$35,000 home comes with a catch
Etsy is an online marketplace best known for its handmade trinkets and creative wares, but now, the site has decided to broaden its horizons and try its hand at selling houses too.
A new listing from the ‘store’ Modular Home Direct is offering eager homeowners and passionate crafters the chance to own a 432-square-foot tiny house for just $35,306.09 ($22,896 USD).
However, the property comes with a catch: its loving owner must construct it by themselves.
The listing’s description declares it to be a “beautiful modern low cost home” that comes with “doors, windows, insulated wall panels, flooring, baseboard trims, drywall, insulated roof, plumbing and electrical hook ups”. Furniture, however, was not included.
According to the American real-estate company Zillow, the home’s asking price of $22,896 USD is less than one tenth of the average cost of a home in the United States (~$346,270 USD).
The flatpack property is manufactured by Modular Home Direct, the same company behind the listing, and features all the key necessities in a tiny home as well as a few bonuses - a bedroom, a bathroom, a kitchen, a living room, loft, and even front and rear porches.
And for anyone looking to take on the challenge - though the offering is limited to the United States due to shipping logistics - there are a few things to consider. For as well as the base construction, the home will also require the installation of electricity and plumbing.
According to the Daily Mail, the US-based property site Home Advisor has estimated that these costs would see potential owners forking out anywhere between $550 to $2,3000 USD on just the property’s electrical wiring, while plumbing could start at around $360 and could reach up to $2,000.
Modular Home Direct aren’t the first to try and capitalise on the growing tiny house movement, as people all over the world seek alternative housing options as real estate prices continue to soar.
And while some online weren’t thrilled with the idea, others were onboard, though most seemed to agree that the price was too good to be true, and likely would increase as more costs came to light.
“The cost of materials in a house is much less than the ground it sits on,” a Daily Mail reader said. “By the time you buy the land, go through the permitting process, bring utilities in.. the cost gets closer to an established home.”
“They have an interesting website, if you're handy it could be a diy project. My brother in law has a diy log cabin, family pitched in to build it, it's very nice,” one shared. “I think my husband and I could build this. We both know electrical and plumbing... only bump would be the heat pump”.
“You have to buy the land, buy the house, put the house together (or pay someone to put it together), and pay someone to hook up the electricity and water. You'd probably have to pay for building permits and inspections,” someone said, before noting that “so once you've done all that, it would probably be easier just to buy a move-in ready house.”
And as another wrote, “like everything else meant to be affordable, it will soon cost $109K when it catches on.”
Images: Etsy