The recovery from the ongoing global pandemic has a long way to go. An article from MIT Technology Review believes that life will never return to normal. As a result, many people are searching for ways to simplify and downsize their life, which involves liberating themselves from unneeded luxuries.
One way to reduce costs is to downsize your house – often the single highest expense you’ll ever have in your life. Two of the popular options you can go for are a permanent tiny home and a mobile home or manufactured home.
So which is better? Before you reach a decision, let’s look at the differences in each area between a tiny house and a mobile home.
Cost
The price of a residential property is an important factor when choosing which home is the best option for you. After all, you are downsizing for a reason.
The price of a tiny house on wheels varies hugely depending on factors like land costs, appliances and materials. On average, the cost is somewhere at $60,000. You can find tiny homes for as little as $10,000 (if you’re looking to save money) and as much as $200,000.
The cost of a new mobile home, on the other hand, plays around $50,000 to $250,000. This is just for the price of the structure and doesn’t typically include expenses, such as taxes, moving permits, manufactured home insurance and utilities. If a brand new manufactured home sounds too expensive for you, there are second-hand options that cost about $25,000.
Size
Many people look at the size of a tiny home as a major downside. Some individuals are unable to imagine living in a house that is no larger than 150 square feet. Most tiny houses, in fact, have a size that is generally about 26 feet long and 8 feet wide. If you are a fan of wide, open spaces (or are claustrophobic), then this home structure probably isn’t for you.
Mobile homes, in contrast, are slightly more spacious. They typically measure 40 feet long and about 14 to 18 feet wide. You can, however, find old manufactured home models measuring 12 feet wide and 60 feet long.
Mobility
Many tiny homes have wheels on them. These wheels allow homeowners to bypass certain planning restrictions. Another benefit of this is that you can change your location whenever you want. If you’re bored with your current neighborhood, you – along with your house – can move to another community.
Despite the name, mobile homes aren’t actually mobile. Home builders don’t design manufactured homes to be moved around frequently.
What’s more, moving them can be expensive. If you want to relocate your mobile home, you’ll need to secure a moving permit. You also have to enlist professional help to transport your manufactured house.
Build Speed
Tiny houses can take a while to build, especially if you are building on-site. The construction time, however, can take a lot less when purchasing a prefabricated home. You can expect to spend about two months if you are taking the DIY approach to building a tiny house. If you hire professionals, though, you could shorten the building time.
On the other hand, mobile home manufacturers provide different styles. Browsing and choosing one that suits you won’t take you a lot of time. Given that the manufacturer has built the mobile home off-site, there is zero set-up time.
Eco-Friendliness
Besides money, another reason for living a downsized way is to leave as little environmental impact as possible.
Tiny homes are an ideal picture of what living with the environment can be like. Many tiny houses use both nature and technology to provide a top-of-the-line residential property that leaves minimal carbon footprint. If you own this type of residential structure, you could even install special technologies, such as wind power and solar panels, to keep the electricity running.
Looking at the other side of the downsizing coin, mobile homes aren’t environmentally friendly. Many of these houses are still solely dependent on gas. If you look hard enough, though, you’ll eventually stumble upon newer mobile homes equipped with eco-technology. They help cut down the amount of gas and propane used to power the structure.
Which Option is Better?
Choosing between a mobile or manufactured home and a tiny house will ultimately depend on your wants, needs and priorities in life.
If affordability is your focus, then mobile homes are a cost-friendly option. They are also larger than tiny houses, making them a better choice for small families.
If you are all about flexible living, however, then tiny houses win hands down. You can design this structure according to your tastes and move them around more easily.
Before you go out there and buy, study the differences between these two residential structures. Weigh the pros and cons carefully, so you can arrive at a decision that you won’t regret.