@Melomaniac9 😅 I was just waiting for one of you ladies to ask about closet space & it had to be you 😜 🤗
😂😂😂 @cuddles_ndream I need closet for my shoes not my clothes lmao
@cuddles_ndream I missed the opening question, why or why not. It got blurred into a question of people living together. Every area has zoning laws on what can or can not be built into one land parcel. Some areas allow subdivision of land into smaller parcels, such as @Melomaniac9 said.
Other areas are agricultural, industrial, single unit, multi unit, business, etc. So, you can’t repurpose the next door neighbor’s house into a farm, dance club, or apartment complex. (Depending on zoning laws).
Property taxes can be levied at the state level + county + city + school district + various services and can vary wildly. Many communities vote higher taxes for better schools, so more expensive tax levied areas in each state usually have better schools, and make the areas more desirable for folks with school aged kids.
Usually taxes are based on a multi year assessment value average, in which you pay a summed average based on (Assessor Math) and changes slowly period to period. Each state has different length.
Since this would be a new build with known costs on existing land, your tax burden would be based on how much each community levies taxes of the land + improvements, such as a house. So, if you bought a parcel of land for 30k, and put down a house, plus costs to prepare the land, that is the base value you would have to pay. Some state's taxes are up to 5% some as low as 1%. Plus other levies and can be rolled into your home loan. Along with the fact the some states have lower taxes for older individuals (usually 65ish) many areas with high property taxes have a graduate your kids and get out mentality, where you pay for schools then sell and retire to a lower tax burden area, depending on your profession. A combination of state taxes, city taxes, property taxes, and home values can significantly change how far your money can go. A Job in Chicago/New York/California that pays 70k with expensive housing, high state income taxes, high property taxes, high sales tax may leave you worse off than a job in a low tax state that only pays 50k, but you have a shorter commute, bigger house, no income taxes and low property taxes.
@Melomaniac9 House prices are off kilter everywhere there are jobs. Combine high layoff unemployment due to covid, and businesses are now trending up in hiring due to relaxation in standards, which leads people needing to move to be closer to new jobs. But, most people don’t want to be home shopping/selling in this covid world environment, so there are fewer sellers for prime low commute locations and people are making much more aggressive offers for homes with reasonable commutes, and they have to buy now, so when houses get listed people send offers immediately, sight unseen. Conversely, if you do live away from jobs, you will have a more difficult time selling, because luxury/retirement moving isn’t happening. If you do happen to live in an prime area, you do get a nice bonus on your selling price. The market isn’t as messed up as in 2007 when the housing bubble collapsed, but still, things are weird.
@EponymousName all valid points beautifully explained thank you! Yes our school district is what pushes the prices up plus with having few major companies here lot of jobs being offered. We have always been a sellers market here. If we do ever decide and figure out a way to get a cuddle community I’d want you on our side for sure!! @quixotic_life we need this person with us 🤩🤩
Modern nomad?
Yes I agree @EponymousName you really know your real estate stuff / zoning / propert taxes & what influences it ect … impressed!
Not quite @cookiecrumb lol although I believe you’re able to pack up & set up your boxabl elsewhere, in which case this would be amazing
Don’t forget you need a piece of land to put it on and that it needs to conform to local housing codes.
Their website says it’s 375 square feet - not sure if that’s actual living space or the outside dimensions but that’s really small. For comparison, that’s slightly less than the floor space of a semi trailer.
I am wondering, on average, how long people end up living in tiny houses? I’ve not been able to find much information on that. I only personally know one person who has been living in a tiny house for about five or six years. She built it herself. She does get frustrated with being in such a small space.
@cuddles_ndream = regarding moving tiny houses, that’s pretty difficult to do. You have to have a vehicle powerful enough to haul it. You have to secure everything in it before moving it. And the process of moving it can easily cause damage or weaken the structure. If I wanted a movable tiny house I’d get something already built for that like an Airstream.
Re: intentional communities - they already exist and tiny houses are quite popular in them. Few seem to thrive. You don’t need the government to break them up, they fall apart on their own. Just today I was in New Harmony, Indiana, the site of two consecutive, short-term utopian communities. Americans are pretty darned individualistic.
@Babichev yup, they say that the land may be mortgaged in & still very affordable .. EponymousName brought up a lot of amazing insights about local housing codes ect, thankfully boxabl partnered with permits.com to make the process simple … as far as moving the boxabl home, I personally wouldn’t want to do this, but thought it would be a really good plus for those who would consider this … And yes I agree, I wouldn’t blindly buy a boxable, I would need to see it in person & get a personal feel, thankfully the “casita” which is their first concept, won’t be their only concept, they will have more spacious ones / stackable / & ones that would resemble a traditional home 🏡 in space & design as well as buildings .. this short video shows some of the different types of concepts they’ll be able to develop
@cookiecrumb ~ YES!!!
I've wanted that kind of flexibility for as long as I can remember! My aunt and uncle had an old bus on their property, totally stripped and beat to hell, but still as a kid I'd go in there and muse about traveling and living in it.
What I'd love to find is acreage (lots) with wide open zoning laws, with access to power, water, etc. Something I could set a double wide on to live in (as my home base), but also have a massive garage like structure for my RV (that I don't have yet) and plenty of space for year round, massive projects! Welding, sculpture, etc.
My dream would be to open it up for communal type living too. Where there's an acre between each "residence" and a centralized gathering spot for making huge meals.
I've stayed at a few rustic retreat places (one was an old boy scout camp in OR - with a kitchen to die for) and the another in WA that's on a large lake with multiple independent buildings/group facilities. There's also a really cool artist community out here, where people live in tiny little one bedroom cabins on one side of the property and share the central gathering spaces and facilities. The owners have built a massive studio, make the best sculpting clay I've ever used, and have a kiln dug into the hill that can fit an entire set of bathroom fixtures (so one can have them all glazed alike) too.
Anyway, after speaking with the owners at the retreat centers, I think their gigs are near ideal. Hosting large groups here and there (on a budget ~ nothing fancy) and then the rest of the time getting to relax and build community with others who are there year round too. Then if/when they want a change of space... They just hop in the camper and bail for a bit! At the one in WA by the lake, they all take turns so someone (a host/caretaker) is always there. It just sounds soooo nice to me!!!
And at both... I'm sure one could plop a Boxabl or two. 😉
Smaller places aren't for everyone. I would highly suggest North American people to try out a small apartment for a while as a test, if you can find something small enough
@JasonCuddles a luxury studio condo in Nyc sells for more than half a million dollars 💵 (not even 1 bedroom, that’s a studio) yup most people in metropolitan cities in the u.s. 🏙 live in small apartments … thankfully though boxabl’s won’t be limited to the small ‘casita’ … watch this video from the 3:10 minute mark & on
Edit: Here’s an awesome video that would probably put to rest the misconception that boxabl’s are limited to smaller places lol
Pretty cool stuff. I still see them being modular like ikea. But, that isn’t a horribly bad thing. IKEA is a very successful company and massively drops labor costs. It is good to see them being scalable. I don’t know the build costs vs regular and with highly machines parts makes it great for low cost assembling, but while a lifetime warranty has been mentioned, if the company folds, finding replacement materials may be nearly impossible. Plus, new building is still low.
With that being said, I have little doubt within the housing industry there is significant room for technological improvement.
I could absolutely see the applications of these being purchased for working space and short term rentals. There are many resorts where people rent a cabin for week then fish swim ect, with communal areas for people to chill then rest. My parents found one of these type of resorts and rented the same cabin on the same week each year with largely the same people who rented different cabins in the same lot. People had their week, like season tickets, so they became very close to the families who would all vacation together each year. These would make for a great vacation place in that model, where making a high rise resort wouldn’t make sense, but a series of inexpensive private cabins would.
I could also see these being a great boon for anywhere someone would put up a trailer. And they appeared stackable. I could see these being great for around collages, where there is community spaces, and people want to be close and only need small personal spaces.
I buy into the concept but not necessarily into this company, but the Elon effect will be huge.
@EponymousName you’re absolutely right, the Elon effect will be huge indeed …. I have a cousin of mines whose a civil engineer & he has lots of questions, being that he’s a traditionalist, but he agreed that he will go to Nevada with me if they allow touring of the factory & concept homes where we can see them 1st hand & ask all types of questions … & yes the business part potential of it has me really intrigued.
If they were stackable, the bottom unit would need to be engineered to be able to support the top unit.
Would not put one of these in hurricane or tornado country.
This article talks about apartment sizes in New York City. Average size of an apartment in NYC built since 2000 is 866 SF with more than half of apartments 700 SF or less. I’m not sure I’d compare a Boxabl to a luxury studio condo in Manhattan. It’s not a fair comparison. In Manhattan, you’re paying for living in New York which has a lot to offer in the way of museums, theater, public transportation, restaurants, etc. A better comparison would be what would be the cost of buying/building a similarly sized home in, say, Boone County, Missouri, where you are more likely to be able to put up one of these? Especially those who want to live in rural, unpopulated areas.
https://www.platinumpropertiesnyc.com/blog/average-nyc-apartment-sqft-how-much-is-enough
Where can you legally put one of these? Compare the cost of this to the cost of buying a similarly sized built home in that place. Many municipalities have minimum SF requirements on new construction.
I just looked on this site about the cost of a luxury mobile home, including delivery, hurricane foundation, setup, permits. A 500 SF luxury mobile home, which is made to be able to be moved, is $36,500. So it’s considerably less than a Boxabl with more space.
I think the idea of living in a very small apartment for at least a year before living in a tiny house is an excellent suggestion. Most people in most urban areas in the U.S. are not living in spaces nearly that small. Average apartment size for an apartment in St. Louis is 846 SF. Sixty-five percent of the apartments are $1,000 or less, with 25% being $700 or less. A studio apartment in one nice building is 480 SF for $536/month. That’s according to this website:
https://www.rentcafe.com/average-rent-market-trends/us/mo/saint-louis/
Not sure if these are considered “manufactured” or “modular” homes but there ARE restrictions on where you can put them.
Here’s an article on the cost of tiny homes. While Boxabl looks nice, I would urge anyone considering this to look at what is available and compare. They are not the only ones doing something like this and their price is no less than many other tiny homes.
https://www.homeadvisor.com/cost/architects-and-engineers/build-a-tiny-house/
They claim they were engineered to be hurricane proof (I’m sure there’s no such thing as 100% proof of anything) but glad they designed it with this in mind … & yeah they’re designed to be stackable & multi-level as shown in the last video with the future concepts … the luxury condo vs boxabl comment wasn’t an apples to apples comparison, it was a response to Jason cuddles comment about North American people needing to try out a small apartment first, but this is the reality in every metropolitan/ inner city communities (regardless if luxury or not) in the u.s.
I think the idea of living in a small apartment for at least a year before living in a tiny house would be a good idea.
I don’t think you watched the last video, I’ll post it again, they aren’t limited to the “tiny house” misconception … the major key difference in the $536 price tag for an apartment & paying relatively the same for a boxabl is ownership … renting - you’re making others $$$ …. Mortgage ,, you’re building equity & putting $$$ in your pockets. Now I don’t know if they build equity like a traditional home, & I know there’s different factors that determine equity in value or lack of, but not having to be liable for any plumbing / electrical / material or roofing expense is a great stress relieve (unless the company goes under like EponymousName mentioned).
Business Insider thinks highly of them. There is a waiting list. The furniture comes with it.
https://www.businessinsider.com/boxabl-tiny-homes-shipping-containers-2020-5#right-now-only-the-casita-is-available-for-preorder-but-they-can-be-combined-to-created-a-custom-home-to-fit-the-buyers-needs-29
Can’t wait to see it in person, the website makes no mention of available tours ect but I’m going to reach out to them … if they actually do I’m going to plan a trip to Nevada & I’ll make a post asking everyone who is interested in possibly owning one or intrigued about the concept to post any questions they would like me to ask the staff while I’m there : )
Ohhh hello there @cuddles_ndream you ain’t going without me!!! I’m coming to tour that facility with you too😝 Fix it up & tell me when I’ll see you at the airport! This has more space than the RV I was looking at🤩 Plus now I see I can have enough space for my shoes😂😂
Plus now I see I can have enough space for my shoes😂😂 @Melomaniac9 lmao 😅😂🤣
Sayyy no more I’m down 😃 I just drew up how the trip would go if you can’t make it … first I stop in Tennessee (Melo & Memphis bbq enough said / than Nevada (boxabl better not play games 😂😂 they better have touring lol) and than back to Ny 😌
@cuddles_ndream You drive to me….we stuff you with Memphis BBQ & homemade Indian food! Then I fly to Nevada with you! Or you drive I fly😂😂 Also we got to do this when it’s cooler lol I’m not planning on melting in Nevada😝
@Melomaniac9 but what if I wanna swim 🌊 😂 you know what, I didn’t even think about a road trip at all!!! If I had the time I would soooo do it!!! ☺️ To make it all work I’ll have to unfortunately fly 🤪
Fly robin fly!!! NY>Memphis >Nevada 🎉💃🏻💃🏻
@Melomaniac9 if you read the covenants placed on the properties in the link you posted , you’ll see that you need four or five of those boxable things to comply with the 1600 SF minimum home , so , keep looking if you want a lot for just one of those units
@cuddlerforu24 they allow RVs to be parked on there too! We were already looking at RVs to park on that land, if we decide to build it has to be on stilts since it’s in a flood zone, so far that’s the only caveat. I don’t think the boxable could be put on stilts so I’m thinking RV for now.
@Melomaniac9
A sober word of warning: For the foreseeable future flooding is going to get much worse.
A painful fact of the consequences of global warming.
@Melomaniac9 ~ An RV on stilts??!
@CharlesThePoet i know! I know I’m super confused. My heart says go for it! My mind says shut up stupid🤦🏽♀️
@quixotic_life no no no can’t put RV on stilts lol Deal is you can park the RV on the land and leave a spare set of keys with this company that will move the RV for $100 in case of flooding, if you’re not around.
@Melomaniac9. Did you make it to Denver this month? I decided on a tiny home years ago, and would be open to purchasing land (or renting my area) if we set up a small community.
@quixotic_life we got us another cuddler @Tea_spoon willing to join in if we do set up a cuddle community