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tiny home

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Make a fresh start – find a new life with Landbuddy 2.0

Have your circumstances changed recently? Have you realised you’re no longer tied to an office, or even a city? Has your boss agreed you can work from anywhere? Or are you contemplating a new life without a steady salary?

Millions across the country are thinking the same thing – what happens next?

Moving to a piece of land somewhere, living in a tiny home or an RV, might be the right answer. Cut your costs, enjoy clean air, end the commute, anywhere with a broadband signal. City living, mass transit, bars, clubs, offices just got old.

RENT LAND HERE

Landbuddy.com is a match-making service. We help unite the global community of people who love the land, who live off the grid, or are thinking of doing so, who own land & want to share it so it’s used and enjoyed by more people.

We serve particularly those who want to earn a living from the land.

We offer a seamless environment for owners and renter to come to an agreement; we act as a clearing house for all the services needed for improving and living on the land. and a place where the community can share ideas and support each other and itself.

If you are a land owner you can go here and offer your land for rent. It might be for farming, or camping, or making art, or mending fishing nets – or living off the grid. If you own land that is up to you to settle with the people who contact you – and it depends what you want your land to be used for.

If you are a seeker after off-grid land you can go here to register and search our database.

If you just want to help, or find others to move in with, or find a more informal deal, go to our old

Landbuddy service which already has over 1000 postings from people who are looking to create new off-grid communities or offering land where communities can form.

If you just want to help, or find others to move in with, or find a more informal deal, go to our old Landbuddy page which already has 1000 postings of people who are looking for others to create a new community or offering land for communities to form

you can buy and sell land on our free classifieds here.https:// Off-grid.net/classifieds

Here is a quick guide: https://landbuddy.sharetribe.com/en/infos/how_to_use

Explore New LandBuddy Go To Old LandBuddy

If renting is not your thing, you can buy and sell land on our free classifieds here.

Here is a quick guide:

https://landbuddy.sharetribe.com/en/infos/how_to_use

– please check out our new Landing Page and let us know what you think of it.

You can register and offer your land for rent to like-minded folks in just a few minutes – GO HERE.

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Artist impression of Mantis RV
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Ultimate RV

The Taxa range of RVs are specificaly designed for off-gridders

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It doesn’t feel like a sacrifice


After finishing school, Jocelyn and Jarvis had $96,000 of debt from student loans, credit cards, and buying a small rural property. This is the story of how they paid it off in just 20 months, and then built themselves a debt-free custom tiny house for their family of 4.

After ignoring their finances for a long time, the couple finally faced reality one night when they sat down and added up all of their debts, and compared it to the revenue they had coming in.

When they realized how much they owed, they decided to make some drastic changes so they could pay it off and stop worrying about money. To start, they moved to a smaller apartment, changed jobs, shopped second-hand, froze a credit card in a block of ice, switched to using cash only, and made a budget that allowed them to chip away at their debt.

They had a white board with a list of all their debts, which they updated every time a payment was made so they’d continue to be motivated. After 20 months, they were completely debt-free. After that, they continued with their minimalist, frugal habits and were able to save up enough money to build themselves a custom tiny house on wheels.

They’ve been living in the tiny house for over two years now, with their two children, and plan to continue living in it for as long as they can. They are currently saving money to buy a small acreage where they will build a larger off-grid home and keep the tiny house as an income property.

We’re very inspired by this young family’s dedication to improve their lives by paying off their debt, by their awareness of their energy consumption, by their efforts to buy less and live a low waste lifestyle. They’re trying to make positive change in every aspect of their lives, and that’s not always an easy thing to do.

Thank you, Jocelyn and Jarvis, for sharing your story with us! And for the beautiful day we spent at your place! Thanks for watching! Mat & Danielle



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Fantasy cottage by the sea

Do you remember the fairy tale Hansel and Gretel? Well, if they had a house today, this would be it! Located next to the ocean in Vancouver BC, this 600 square foot cottage is so unique on the outside, the first thing you notice is the roof, high pitched and covered by custom made cedar shakes. Next are the windows and doors, all locally sourced and made.

Once you pass through the gorgeous front door, you are immediately struck with the contemporary look of the finish. It was designed to be functional as well as beautiful. The loft bedroom is spacious enough for a queen size bed, and the tall ceiling makes it easy to walk around without having to crouch.

Living in a small castle myself, I can appreciate the fact that people will stop and look at your house if you live in an unusual house, ours is a bit more private than this is though since it’s right on the water, passing boats have a magnificent view of this cute tiny house.

Watch and enjoy!



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Perfect little fixer-upper – $13,000

It’s an historic cottage in Wales, a listed building, that will make an ideal, tiny off-grid home for someone who is very handy with DIY.  The fixer-upper £10,000 UK pounds, about $13,000 at today’s rates, and despite its downtown location it truly has no Utility power or water. This is very rare in the UK, because the European Union has done its best to bring Utility power to every nook and cranny.

The one room building in Menai Bridge, with a view of the local Suspension Bridge, is about the size of three king-size beds. But that is plenty of room if you are clever – put your bed on a platform, and underneath it could be your well, either fed from a spring if you are lucky , or else from the roof into an underground tank you could dig easily,

Menai Bridge is a small town and community on the Isle of Anglesey in north-west Wales. It overlooks the Menai Strait and lies by the Menai Suspension Bridge, built in 1826 by Thomas Telford, just over the water from Bangor.  Guess the average price for a home in this delightful part of Wales?…..Over £230,000 ($300,000).

The white walled house actually has an electricity supply at the moment – a cable from a next door property – but that will be cut off upon sale.

No matter. You can run a few solar panels from the roof, feeding into a small car battery. A ground source heat pump will warm your cockles.  The listed building status might cause a few headaches however as the panels will have to be cunningly disguised, or placed temporarily each day.

 

 

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Community

Huge tiny home!

This has to be the biggest tiny home I’ve seen to date, it’s 37 feet long and 8.5 feet wide, 13.5 feet tall, it weighs in at 19,000 pounds. This is built on a goose-neck trailer base, with a triple axle setup (3000 pound each). It would take a larger truck to pull this.

This thing is a monster! A beautiful monster though, it doesn’t look for feel like a tiny home, I suspect this would be one that you would place somewhere and leave it instead of traveling around with it.

The bathroom is huge, it contains a full size tub & shower and even has a washer/dryer unit built in. I love the stairs, mainly because of the drawers built into each step, and the bottom step can accommodate a full length broom.

One area that is small is the closet, it is very small, there are built in shoe racks, but that’s the best you can say about that. I suppose if you live in a tiny home, even one this grand, you will still need to be a bit of a minimalist. :)

Watch the video and let me know what you think about this tiny home.
https://youtu.be/9FqHINIs4Rc



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Modern vs retro tiny home

From ultra modern to a retro 50s look, you can have just about any look and style you wish in a tiny house.

My first thought when I looked at this tiny house is it’s inside out, though it’s really not. The outside looks like you can attach many different things to it, very modular, not sure if in fact you could do that, I can see a planter box being held in a groove, one of many on the outside.

The inside of this tiny home has very clean lines, it has an uncluttered appearance, with most parts hidden behind walls & doors. I love the sideways Murphy bed, it gives me ideas as to what we can do with an extra full size mattress that is being stored behind the couch in the living room in the SkyCastle.

Watch and enjoy
https://youtu.be/UqxxFZ1JoVY

Then there is the 50s themed tiny home. With the shake shingles on the outside and the retro green color all the way through, this tiny house begs to have a housewife in pearls and a frilly apron baking cookies in the full size stove.

I LOVE the vintage refrigerator and the metal trim on the shelf & counter edges. The clever way the stairs are built into the tiny dining table. I do have to wonder how long the hydraulic pistons for the bed will last, how hard are they to replace and how hard are they to find? I’m guessing the builder has a line on those and as long as that builder is still in business, it shouldn’t be a problem.

Watch and enjoy
https://youtu.be/DX5LN5TV_ao

Which look do you prefer? The vintage retro look or the sleek, clean, ultra modern look?



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Australian tiny home on wheels in outback
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Australians realise they are overhousing themselves

Over a century ago, Australia’s 1911 census registered the average household as 4.5 persons, compared to the average today of 2.6, yet Australian homes have increased a staggering 40 per cent in size since 1984. The average family home has increased from 162 square metres to a whopping 227 square metres.  Just because they can.

Now news articles call on Australia’s middle classes to imagine owning a home under $100k, living completely unplugged, and moving it to a new location in retirement … being debt free in a flexible creative community, with an abundance of leisure time.

Its a big country with a tiny population and consequently, according to the WWF Living Planet Report of 2008, the Australian ecological footprint  on the earth is 2.8. That measure in layman’s terms is that they are using 2.8 times more resources than the earth can sustain.

As well as one of the largest building footprints in the world Australians send out an average of 18 tonnes of carbon per household.

This is all a backlash from the previous century where six or seven people packed in  a 2-bedroom house.

If those stats aren’t enough, Australians are also among the longest commuters in the world, above New York and LA.

Architecturally-designed eco homes, solar-panelled, moveable, self-sufficient, are the new status symbol. Time to relax and enjoy the family, or grow vegetables, instead of being gridlocked in a traffic jam.

It’s all possible. Most baby boomers have moved on from our gas guzzling cars of the 70s and 80s, to smaller, smarter economical ones.

Why wouldn’t they do that with homes when they are not sustainable?  Anyone scrolling through social media or Instagram lately, or watching lifestyle television shows, would be aware of eco or small homes popping up all over the place.

Some look like pods from Mars and others gypsy caravans on wheels, but the trend is being dictated by an awareness of a lower carbon footprint and a foreboding sense of our finite energy reserves.

I hazard a guess here, but nobody in Australia will be selling a 400-square metre home in 10 years’ time!

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Tiny home like a boat
Community

Build your tiny home like a boat

It’s a funny thing, I had always thought people who built tiny homes, especially the portable ones did build their homes like a boat, water tight, flexible, but I suppose I was wrong about that assumption.

Tiny home like a boat
There are different approaches to building, it’s like the old saying, everything looks like a nail if you are a hammer… so if you are a carpenter, you will build as a carpenter does, which is not the same way you would build for a marine environment.

Building a home that is also your vehicle, you need something that will flex without cracking or breaking, no nails were used, it is all mortised, glued and screwed. This tiny home built on a truck is a one of a kind, it’s filled with unique beautiful and useful items, I really love their stove! It does seem tight and cramped, maybe it’s the table that sticks out in the middle, I think I’d shrink that down or make it where it folds out of the way, just my personal observation, obviously they live with it just fine.

He mentions gypsies, this does have a gypsy feel and look to it. Watch and enjoy, let me know what you think below :)

https://youtu.be/iAusQYscQZ8



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Tiny House, off-grid, build your own, retirees, retirement, small, mini, houses, homes, self sustaining
Community

Ten Tiny House Companies you NEED to know about

There’s no doubt about it, the tiny house movement has well and truly taken off. Please let us know your favorites (news@off-grid.net). Extreme downsizing has become very popular, with a smaller space offering easier upkeep and lower utility bills. The average tiny house is 186 square feet – truly tiny! With prices of building your own tiny home being around $23,000 on average (remember Joseph’s upcycled shipping container home?) it’s not hard to see why it’s so popular. Even having someone else build you a tiny house, prices start around the $45,000 mark. This is a great deal cheaper than the price of the average American home which runs into the hundreds of thousands of dollars. Therefore, a good many tiny house owners do not have a mortgage, giving financial peace of mind.

A survey conducted in 2015 by TheTinyLife.com found that retirees are becoming a large proportion of tiny house owners. The results showed that 30% of just 2,000 respondents were aged between 51-70 years. Of course this makes sense, as people reach retirement age downsizing is common practice – and you can’t downsize much more than a tiny home! When looking for a tiny house when you’re not as young and nimble as you used to be, it is important to look out for certain features. These include: easy to reach storage to reduce awkward stooping and stretching; a single storey tiny house, or a main floor bedroom – avoid loft sleeping areas with ladders! Accessibility is also important; whether this be wide doorways, walk in showers, ramp access or building low to the ground.

Here are ten tiny house companies, offering retiree appropriate (and non-retiree) products which could very well seal the deal for you!

 

Zyl Vardos Inc – Washington State

Based out of the Squirrel Hut mini-office in Olympia, Washington, Zyl Vardos builds unique and customisable small structures. The tiny house products offered vary in price from $45,000 to above $96,000. Currently their website showcases 10 of the tiny houses offered, but if you fancy having one designed to your own specification, that is also possible.

Their “Little Bird” Basic option is one of build options available. Coming in at $68,000, with a  22 ft x 8 ft floor space, this home has a copper roof and cedar exterior. With a single French door, 6 windows and a kitchenette, this tiny house has everything you would need. The bed nook happily fits a queen mattress, with room to spare, and a flush or compost toilet can be fitted.

If you would like to upgrade to the “Advanced” option of the Little Bird you can – for an extra $10,000. This upgraded model includes a tiled bathroom floor, oak floors, double French doors, expanded kitchen storage amongst other features. Custom options for a retiree such as wider doorways and a raised toilet can be …

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