BUYING a house is increasingly out of reach for millions of Americans.
Soaring house prices and rising living expenses means life is increasingly expensive and bills harder to pay.
Tiny home owner Jacqueline Urick says she saves money on bills living in her small house[/caption]
Realtor.com’s head of Organic Growth Jacqueline Urick first bought her tiny home in March 2023[/caption]
Realtor.com’s head of Organic Growth Jacqueline Urick spent $110,000 on home renovations[/caption]
Real estate prices are at all-time highs, a trend that worsened during the pandemic.
But Jacqueline Urick may have found a way around the problem, after she bought a tiny home in March 2023 for just $35,000.
The head of Organic Growth at Realtor.com told the real estate platform that she loves living in her 540-square-foot-home in Sturtevant, Wisconsin with her beloved dog, Spice.
The house is one of a kind.
The Quonset hut was originally built as a storage unit for the military during World War II.
Today, only a handful of huts remain and have been moved to the 2800 block of 97th Street, where they were converted to residential housing.
Urick was first intrigued by the house, which is a two-bedroom, one-bath perched on a tenth of an acre.
At first she was worried, given the house needed a lot of work but decided to make the purchase as she travels for work and says she did not need “a lot of space.
“My dad really did not want me to buy this house,” she told Realtor.com. “But as I looked at other more traditional homes in the area, I kept coming back to it.”
Urick told the website that there are a lot of benefits living in a tiny home, including that it does not take much effort to clean or maintain.
She also admitted that she is saving a lot of money on bills and the small space has prevented her from buying unnecessary items.
“It’s not a lot of space to heat and cool, so the utilities are very reasonable,” Urick said.
“I definitely have stopped shopping for home-related things,” she said. “I run into many ‘Oooh, I like this, but I have nowhere to put it’ situations.”
CREATIVE ENTERTAINING
However, Urick does admit entertaining guests has been a challenge.
“More than three people inside, it starts to feel a little claustrophobic,” she said.
“It’s great to have one person over for dinner or lunch. But if I’m entertaining, we have to go outside.”
In terms of price, Urick said she spent just $35,000 on her house which is less than a car.
However, she warned that she faced some challenges financing the home, and would have preferred to pay upfront.
COSTLY RENOVATIONS
She did not realize that most lenders made you wait six months before taking out a home equity loan for renovations and was shocked by the cost.
She spent about $110,000 on renovations for her tiny home including foundation work ($35,000), exterior ($25,000), plumbing ($13,000), electrical ($13,000) and acrylic kitchen cabinets ($20,000).
“I paid cash for this home,” she says. “It’s not as easy to finance a nontraditional home.
“But if I had to do it over, I would have taken out a loan in order to have the cash to renovate it right away.”
Realtor.com’s chief economist Danielle Hale says buying a tiny home can be an affordable option for first home buyers[/caption]
FIRST HOME BUYER TIPS
Realtor.com chief economist Danielle Hale told The U.S. Sun that a tiny home can be an economic way for first home buyers to save money.
However, she said homeowners needed to consider whether a tiny home would work in the long term given the size.
A tiny home may have a low enough cost to enable a first timer to buy a home who otherwise would not be able to
Danielle Hale
“Whether a tiny home really is a sustainable solution is going to depend on each buyer’s need and their ability to make a tiny space work for them.”
Reducing the square footage of a property is a good way for first home buyers to save money, according to Hale.
“Square footage is one of the things that makes a home valuable, so going with a smaller square footage house is usually a good way to cut back on the cost for any home buyer, and a strategy often employed by first-time home buyers looking for a way to get their foot in the door,” Hale said.
Hale also noted that first home buyers should think hard about the location of their home.
“Is the home in an area where you want to be that is convenient to all of your needs whether that’s work, school, shopping, or other services?” Hale said.
“Another important consideration when buying any home is how long you expect to be able to live in it.”
EMBRACING THE TINY LIFE
Urick said she has embraced tiny-house living, but does not see herself living here permanently.
However, she has no near-term plans to move.
“Overall, I think it’s great that people have so many options when it comes to housing that fits their values and lifestyle,” she said.
“I don’t have anything against people who have large homes. A large home is just too much for me to maintain.
“The property taxes and upkeep is low-cost, and there is some peace of mind in knowing I have this place to fall back on no matter what,” she said.
WHAT IS A QUONSET HUT
A Quonset Hut is an easily recognizable architectural form
Realtor.com’s head of Organic Growth Jacqueline Urick said she has no plans to move out of her tiny home[/caption]
