Building a Tiny House on a MoCo lot - possible? implications?

[Anonymous]

One bout of stomach flu or food poisoning, and the great difference between one bathroom and two will become apparent.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Realtor?! This is not me. Unless the post says it's OP, it isn't. I am following along though since I actually don't know all of this info (hence seeking information here) but the links are helpful and I appreciate the breakdown between permits, tear down, and all. Your chain of events does in fact sound unhinged; it makes me worry about you a little bit. But maybe you are just being funny and ridiculous. I hope so.

While you're here, though, can you comment on whether you've had any experience getting with buying infill lots in MoCo that could then have movable structure(s) on them that did not require a permit. It seems that this is what the folks in DC did. Those structures are too tiny but I wonder whether you have any knowledge of the rules regarding developing infill lots and/or where I could get that info.

Thanks- you are really amusing and helpful so I hope you stick around until we have all of our questions answered. In fact, do you sell in MoCo? You remind me of our old realtor and the attitude with which she discussed popcorn ceilings and basement renters apartments. Most amusing. By-the-by the "going postal" thing is not so funny if you've actually been to the post office where the term originated. Pretty sad.

But it was you. You've been going off on rants that are actually quite scary. I don't think it would serve you well to live in a small confined space with others. It would put them in danger because you are yes, acting like you are coming unhinged.

Here's a clue: Nothing in Montgomery County can be done without a permit. And yes, I've worked on infill lots in the county again, 15 years. Good luck. But it is you who is humoring us. If you don't see that then you really do need to get a clue. And a therapist.

Ok, realtor. I think it best we part ways. You need someone to love you. You seem like a very sad person and a bit too on the edge. Best of luck. If anyone else has any knowledge about the infill lot option, we'd appreciate it!

Thanks all for your help.

Realtor--I, and probably many others on this thread, appreciate the effort to explain MoCo building rules and fees. I also love all the links to the tiny house designs others have posted! OP comes across like a stock character mean girl--maybe someone should start a spinoff tiny house thread without all the drama, backhand insults, and faux niceness.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I obsessed over these plans a lot before we did our project:
http://www.thesmallhousecatalog.com/
http://www.tumbleweedhouses.com/products/b53/
http://www.perfectlittlehouse.com/

So can you tell us what you ended up with?

[Anonymous]

Sorry I haven't read all 9 pages of comments, but I just wanted to point out that there are houses that are basically that size in this area.

There was an article about a Sears house in Arlington (I think) that the people wanted to give away to someone to use on a different plot, and East Bethesda still has a few Sears houses and other small 1 story houses-- some of which have been very nicely renovated.

The thing is that you'll be competing with developers who want to do a tear down and build a 1.5 million McMansion, so the house will go for $5-600,000 for the lot.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I obsessed over these plans a lot before we did our project:
http://www.thesmallhousecatalog.com/
http://www.tumbleweedhouses.com/products/b53/
http://www.perfectlittlehouse.com/

These are lovely and representative of Sarah Susanka's Not So Big house movement, which is more realistic for most people than the (admittedly charming) tiny houses.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:One bout of stomach flu or food poisoning, and the great difference between one bathroom and two will become apparent.

+1

And hauling the laundry for four people to the laundromat gets old pretty quick.

[Anonymous]

OP, aren't there apartment and condo buildings that are smoke-free?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I obsessed over these plans a lot before we did our project:
http://www.thesmallhousecatalog.com/
http://www.tumbleweedhouses.com/products/b53/
http://www.perfectlittlehouse.com/

So can you tell us what you ended up with?

We hired an architect and ended up with a design pretty close to the second one.

And yes, also obsessed over Not So Big House.

Now we're dreaming about building a tiny cabin out on land in WV for quick getaways. Or maybe a tree house.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I obsessed over these plans a lot before we did our project:
http://www.thesmallhousecatalog.com/
http://www.tumbleweedhouses.com/products/b53/
http://www.perfectlittlehouse.com/

So can you tell us what you ended up with?

Absolutely! We are about a year and six months out. Thanks for the support!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I obsessed over these plans a lot before we did our project:
http://www.thesmallhousecatalog.com/
http://www.tumbleweedhouses.com/products/b53/
http://www.perfectlittlehouse.com/

So can you tell us what you ended up with?

We hired an architect and ended up with a design pretty close to the second one.

And yes, also obsessed over Not So Big House.

Now we're dreaming about building a tiny cabin out on land in WV for quick getaways. Or maybe a tree house.

Awesome! A tree house in WV sounds fantastic. That is an entirely different obsession- lots online. Good luck.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I could see doing this in the city where you'd be close to places to go (not really that different than a city apartment). It's harder for me to imagine doing it in deep suburbia in a cold climate. Long drives every time you want to go somewhere don't really appeal to me.

Maybe a city apartment plus community garden plot? I could see that.

We hate sharing walls mostly bc we are on our second round with a neighbor that smokes indoors and the smell, and presumably the carconogens, seep in. Otherwise we would be considering precisely this set up. OP

OP, you should check out Eastern Village or Takoma Village Co-housing. They may be a little above your price range, though. A friend of mine used to live there with kids and loved it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I obsessed over these plans a lot before we did our project:
http://www.thesmallhousecatalog.com/
http://www.tumbleweedhouses.com/products/b53/
http://www.perfectlittlehouse.com/

So can you tell us what you ended up with?

We hired an architect and ended up with a design pretty close to the second one.

And yes, also obsessed over Not So Big House.

Now we're dreaming about building a tiny cabin out on land in WV for quick getaways. Or maybe a tree house.

Love it! Can you tell us what you spent? Building, and then land?

[Anonymous]

OP, perhaps you should look into buying land with some like minded people and establishing several tiny homes. A tiny home community. http://boneyardstudios.com/

[Anonymous]

a lot like this one divided by four, say.

http://www.landwatch.com/Maryland_land_for_sale/Silver_Spring

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, perhaps you should look into buying land with some like minded people and establishing several tiny homes. A tiny home community. http://boneyardstudios.com/

FYI, these are not built to code. They are trailers. They must be registered as trailers (meaning they must meet height and width requirements) and then they are subject to local parking rules (e.g., in most suburbs you can't park something in one place for more than 30 days). They also can't have permanent connections to the electrical and water systems.

If you want to build a permitted structure with electrical and water hookups, to get those permits you are going to need to build to code, which specifies things like ceiling heights, bathroom openings, egress size and location, etc.

If you're going to build a 600 sq. ft. code-compliant house, you might as well just buy an 800- or 900-sq ft bungalow or ranch and call it a day.