
Though I’ve made a decision to continue renting for a while, I continue to research all of my future home options. To back track a bit, a couple reasons purchasing a home has been put on hold: 1.) I’m not sure where I want to live. After camping around the town of Ojai last weekend and bicycling around the small town, my husband and I fell in love with the area all over again. But we’re just not ready to take the plunge and live in a city of under 10,000 people. 2.) Our down payment savings fund is a bit down. We haven’t been able to save as much as we had hoped for a down payment at this point in time. Though I’m not discouraged, we are still looking at home ownership as our next big financial goal. I still need to pay off my crummy line of credit before we make this move, however and this gives me time to do so. 3.) We’d really like to purchase a home in a decent neighborhood or build our own eco-friendly one. The homes in our current neighborhood are within our price range or a little higher, but we really don’t like the area and don’t want to commit to living here another 5-10 years. Hence, renting a while longer may give us the opportunity to hunt down a nicer neighborhood or move out of the area all together.
So, here are just a few more eco-friendly, small kit-home plans for your (and my) enjoyment:
- Modern-Shed: A while back I looked into the possibility of living in a Tuff-Shed as a means to purchasing land and living off it inexpensively until we could build our dream home. Modern-Shed could be just another alternative to our plan (or the entire plan itself!). What’s even more exciting, they’re located in Los Angeles. Their models range from small office sized containers to full living quarters that are just under 650 sq. ft. Pricing is quite reasonable starting at $11,200 up to $81,000 for the larger model.
- Eco-Cottages: Most of the content on their site tout these homes as great second homes or vacation homes. However, I don’t see why they couldn’t function as a full time residence, except for the smaller square feet which many people would find too cramped. I especially like their slide show showing illustrations of all their models. Too bad they aren’t actual cottage photos. Price ranges from $37,000 to $69,000.
Perhaps putting off my dream of owning my own little house in the valley isn’t such a bad idea. Every week I find another amazing prefab, ecofriendly house that I love!
Worldly Rent to Own Quick Statistics:
- United States: US ownership is just under 65% versus renting at 21% (per BestPlaces.net). I’m going to assume the missing percent are kids living with parents? Or alternative living arrangements like living in an RV, a house boat, or being an urban nomad.
- Los Angeles: home ownership is at 37% where as renting is at 59% (not surprising!)
- Based on NationMaster statistics, many Europeans own their homes versus rent averaging out to about 63%. (I was surprised by this one. I was under the impression many people rented.)
Mini-Yakezie rolled into one:
- 20’s Money with Black Swans Circling. Not the most uplifting post, but perhaps on target. I’m a “glass is half full” type of gal, so I look at things with a silver lining. The euro tanking means planning a trip to Europe may be on the horizon, the Gulf oil spill may mean our government may finally start moving our economy away from oil (or we could begin doing this ourselves, ride your bike!). You get my point!
- Deliver Away Debt with Focus on the Debt Snowball. A great strategy to pay off debt. Remember my crummy line of credit? I’m using this theory to get the stinker paid off!
- Out of Debt with Why My Credit Score is Important to Me. My score is important to me, so I understand Mrs. Accountability and her quest for a better score, whether it’s for refinancing purposes or first-time buyer purposes, the lower the APR the more you save on finance charges!
10 Comments
I suspect that one day, you’ll live in an unconventional cool home and one that is featured in one of those home or architectural magazines!
I almost moved to Ojai with a boy {I mean man}. 🙂 It is a very nice comfy kick back place. Then there was a time I was trying to drive during that storm that blocked off getting up to Santa Barbara {landslide blocked freeway}. Then we tried to take another route… And were blocked off getting to Ojai {water rushing at mass speeds over the roads}. Although, it doesn’t happen often… could be an issue. 😉
Love the eco-cottage!
@Money Funk – Yikes! I can see getting trapped since there are really only two highways in and out of Ojai. Luckily, it doesn’t rain torrentially very often. 🙂
Once I had enough money saved, it took me over 6 months to find the perfect house in the perfect location, to match your income earnings so we fit in perfectly…
It would have taken me longer, but my wife was getting tired of looking, so that expedited the process a bit.
I couldn’t imagine how long it would have taken me considering the options you are looking at!!! All seem cool too, good luck, take you time and enjoy the process 🙂
.-= Money Reasons´s last blog ..Red Box Review =-.
@Money Reasons – Thanks for sharing your story. I understand how it could take a while while picking the right house. And yes, the more I find eco-friendly kit/prefab homes, the more I’m glad I’m not quite ready yet!
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$80,000+ is an awful lot for a tuff shed home. I can buy a regular home at just over 1000 sf for E40,000 these days.
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