The cost of houses and high interest rates means would-be homeowners are looking for creative ways to save money.
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One metro Atlanta woman spent less than the average cost of a new car and got rid of her mortgage payments.
Precious Price, a 27-year-old marketing consultant, lives in a tiny home that is less than 300 square feet in southwest Atlanta.
The home sits in the backyard of her standard-sized home.
She gave consumer advisor Clark Howard a tour of her home and said she got the idea in 2020 during the height of the pandemic.
“The thought just popped into my head at that time, like, okay, it’s going to be a really good idea for me to build a house here,” Price said. “I can safely be away from any guest and still rent my primary house out.”
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Price paid $10,000 for the structure and $25,000 for permits and construction.
She rented the tiny house out first, then moved in.
Graduate and medical students now rent out her main home and Price lives in the tiny one.
“You’ve got income coming from that and you’re living nearly free?” Howard asked.
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“Yes, I love it,” Price told Howard. “I understand that it doesn’t work for everyone, right? Like, people look at the tiny house and they’re like, ‘oh, I have too many things, or I just couldn’t do it.’ But for certain populations, it just makes sense. It feels spacious.”
With mortgage interest rates sitting at just under 7% you might love it too. The average tiny home costs between $30,000- $60,000.
If tiny living isn’t for you, Clark said to consider buying a new build instead of an existing home because builders can buy down the interest you pay for the first one, two, or even three years of the loan.
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Thanks to the tiny house, Price was able to quit her job because of the rental income she brings in and focus on her consulting work.
“I really am an advocate, number one for accessory dwelling units to create housing, but also kind of generate some cash flow with existing space that we have,” she said.
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