Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: affordable small homes

[Caroline (caro4321]

I was very impressed with the very small (350 square feet?) homes by  
Walt Quade shown on this web site:

www.smallhomeoregon.net

I highly advise checking it out.  There are several floor plans,  
including complete cabin, master bedroom and closet only, studio etc.   
for about $40,000.  They look small but very livable... All else you  
need is land.

I am quite comfortable living in 750 square feet. It's almost too much  
for one person.  Any more would be difficult to heat and keep clean.

--Caroline Skinner / NW Portland


On Aug 18, 2008, at 7:05 PM, Roslyn Hamilton wrote:

> ----- Original Message ----- From: "David Heimann"  
> <heimann [at] theworld.com>
> To: "Cohousing-L" <cohousing-l [at] cohousing.org>
> Sent: Saturday, August 16, 2008 9:41 PM
> Subject: Re: [C-L]_ affordable, rental cohousing! (No. Calif.)
>
>
> > Hi Marganne,
> >
> > > Can any of you envision your own community including several
> > > 800-square-foot homes?
> >
> >  I can definitely do so!  Out of 30 units, we have three studios at
> > 550 square feet and three one-bedrooms at 700 square feet.  Of the
> > remaining 24, eleven are around 850 square feet only.  We're doing  
> > fine
> > with the smaller homes!
> >
> > Regards,
> > David Heimann
> > Jamaica Plain Cohousing
> >
> >
> > Date: Fri, 15 Aug 2008 11:33:08 -0700
> > From: Marganne Meyer <marganne [at] macnexus.org>
> > Subject: Re: [C-L]_ affordable, rental cohousing! (No. Calif.)
> > To: Cohousing-L <cohousing-l [at] cohousing.org>
> > Message-ID: <a06240809c4cb70417ca4@[192.168.0.2]>
> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" ; format="flowed"
> >
> > In response to Ann Zebaldo's post:
> >
> > Personally, I think it's important to combine people of many income
> > levels and circumstances. I have no evidence of this working. Being
> > someone who lives on the 'margin', it would be a struggle for me to
> > feel comfortable with only a few community members funding part of a
> > project integral to the entire community. Perhaps something totally
> > based on donations would feel more comfortable ... but that's just me.
> >
> > Please keep in mind that someone choosing to live in an
> > 800-square-foot home (or smaller) is not an indication of that
> > person's income. This misconception may be part of what makes some
> > potential cohousing members balk at having homes of different
> > monetary values in one project.
> >
> > Many of the smaller homes are highly energy efficient. It's also what
> > people are looking for who are part of the 'living simple' movement.
> > A byproduct are more affordable homes.
> >
> > Perhaps some of you here who live 'in community' currently could talk
> > about how you would feel if not everyone in your project had the same
> > buy-in price. How would finances be handled equitably?
> >
> > Try to imagine several of these 'tiny' homes located in the same
> > community that has the more common, shared-wall, multi-floor
> > cohousing buildings. There are links to a few samples below. Note
> > that these aren't all 400-square-foot tiny tumbleweed homes on
> > wheels, but they all go for well under $50,000.
> >
> > http://tortoiseshellhome.com/Pricing.html
> > http://www.tinyhousedesign.com/2008/08/12/cherokee-cabin-company- 
> > tiny-house-plans/
> > http://www.tinyhousedesign.com/2008/07/25/ross-chapin-architects- 
> > goodfit-house-plans/
> > http://www.sheldondesigns.com/cabins/CohuttaC980.htm
> >
> > TinyHouseDesign.com is the web site of Michael Jantzen who is a
> > member of the Low Cost Community Housing (LCCH) mailing list. His web
> > site has links to many excellent examples of smaller, energy
> > efficient homes. The owner of Tortoise Shell Home also is a list
> > member.
> >
> > Making an initial investment to buy a large parcel of land and to
> > start construction is a problem for people who live on less than
> > $30,000 a year, even though they can afford to build one of the many
> > tiny homes available on the market.
> >
> > Part of the tiny home concept is based on not including some of the
> > usual functions a 'normal' house might contain. These include a lot
> > of what cohousing projects share via the common house, a shop with
> > tools, or a garden.
> >
> > Can any of you envision your own community including several
> > 800-square-foot homes?
> >
> > Cheers!
> > Marganne
> >
> > The cohousing, small house movement
> > http://cohousingsmallhomes.blogspot.com/
> >
> > Low Cost Community Housing
> > http://groups.google.com/group/low-cost-community-housing
> >
> >
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