A young woman bought a house in order to share it with more tenants to obtain extra earnings, since the residence has three rooms and she only required one. Her initial plan was to offer them through the Airbnb platform. However, the Covid-19 pandemic complicated everything and nobody rented the spaces. This situation led women to innovate. So she invested $35,000 to build a “luxury” house in the backyard, to live in while she rented out the main one to other guests.
Precious Price is a marketing strategist, tiny home expert, and social entrepreneur. He founded his own digital real estate marketplace in 2021. In addition, he has a master’s degree in management information systems from Indiana University. Price shared for CNBC Make it how he managed to build his 296-square-foot (27-square-meter) tiny luxury home con US$35.000.
In 2019, he purchased a home in Atlanta, Georgia. The price of the property was US$196 thousand. This represented a large investment. However, the young woman had plans to generate profits with the house, but these changed with her contingency. “Nobody wanted to share a house with a stranger in the early days of the pandemic,” she explained.
Looking out over his huge backyard, he had a revelation. “I could use that space to build a little house to live in and rent out the main house”. The first step was to present the building, electricity and plumbing permits at the town planning office. Subsequently, she called in a team of local contractors to help her. It all started in October 2020, Price recalled.
Regarding financial resources, did not apply for a bank loan. Instead, he cashed in $8,500 in stock and charged about $20,000 to his credit cards, a debt he paid off last year. In addition, he obtained US$300 a month for renting his main home and a room from one of his neighbors.
In March 2021, the construction of his small house was finished. He immediately offered it on Airbnb to recover the money invested. This is how several months passed in which she earned between US$89 and US$129 per rented night, while for a monthly rent she charged US$1,300. During that span, he had an income of almost $32,000. In early 2023, she moved into her newest construction to save on living expenses.
Currently, the 26-year-old lives “for free” in her small luxury home. The mortgage, taxes, electricity, water and internet costs amount to US$1,580 for her two properties. However, this amount does not cost you anythingsince he rents the main property for US$2725 per month.
Price showed the interior of his home, where the walls in a coastal blue tone stand out. Besides, it has rustic detailslike a wooden ladder that leads to the mattress of the loft.
On the main floor there is a full bathroom and a breakfast nook. The young woman explained that her favorite area is the kitchen. “Most people are surprised to see that It has a full size refrigerator and an oversized sink”, he shared.
The place is small, but the decoration makes it look bigger. Inside there are eight separate windows, wall mirrors and a glass shower door. “Sometimes I forget that I live in a shed”said the owner.
Price has had to downsize her closet due to the space in her home. She is convinced that tiny houses will play an important role in tackling the global housing crisis. “Last year I gave a TEDx talk about how (small houses) can help create a sustainable sharing economy for land”. This year she will dedicate it to experiencing for herself the lifestyle in these mini residences.
THE NATION