 a month I can buy gold with :)
What is that a picture of?
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