Tiny house as a first home solution for my son?

[MossRoad]

Surprised they bothered with a warrant. Less trouble to just send an inflated tax assessment with a picture of "unnamed/unpermitted" structure, and then wait for the property owner to show up and dispute the assessment.

Ouch!

 

[MossRoad]

Because they wanted to flex their muscle.

No. Because the neighbor built without a permit. We all have to live by the same rules. Neighbor knew the rules. Broke them anyway. 100% his fault.

 

[2manyrocks]

You are entitled to your opinion.

 

[3Ts]

If you have enough land to do it I would just proceed with an RV or small trailer as long as you can keep it from being seen from the road.
Also install a gate and no trespassing signs so county can't come on your property.

Doesn't work here. There was a problem with the tax appraisers coming onto camp property when little kids were in camp. It was a cloistered camp. Just imagine; unknown adults coming onto a camp with kids that's a mile from the road. Big issue and complaint to the county government. The camp offered to show them around anytime kids were not there, offer was rejected. Their claim was they can go anywhere anytime, and seems to be upheld by the judge who said that what they did was inappropriate but was within the law.

 

[newbury]

OP -
Your 36x36 barn build is obviously to small.
I've lived and worked for months, maybe years, in small trailers and one of the main problems was inclement weather.
Cold, rain, heat, snow, whatever. As soon as I stepped outside I had to deal with it.
All of these trailers were US Military.
A lot of that time was spent in Texas and Georgia. But several of the best months were spent in Germany.
There the command set trailers up in "Fest Tents", like beer tents at Oktoberfest.

That's partially why I suggested putting a structure inside a pole barn. That gives you space to step out of the "living area" and not have to fight the weather.

If you could increase the size of your barn you could give them a living space for a few years and then recover it when they move out.

You could even park a trailer inside the barn instead of building interior walls.

Now except for some of us over 70 there are very few on here that couldn't use more workshop space.

Now I understand the need for noise control is paramount but that might be solved by hanging a wall of noise absorbing foam board.

 

[Jstpssng]

If your "tiny home" comes in on a trailer it can leave on a trailer. They do it here just like a mobile home.

 

[tradosaurus]

Doesn't work here. There was a problem with the tax appraisers coming onto camp property when little kids were in camp. It was a cloistered camp. Just imagine; unknown adults coming onto a camp with kids that's a mile from the road. Big issue and complaint to the county government. The camp offered to show them around anytime kids were not there, offer was rejected. Their claim was they can go anywhere anytime, and seems to be upheld by the judge who said that what they did was inappropriate but was within the law.

Where in East Texas are you located? I'm 30 miles west of Texarkana in a rural community.
I'm surprised that tax appraiser wouldn't need a court order to come on to private property with No Trespassing signs posted.

 

[2manyrocks]

They probably can't come onto the private property of a home without trespassing when the property is marked no trespassing and no consent is given to entry. But a judge is going to give them a warrant if they ask for one, and then they can enforce access with a couple of armed deputies.

A camp might be viewed as open to the public enough that no warrant was required. The owner can't have much of an expectation of privacy with a bunch of other people's children camping on their property.

 

[nyone]

I have a 1930s vintage 600sqft cottage on my property that I lived in while i was repairing my main house. It was the perfect size for one person..infact i loved living in it.

If i was to ever tell a younger version of my self anything about owning real estate it would be..buy a duplex in a area that you dont want to live to long, rent half of it and then buy your own house and rent the other half.

I bought a multi family at 26..but it's a place I do want to live.

 

[Sigarms]

In my opinion, it's probably best to let them do their thing, make their choices and figure out how to make it in life on their own.

If the son just graduated college, looking to get married and has a decent job, this is the best course of action IMO.

To me, there is a difference between building and subdividing on your land for an older parent for you to help keep track of and help take care of, but building and subdividing land for a child entering marriage, new career along with new possible family opens up a host of other possible future complications on something that was once your land.

Possible scenario... everything right now is honky dory. 2024 you give them a piece of land, they build on it and they're "next door"( 2 years from now). Lots can change in two years. Son finds out the girl is bat ***** crazy AND she has family that wants to live there as well. Son gets tired of the crap, moves out, and your stuck with a bat ***** family. Yes, I went extreme per my example, but never say never, particularly with younger "kids".

Sounds like the OP did a great job in raising his boy. I'm thinking with a decent job and a new wife, he should be able to figure things out for the next 5-10 years on his own.

 

[2manyrocks]

I agree that older parents tend to have settled lives. Younger people starting out tend to have to find their way sometimes meaning multiple job changes and sometimes multiple girlfriends/boyfriends.

Some friends have a daughter who graduated college about 4 years ago and immediately got married. She has three children from the marriage. I thought she was living the dream life but found out last weekend that she moved back in with her parents after her husband had an affair. They divorced and her husband married the woman he was having the affair with. So she's basically raising three children on her own with help from her parents. Nice girl from a very solid family who didn't deserve any of this.

So...I get what Sigarms is saying about unexpected future complications.

 

[Sigarms]

So...I get what Sigarms is saying about unexpected future complications.

I love my in laws like they're my own parents. They raised a wonderful, bright woman IMO.

My wife went down the same boat in here early 20's after college. No kids though. She basically married a engineer control freak who didn't think with his brain when it came to women. She basically left him everything just to get out of the marriage AFTER trying to make it work multiple times. Luckily my wife has a brain and a good job at the time as well. She did however live with her parents for a short time after the divorce to figure out what she wanted to do (guy was such a jerk, he wanted to return the puppy they got together because he didn't have time to raise it, wife kept her, turned out to be a GREAT dog that actually helped my future wife determine I wasn't to bad of a guy to keep around 900 miles away from her "old life" LOL).

The added reality is I got married when I knew I was ready, in my late 30's. There is no doubt in my mind that my wife and I would NOT have been compatible when I was in my 20's.

On a side note, from others experiences over the years I've lived, I've found that people who leave a spouse and marry the person they're having the affair with generally get bit hard from karma.

 

[3Ts]

Where in East Texas are you located? I'm 30 miles west of Texarkana in a rural community.
I'm surprised that tax appraiser wouldn't need a court order to come on to private property with No Trespassing signs posted.

Houston County

 

[3Ts]

Possible scenario... everything right now is honky dory. 2024 you give them a piece of land, they build on it and they're "next door"( 2 years from now). Lots can change in two years. Son finds out the girl is bat ***** crazy AND she has family that wants to live there as well. Son gets tired of the crap, moves out, and your stuck with a bat ***** family. Yes, I went extreme per my example, but never say never, particularly with younger "kids".

Not just "possible", I have seen a scenario similar to this happen more than once in less than 10 years.

 

[tradosaurus]

If the son just graduated college, looking to get married and has a decent job, this is the best course of action IMO.

To me, there is a difference between building and subdividing on your land for an older parent for you to help keep track of and help take care of, but building and subdividing land for a child entering marriage, new career along with new possible family opens up a host of other possible future complications on something that was once your land.

Possible scenario... everything right now is honky dory. 2024 you give them a piece of land, they build on it and they're "next door"( 2 years from now). Lots can change in two years. Son finds out the girl is bat ***** crazy AND she has family that wants to live there as well. Son gets tired of the crap, moves out, and your stuck with a bat ***** family. Yes, I went extreme per my example, but never say never, particularly with younger "kids".

Sounds like the OP did a great job in raising his boy. I'm thinking with a decent job and a new wife, he should be able to figure things out for the next 5-10 years on his own.

Wow. Good point.
Maybe best to rent them a plot of land so just in case. Personally I would never have want to live within 3 hours of my in-laws.

 

[tradosaurus]

Houston County

You are well south of me but I forget sometimes how big Texas is.

 

[dieselcrawler]

Wow. Good point.
Maybe best to rent them a plot of land so just in case. Personally I would never have want to live within 3 hours of my in-laws.

Hahaha... we just moved 3 hours away from our families, its my in laws that will be missed... *grin* The move was due in part because neither set of family being willing to negotiate selling us ground to build on... but I get along with my wife's family better than my own.

 

[MossRoad]

It's always interesting to read about people that don't get along with their in-laws. And, likewise, their own blood relatives.

I think it goes to show that the old saying about blood being thicker than water does not apply. You either do or do not get along with a person, and that's that.

I came from a family with 6 other members. At any given time, I get along with 5 out of 6 of them. Similar with my neighbors. I've got about 10 of them within 100 yards. Only one do I not get along with, and that's because she's either drunk or on pain meds (her own admission), and even she has become more mellowed out in the past few years.

So if I can get along with about 80-90% of folks on any given day, I'm pretty satisfied.

 

[2manyrocks]

New wrinkle: I was surprised to learn the county we live in has a "no tiny homes" permitting policy in effect as of earlier this year. Traditional / permanent construction or HUD certified manufactured only.

I've read the county ordinances, and can't find where they have the authority to create building policy by commission decisions without actually making ordinances, so I suspect it's just the county commission trying to give itself some leeway to figure out the tiny home issue.

Talked to the building permit office to try and clarify what authority the rule is based on. No answer offered, deferred to the county administrator. I also asked about permitting for a travel trailer in a semi-permanent RV type setup (dedicated electrical and septic hookup) on our property: Was told they "make exceptions" for immediate family / non-rental arrangements.

Hmm. County is growing, and suddenly we seem to have a lot more rules. Rules that can't be found in the form of ordinances. Gonna be interesting.

Thanks, all, for the continued input. Lots of useful comments and considerations offered.

So they are telling you can't permit a tiny home, but can't point to the source of the rule and are unwilling to explain it. IMPO, that's arbitrary and capricious. They are supposed to have a reasonable basis for imposing a limitation on your use of your property. You could go apply for the permit. Get turned down. Ask for them to show you the rule and to explain it. If there isn't any written rule or they don't have a reasonable basis for the rule if it actually exists as opposed to someone making it up without any actual authority ..hire a lawyer if you really want a tiny house.

However.......

30 year mortgage hit 6.7 percent in the past few days. I understand that's the highest since 2008. Powell said the Fed plans to add 1 to 1.25% to the fed funds rate by year end. Powell also said their forecast is that the rate will be "restrictive" through next year. It remains to be seen if real estate prices will continue to be elevated in the face of these planned interest rate increases to bring inflation back down to their 2% target. It looks like a particularly challenging time in which to make any long term decisions about real estate.

 

[MossRoad]

Average price of a tiny house is less than the average price of a new vehicle.