CHARLOTTE — With rent prices skyrocketing, many people are turning to tiny homes—small spaces that save big money.
One Atlanta woman was able to drop her mortgage altogether. Now Precious Price is trying to get more people to join the tiny house trend.
WSB-TV Consumer Correspondent Clark Howard took a tour of Price’s home, where she also shared reasons why other homeowners should consider building one just like it.
Price, a 27-year-old marketing consultant, designed everything in her tiny house, from the windows to the walls. Her planning started in 2020, during 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 told Howard. “I can safely be away from any guests and still rent my primary house out.”
Price paid a total of $35,000 for her tiny home; the structure itself cost $10,000, and construction and permits added an additional $25,000. Now, she lives in her backyard and rents her home to graduate and medical students as a second source of income.
“Yes, I love it; I understand that it doesn’t work for everyone, right?” Price said, “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.”.
Considering most mortgage rates are just under 7%, you may learn to love a tiny home too. The average price of these homes ranges from $30,000 to $60,000, but if tiny living doesn’t work for you, Howard suggests a new build instead of buying an existing home.
When you build a new home, many builders buy down the interest you pay for up to three years on the loan. For example, if a buyer approved a 7% loan for a 30-year loan, they would pay 5% the first year, 6% the next, and 7% the rest of the time.
But Price told Howard that the money coming in from renting out her home allowed her to quit her 9-to-5 and focus on her consulting work.
“So 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,” Price said.
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