{"id":49506,"date":"2020-12-26T05:00:00","date_gmt":"2020-12-26T12:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/are-tiny-homes-an-affordable-housing-solution\/"},"modified":"2020-12-26T12:00:00","modified_gmt":"2020-12-26T12:00:00","slug":"are-tiny-homes-an-affordable-housing-solution","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/are-tiny-homes-an-affordable-housing-solution\/","title":{"rendered":"Are tiny homes an affordable housing solution?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\"Sandra
Sandra Brooks holds her dog, Zoe, as she works on her computer in her tiny home at Escalante Village. Tiny homes come with many perks, like mobility and fewer responsibilities, Brooks said. But regulations, affordability and the learning curve of compact living can be challenges for some.<\/span>Jerry McBride\/Durango Herald<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

For Sandra Brooks, living in a tiny home was an easy, affordable way to spend her retirement.<\/p>\n

\u201cI wanted a place I felt I could live the rest of my life,\u201d said Brooks, a resident at Escalante Village in Durango. \u201cI feel like I could live here and be older and that people would kind of watch out for me.\u201d<\/p>\n

But tiny home living is easier said than done, especially for the new tiny home owner or residential community developer.<\/p>\n

Tiny homes, typically defined as 100- to 400-square-foot homes, have a reputation as trendy housing that offers more mobility, an environmentally friendly lifestyle and an affordable housing solution.<\/p>\n

Moving into the compact homes, however, means navigating government regulations, financing challenges, unexpected costs, and overcoming misconceptions and learning curves, La Plata County residents and developers said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe misconceptions about them are that they are just cute and that this is a fad that is going away,\u201d Brooks said. \u201cI don\u2019t believe that.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Sandra
Sandra Brooks empties her dishwasher last week in her tiny home at Escalante Village. One challenge for Brooks: finding a permanent community for her tiny home in Colorado, she said.<\/span>Jerry McBride\/Durango Herald<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Sandra
Sandra Brooks&#x2019; dog, Zoe, climbs out of her bed underneath the dishwasher in their tiny home. Interested tiny home residents should be prepared: They really are small.<\/span>Jerry McBride\/Durango Herald<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

As a new tiny home owner in 2019, she quickly learned about driving with propane tanks in the home, sewer hookups and adding skirting to the home\u2019s base.<\/p>\n

For those who want to live in a community, there aren\u2019t many tiny home developments to choose from in Colorado, she said. Escalante Village was touted as one of Colorado\u2019s first tiny home developments<\/a> when it was approved in 2018.<\/p>\n

\u201cHere, we\u2019re a tourist attraction,\u201d Brooks said, referring to Escalante Village. \u201cOne person asked me, \u2018Do you have a bathroom in your tiny home?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Financing can be an initial barrier for both developers and residents.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are some banks that don\u2019t want to talk to anybody where the word \u2018tiny homes\u2019 comes in. That includes the developer like me,\u201d said Bob Lieb, owner of Escalante Village.<\/p>\n

\"Escalante
Escalante Village in Durango was touted as Colorado&#x2019;s first tiny home community in 2018. La Plata County approved a second community in September, which will open next summer.<\/span>Jerry McBride\/Durango Herald<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

For developers in Durango and La Plata County, the zoning and planning approval processes can be expensive and take more than a year to complete.<\/p>\n

In Durango, the city\u2019s construction oversight was intense enough to deter two potential partners, Lieb said.<\/p>\n

Connecting to water, sewer and electricity systems is expensive and can outweigh the cost savings of a tiny home, said Chris Hall, owner of Hermosa Properties north of Durango. Hall plans to open a 22-space tiny and manufactured home community next summer.<\/p>\n

\u201cCities, towns and the county should spend some time developing the standards so there isn\u2019t a lot of guesswork, so they know what to expect,\u201d Lieb said. \u201cI think if people know what to expect \u2026 that\u2019ll give people some ideas for what they can or cannot do.\u201d<\/p>\n

When Hall\u2019s development gained county approval in the fall<\/a>, he and others expressed enthusiasm about the idea in part because the community would add affordable housing options for homeowners.<\/p>\n

\"Sandra
Sandra Brooks swings open a picture frame that reveals storage in her tiny home at Escalante Village. Her home is custom-built, which increased both the price and ease of designing her home.<\/span>Jerry McBride\/Durango Herald<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

But tiny homes can be more expensive than people think.<\/p>\n

\u201cA lot of people are surprised they (tiny homes) cost as much as they do,\u201d Lieb said. \u201cSome people think a tiny home should only cost like $10,000. It\u2019s sticker shock when they find out they cost a lot more.\u201d<\/p>\n

If a home is self-made with few extra amenities, it can cost as little as $10,000. The average cost is between $30,000 and $60,000.<\/p>\n

But homes that are ready to go and RV-certified typically cost around $70,000 to $80,000, Lieb said. Brooks\u2019 custom-built home cost about $100,000, she said.<\/p>\n

In a county where homes often cost $500,000 or higher, tiny homes remain an attainable option, Hall said. The average home value in La Plata County is about $432,000, according to Zillow.<\/p>\n

In La Plata County, there are not enough affordable rental units for households in extremely low, very low or low-income brackets, according to the Colorado Department of Local Affairs<\/a>. The federal government says housing is \u201caffordable\u201d when a household spends 30% or less of its gross income on housing costs.<\/p>\n

\"The
The bathroom that includes shower and a washing\/drying machine in Sandra Brooks&#x2019; tiny home in Escalante Village. Hooking up to sewer and other utilities can be a costly barrier for tiny home owners in some areas.<\/span>Jerry McBride\/Durango Herald<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

About a third of moderate-income renters and homeowners are cost-burdened, which means they spend more than 50% of their income on housing payments.<\/p>\n

The limited housing stock is experiencing rising prices<\/a> while trying to meet population growth expected over the next decade. Urban flight to rural areas during the coronavirus pandemic seems to be adding to the challenge.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know that it\u2019s a solution to affordable housing any more than a studio apartment is a solution to affordable housing,\u201d Hall said. \u201cThey\u2019re expensive, and you get what you pay for.\u201d<\/p>\n

While tiny home residents and developers face barriers setting up their compact living spaces, the end result is worth it, they said.<\/p>\n

Brooks said she is \u201c100%\u201d happy with her decision to live in a tiny home.<\/p>\n

\u201cSomeone who is looking for a tiny home needs to think about why they want one,\u201d Brooks said. \u201cThey\u2019re fun, they\u2019re affordable, they have a smaller footprint. But they\u2019re also very small.\u201d<\/p>\n

smullane@durangoherald.com<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

\"The
The loft bedroom in Sandra Brooks&#x2019; tiny home at Escalante Village.<\/span>Jerry McBride\/Durango Herald<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

there are plenty of barriers, but also rewards<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":49507,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[1020,507,13,28,453,475,1512,445],"naviga_topic":[],"class_list":["post-49506","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-durango-city-council","tag-durango-city-officials","tag-frontpage-lead","tag-headlines","tag-housing-and-urban-planning","tag-la-plata-county-colorado","tag-la-plata-county-government","tag-newsletter-lead"],"acf":[],"author_name":"dh_admin","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49506","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=49506"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49506\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/49507"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=49506"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=49506"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=49506"},{"taxonomy":"naviga_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/naviga_topic?post=49506"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}