Location Location Location

Location? What does that have to do with a tiny house? It is an old adage that real estate is all about location, location, location. The tiny house twist is that many tiny houses are built on wheels, which makes location a variable. But that's also why the tiny house experience is about more than the house.

My tiny house is plunked down on a 5,000-square-foot lot in an old mobile home park. The lot is manageable, but it also isn't mine. I rent it. For arguably $600-$900 a month. I use the word 'arguably' because there's currently an argument between the existing owner, who is selling the park, and debates about caps on rent increases, which recently passed Washington State's legislature. I've spared you those details because ambiguity isn't very engaging. 

This also puts my house in the middle of the diffuse spectrum that is tiny house living.

The following list is not all-inclusive.

Urban Backyards

Cities seek densification. More density means more people without more land, which means more tax revenue without annexing territory. Frequently this means tiny houses are allowed in back and side yards as Auxiliary Dwelling Units, because why call a house a house. ADUs are not always on wheels. Every city seems to have a unique set of requirements and restrictions. Eventually, there will be some consolidation as governments learn from each other. (Or is that a forlorn hope?) Ownership of the house and the land is variable.

Urban Villages

Villages of tiny houses seem to be an attempt at answering affordable housing issues, usually with the impetus of reducing homelessness. Village living amidst urban density can sound quaint. It seems that the land is frequently owned and managed by non-profits or governments (and isn't a government supposed to be the ultimate non-profit?). The lots are frequently smaller, and the houses are clones with some customization.

Suburbia

Large neighborhood tracts aim for management by developers and homeowners associations. They built a bunch of 2,000-4,000 square foot houses on purpose. Why let in tiny houses? 

In suburbia, I've heard more about places like the one I'm in: mobile home parks. Mobile home parks range from slum-like to indistinguishable from small estates. Some have no size restrictions. Others, like mine, have a mix of RVs, mobile homes, tiny houses, park models, etc. Residents own their houses but lease their land. It is a nice midway point on the autonomy spectrum. I 'get' to maintain the land, but what I must do and what I can do are restricted. Theoretically, I can move my house, actually have someone else move it, but that is uncommon. Unshackling a tiny house from its land is complicated and expensive. Even making sure the utilities are properly unhooked isn't trivial. I'm considering doing it, but that post will wait if the idea gets past the dreaming state.

My park doesn't have a view, but one place I considered buying had a 180-degree waterfront view of the ocean and Canada. (Hi, Canada!) It also had a bluff that was geologically temporary, tempting though. Buy and rent there, then move if the ground started to slip? Probably possible, but risky.

Rural and Country

Buy some farmland, ranchland, or simply buildable land, move your tiny house onto it (or build it there), and be as autonomous as you want to make it. This is probably the most romantic setting. Ideally, own the house and the land. Hook up to utilities as you must, can, or want to. You're probably dealing with acreage, which means there might be enough room for solar, well water, and septic. Mobile phone service is possible if there's a tower or satellite in sight. That also means internet may be available too, for a fee. 

The good news: fewer restrictions, less worry about grid outages and broken water mains and all of those big-city mega-infrastructure products, quiet, etc.

The not-so-good news: the region can feel lawless, any utility issues are probably things you're going to have to handle, and 911-style help may take too long to respond, etc.

A friend of a friend bought a place far enough out to be beyond rural and into country. They were able to buy an entire valley. They also needed an entire valley to collect enough water for their one house. Peace, quiet, and watch out for mountain lions, bears, and wildfires. Oh my.

It is all a balancing act.

Even before I bought this tiny house, I knew I might want to move to land that I'd own. I simply didn't have the money at the time, so, own the house and rent the land. The park management means I miss the autonomy I enjoyed in my previous house. That house was 868 square feet in a neighborhood of about 200 houses. That autonomy was restricted by the homeowners association. HOAs try to enforce standards, sometimes within reason, sometimes by whim. 

My current dream is to move to land I own. It is a dream. I'm 66, so maybe I should stay closer to civilization. Or, I'm 66, so if not now, then when? If it has a house, great. Houses are so variable that I won't list those scenarios. If it doesn't have a house, I'd consider moving this house there, simply because I'm familiar with it. Recently, I found a house I can't afford, but it is similar to mine, newer, on five acres of gentrified farmland, less than ten miles from doctors and such, - and only within reach with luck and cashing out everything I own. As I said, a dream - for now.

There is an infinity of scenarios. My intent was not to list them but to point out that tiny house living is about more than the house. I don't comment on my land situation because it is unique, especially as the entire park is for sale and may experience a 30% rent increase. Eep. Your experience will be different.

Also, keep in mind other tiny house site situations. The RV and van life movements are valid and highly mobile (as I stare at a neighbor's permanently affixed fifth wheel). Living aboard a boat is similar, and has its variations of power versus sail, mooring versus moving, and topics I'm sure they consider vital that I haven't conceived.

One advantage tiny house living has that makes it worth trying is that it is inherently more transitory than a conventional house. A conventional house is affixed to the location. Life that way implicitly assumes permanence. There's an emphasis on it being the biggest investment most people make. That sentiment works for most people. For some of the rest of us, tiny house living can be about this location, then that location, then how about that other location. Location, location, location doesn't have to mean keeping the same address.