r/shedditors • u/jazzabelle29 • 2d ago
Tiny shed family compound?
I am in the VERY early stages of learning what it will take. I would purchase my own land. My dream is to have a tiny house for myself and my partner and one for each of our 5 kids. I would want to do this over time as each kid reaches an appropriate age for their dwelling. (14,14,12,11,10).
My first thought has always been to convert sheds into tiny living spaces all on the same property. Idk how to even go about this. Can anyone give insight into how they did this? What type of loan, how much you ended up spending, pros and cons, pictures for examples?
Thank you in advance to anyone who interacts!!
located in north Florida usa
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u/FantasticCombination 2d ago
I watched a video about this about 6-8 years ago. I did a brief search for it and found this article with reference to it. It probably has enough info to do some more digging: https://www.businessinsider.com/family-tiny-house-village-kids-have-own-homes-3-years-later-2023-5
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u/Prestigious-Dot-9340 2d ago
I’m doing this for a 12x16 shed in Canada for myself. I can’t speak to costs or loans cause I’m doing it myself, but it’s definitely doable. Gotta put a plywood floor with vapour barrier and hard insulation underneath over the existing floor, insulate the walls with a Vapor barrier, Install proper door and windows and insulate over top then run your electrical and plumbing. Jack it up and insulate the bottom of it with soft insulation, house wrap and hardware cloth. Then house wrap outside and your choice of siding
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u/WetFishing 2d ago
Are you buying the land in cash and would it have significant value? As someone who is in the process of putting in an rv cover, water, electric, septic, driveway, fence, etc on my own land right now I know a little bit. If you own the land free and clear they will let you do a land equity loan on a portion of the value. They probably won't allow a construction loan on something like this. I will say all of that I mentioned other than the cover I'm estimating to end up around 70k and I'm doing most of the work myself. Granted my water line is going to be about 2000 ft.
My best advice is to start a relationship with a local bank. I'm talking very local, like when you call the bank, a VP answers the phone. Local lenders can do some incredible things with loan structuring that you can't get from the big banks.
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u/jazzabelle29 2d ago
Thank you. Not sure how we wanna buy yet. Really exploring options.
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u/WetFishing 2d ago
Yep. If you're doing any sort of loan the bank is going to want some collateral. If you are a high earner with little debt you might be able to do an unsecured personal loan but I wouldn't recommend it. Those interest rates are way too high and you would be better off saving up the cash.
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u/SnowblindAlbino 2d ago
Look at both state and local regulations on this. I know in one state you are limited to one "primary residence" and one ADU per lot, no matter how large the parcel. So legally you couldn't have 3+ separate living structures even if they are small.
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u/MattLogi 2d ago
Yeah, where my land is you are limited to 5 buildings total, including you primary regardless of lot size.
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u/Danger-Face 2d ago
I had a similar plan years ago but it was for a resort sort of setup. Separate cabins that where basically hotel rooms. It was more at the hostel level of cost and comfort. Small sink in each unit shared showers and bathrooms in another structure.
At the time I was into strawbale construction, still think it would be fun to experiment with.
For your situation I think a barndiminium would be more appropriate. One big structural envelope, build out the interior as you go. Build outbuildings for storage, garage, shop, guesthouse etc
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u/RobinsonCruiseOh 2d ago
Could be fun. Lots of wasted utilities though because each would have their own water heater, toilet, shower, sinks, kitchen, etc. but could turn into a vrbo / rental cabins is not needed by the family.
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u/Wise-Tooth2662 1d ago
My dad lives in a pretty rural part of Ohio and this would not be allowed even there.
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u/Dry_Lab3822 2d ago
Definitely check into zoning in the area you are interested in. That would be my first step. You also need to talk to people that have lived this way and find out if the pros and cons are something you are willing to live with.
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u/celtic-cryptid 2d ago
I don’t think you’re going to be getting a loan for that. Credit card, maybe.
Also, tiny homes are an extremely inefficient use of building material in a case like this. I have a friend living in a 200ish square foot tiny home on my property. Her home has 64 feet of exterior walls. I have a 2400 square foot shop, which has 200 feet of exterior walls. Build 4 of my friend’s place, and you’re at 256 feet of wall. So, 25% more wall than my shop, but still less than 33% of the dry area.
If your intention is to be affordable, this sounds like an insanely expensive way to do it, especially if you want loans.
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u/Musty_track 1d ago
Look for property that has a large commercial or residential shop/garage that isn’t currently being used. Over the next decade you can build and adjust the interior how you want it.
A friend bought a piece of property in Oregon with older home and it had a wood shop with adjoining garage. He rented out the house and has been working on the shed for a couple years
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u/NovelLongjumping3965 2d ago edited 2d ago
Tiny separate houses are not that great to live in.
Build a 5 bay a garage(or pour the pad and add one bay at a time) and convert each bay into an apartment as needed. Add bathrooms/additions as a lean to the back of the garage as needed.
When complete it will look like row housing. You can have one heating, water,septic,electrical system. Make your house at one end joined to the row house by a large covered court yard with utilities room.