Ready? Set? Now GO! (Tiny of course.....)

The first step in living your tiny house dream is the dream itself….visualizing what you will need, and what you will want, and imaging all the benefits that a simpler lifestyle will bring.

The second step along your journey will involve planning and asking yourself a lot of questions. Where will you park or build it?  What will it look like? How will you fit all your stuff into it?

Eventually, however, you’ll have to DO something and I think this is where a lot of tiny house enthusiasts get discouraged.  Perhaps they / you think that if you don’t have all the answers for every question you have…..you cannot begin building?  Maybe it’s lack of money that is getting in your way.  Maybe you don’t have the tools, or the expertise to build your own home.

Even if all of the above apply, in order to fulfill your tiny house dream, there will come a time to push yourself beyond your comfort zone and blaze that wonderful trail towards financial independence.  And just think…..someday you will fondly remember the day you finally decided to embrace your inner child, and be wildly optimistic, and move forward despite your trepidations.  

OK…..Ready? All Set?

 

 

My Trailer.....ready and waiting for the build to start!

 

 I started my Tiny House journey just a few months ago and I would have never imagined how far my vision would take me in such a short time.  Now, that’s not to say that I haven’t hit a few bumps along the way, but my 24 foot trailer is paid for and in my driveway, the lumber is being delivered in a couple of weeks, I have all my appliances and most of the interior materials stacked around the house and garage, and my tiny house (aka “My Empty Nest”) should be dried in before the infamous Oregon Rains arrive. 

Like many of you, I live paycheck to paycheck and I have debt.  I don’t have any savings, and I don’t own a home.  I don’t have a retirement account, and things like new tires, or car repairs, require careful planning.  So, to put it mildly, the financial concept of me building a tiny house is just plain crazy.  But, when I stumbled onto the concept of gaining sponsors for my build, it all clicked, and it was just the kick start I needed to get into gear. 

So, even though I didn’t start with any money, I was able to move forward….
…..slowly…but forward nonetheless.

 Also, like many of you, I didn’t know a lot about how to build a tiny house.  I am familiar with the concepts and practices behind “normal” residential construction, but a tiny house is very different.  So, I reached out via facebook, and have done hundreds of hours of internet research, and I attend monthly tiny house networking events.  Now, I know the difference between a deck-over and a drop-axle trailer.  I know the advantages and disadvantages of tiny houses with lofts, and those without.  I have met a few movers and shakers in the tiny house world, and have a network of supportive and knowledgeable people.  

I certainly don’t know it all, but I now know a lot more than I did when I started!
  

 

 

Selecting upholstery fabric for my tiny, custom, living room furniture.  So many choices!!

The most fun part of all of this, however, has been “putting pencil to graph paper” and sketching my design.  I didn’t start with a clear vision but today I have one.  I have stacks and stacks of paper in my tiny holder folder where I keep all the copies of the designs I drew, and re-drew.  I listed, beside each design idea, the things I liked best; as well as those attributes that the floorplan was lacking. (no wall space, not enough windows, too many hallways)  And speaking of windows, I have a list of the windows I have collected so far with their dimensions. I then numbered them, and incorporated them into my designs, cross referencing their numbers so I know which ones I have left over.  (Extra windows?  Who’d thunk?) I also have another list with the appliance, loft, décor, and furniture dimensions. I then check, and re-check, and then triple check; to make sure they will all fit where I want them to.  (and just discovered that I have to move my kitchen window up, as well as my loft, to accommodate my vintage drainboard-style kitchen sink……sigh…..)

I didn’t have money, but I had time, which I invested in researching sponsors.

I didn’t know how to build my tiny house, but my ideas really started gaining momentum when I reached out to others.

I didn’t have a clear design vision, but I started with a pencil and a piece of paper and now it’s gettin’ REAL!!
 

 

 

Ta Da!  My color scheme is finally finished!

If you feel like you’re stuck in the planning stages, if you’re not able to easily answer all of the questions you have for yourself, and if you’re discouraged by seeing others move forward while you’re still visualizing…..it’s time to shake off the dust and take an active step (even if only a small one) in the right direction.

 

 Ready? 
Set? 
Now GO!!!!

My Tiny 401K

Financing a tiny house on wheels is a challenge.  (Yeah.  I know…..an understatement if there ever was one.)  Since they do not qualify for “traditional” mortgages, enthusiasts are forced to creatively finance their downsizing dreams.  Some of them save money the old fashioned way, a bit here and a bit there until the pile is large enough to do something with.  Some of us get creative and sell things on cragslist or ebay and barter for materials and labor that we’ll need.  (which is actually a great way to do it since you’re accomplishing your downsizing goals AND making money for your build!)

I, however, recently discovered that my tiny house qualifies for a hardship loan from my 401K.  Yes, I actually took money out of my TINY (and I mean TINY) 401K to pay for my tiny house trailer.

 

Taking a final inventory!

Before I tell you more about how to do this let me say that I do not necessarily recommend this and I am NOT a financial planner and nor can I give you sound advice for what to do with your retirement funds.  With that being said, however, I know that drastically reducing my cost of living by living in a tiny house will BETTER prepare me for retirement than my 401K savings will, at this point in my career and life.  I guess you could call it taking a short term “hit” in pursuit of a longer term goal.  And also, I was only employed at the company for just over a year so I didn’t sacrifice any vested balance or profit sharing.

A fun side project, making my tiny house FURNITURE!

 

So, how did I do it?

1)      Research – I started by doing lots of research. Your employer also likely has a website devoted to the management of their 401K plan.  And while every plan is different, all of them are governed by the IRS and subject to audit.  Look under “Withdrawals” for one under the heading of “Hardship” and read the details associated with YOUR employers criteria.

2)      Understand the Criteria – In a nutshell, a hardship withdrawal can only be requested after all other financing sources have been exhausted and in pursuit of (or to preserve) a primary residence ONLY.  There may be other restrictions but, again, the plan is managed by the IRS so they’ll be spelled out pretty clearly.

3)      Be Creative – While CREATIVITY and IRS are not typically two words that go together, neither do TINY and HOUSE under traditional conventions.  Understand that although the person who will be reviewing your application has not likely seen or heard of a tiny house, it does not diminish your tiny houses’ function as your primary residence.  Don’t, then, diminish your own intentions.  Be prepared to clarify for them, with conviction, “Yes, this withdrawal is for a down payment on my primary residence.” 

4)      Document – An application will require documents in support of your plan.  My application included the floor plan for my tiny house, my budget, and a signed contract (proforma invoice) from the trailer manufacturer stating that it cost MORE than my tiny 401K balance.  I also wrote a letter explaining my situation. (Empty Nester)

Within just a few days of submitting my application, my employer’s CFO approved the application and I received a check in the mail.  I then called my trailer guy, who delivered it and I handed the money to him.  (plus a little more)

My trailer is my home's foundation and the first step in building my tiny house.   While there may be naysayers who question exactly when and for how long I will reside in my home that is only slightly larger than their closets, I have not swayed from my original intent.

My Empty Nest will look a LOT like this beauty in Nashville.

Yes, this is a home, my home, my tiny home, my only home, and my dream come true…..  

 

 

 

 

It All Started With A Trailer.....

Every Tiny House build starts with a dream, and then hopefully turns into plans, and then eventually evolves into ACTION.   And while I had originally thought that My Empty Nest build would take 18 – 24 months, things are going along so well at this point that it should be done by Spring.

And it all started with a trailer….

 In order to earn money for my tiny house build I took on another project, a 1955 Cardinal camper trailer.  A friend gave her to me for some work I did, and my plan was to refurbish her basic shell (only) and re-sell her ASAP. I named her Dandy Lion.  Like most vintage trailers, she needed a LOT of work and that included replacing all of the existing brake light fixtures and wiring.

Just over a year ago I refurbished a 1964 Scotsman trailer for my own Glamping use, so I started Dandy Lion with labor resources already listed in my little black book. (my  iPhone)
So, with the goal of re-wiring Dandy Lion in mind I called “Trailer Guy” (because I didn’t have his name, only a moniker in my phone) and the conversation went like this…

“Hello?”

“Hey.  This is Michelle.  You helped me with my vintage trailer a little over a year ago and I was wondering if you’re interested or available to help me with wiring up another vintage trailer.  Do you remember me?”

“No.”

“Oh….well……(long awkward pause)…can you help?”

“I don’t really do trailer wiring.” He replied.

Confused, I asked, “What do you do?”  (Because, after all, he was “Trailer Guy” in my phone!?)

“I build Tiny House trailers.” 

“No way!?  Well, I need one of those too.  Do you have any?” I asked.

“That depends.  What size to you need?  I have a 24 footer that just came back that I need to sell right away.”

It was one of those moments in life when everything clicked, and even though I didn’t have the money at the time, I knew this was an opportunity I could not pass up.  (normal lead time in Portland Oregon for a tiny house trailer is 8 – 10 weeks)  And besides, I couldn’t really afford a new one and the one he had was damaged during shipment.  So, he told me that the price for this trailer would be much lower than a new one.

As it turns out, my floor plan requires a 24 foot long trailer.  His, however, was a triple axel trailer so I went about re-working my plan to accommodate the longer fenders.

New floor plan?  Check!

 

The trailer he had was also built for a floor plan that fit between the wheel wells.  Mine didn’t.

Outriggers added?  Check!

In the process of adding the outriggers he repaired the transit damage but also removed some of the thread rods that I would need to hold the house to the trailer.

Welder scheduled to add the thread rods back on?  Check!

I don’t know exactly how the Trailer Guy ended up on my phone.  I was probably doing some internet research at one point and put it there, with the intention of calling him later.  

What I do know is that there are times when the universe delivers what we “put out there”.

What I also know is that just taking one step, making one phone call, taking one small risk, is often well worth the effort and….sometimes……it all pays off even better than you ever imagined.