No Mortgage, No HOA: She Pays $495 a Month in Wisconsin

Use code TINYHOMEFB50 to get 50% OFF your first Factor box plus free breakfast for 1 year at https://bit.ly/3SolSJk !  

Tiny Timbers Community: https://bit.ly/TinyTimbersAgrihood

Check out our other social media platforms! https://linktr.ee/tinyhometours
Join our newsletter for all things living tiny! https://bit.ly/THT-Newsletter
Take our quiz to find what tiny is right for you - https://bit.ly/tinyhomequiz
Interested In Being Featured On The Channel? : https://bit.ly/THTTourApplication
Check out our Podcast: https://bit.ly/tinyhometourspodcast

THE DETAILS
Home cost: $145,000, paid in cash, no mortgage
Dimensions: 400 sqft (300 sqft main level, 100 sqft loft), 10 feet wide
Builder: Not known
Location: Tiny Timbers in Wisconsin
Lot rent: $495 a month, includes garbage, sewer, and recycling
Monthly utilities: Gas bill under $15 a month, electric bill $80 to $90 a month during Wisconsin's coldest winter stretch (mini split heat and air)

After nearly 30 years in a townhome in Egan, Minnesota, Gail found herself with more space than she needed. Her daughter had moved out, association dues had climbed toward $500 a month, property taxes ran over $400 a month, and Gail worried retirement income would get swallowed by a home she no longer needed all of.

A deep dive into tiny home videos on YouTube changed everything. Gail figured she would have to move somewhere warm to find a tiny home community, until she found Tiny Timbers, tucked into the Wisconsin countryside, an hour and a half from her daughter and close to the farm country where Gail grew up as one of seven kids.

The home Gail found had been custom built in Tennessee for its previous owner, a young woman who had poured thought into every choice. The moment Gail walked in and saw the green cabinetry and soft-close, pull-out storage in the kitchen, Gail knew the home was hers. Gail paid cash and closed without a loan.

Gail's kitchen is the heart of the home: a deep farmhouse sink big enough to wash her rescue dog, Gus, an L-shaped counter with room to bake, and open shelving for the dishes Gail uses every day. There is no dishwasher, something Gail, a retired nurse who appreciates the sterilized feel of hot water, misses only a little. Living without one keeps dishes from piling up. A small office nook beside the kitchen holds a needlepoint of a horse Gail stitched about 20 years ago, a nod to the farm she grew up on.

Storage carries the home. Roll-out drawers, magnetic shelving, and built-in steps double as storage. The loft holds Gail's off-season items and Christmas decorations. The previous owner slept up there, but Gail keeps things simpler. Her day bed is her living room by day and bedroom by night, and Gail does not miss having a separate bedroom.

Gail's bathroom has a deep basin sink, generous storage, and an open shower rather than a tub. Gail calls it every bit as roomy as the bathroom she had in her townhome.

Outside, Gail worked with a local builder on a custom hitch cover that hides the trailer hitch and holds garden tools, plus a hot and cold hose bib for washing the car or bathing Gus. Her community shed, 8 feet by 10 feet, holds everything she used to pay to store in town.

At Tiny Timbers, Gail is one of 16 homeowners, most women in their 60s, several fellow retired healthcare workers. The community shares a pavilion, a garden, an orchard, and even chickens and honeybees, reminding Gail of the farm she grew up on. Between lot rent and modest utility bills, Gail lives comfortably on social security alone, a fraction of what she once paid between mortgage, HOA dues, and property taxes in Minnesota.

Gail is not slowing down. She is adding a three-season porch and a deck this year to spend even more time outside with Gus, watching the wildlife that drew her to this corner of Wisconsin in the first place.

HER ADVICE

"If you think tiny home living is something you'd be interested in, do your homework, do your research, look on YouTube, look at all the different shows, look at all the different models. There's great advice on YouTube. And Facebook has a lot of good communities that you can look at. But do your homework, because I think a lot more people could live more comfortably tiny than trying to pay two thousand dollars a month in apartment rent when you can have a tiny home and live well under a thousand dollars a month."

SHOT BY: https://www.instagram.com/theaveragebrad/
EDITED BY: https://www.instagram.com/filmbro_/

TINY HOME TOURS LINKS:
Business Inquiries - tinyhometours@thestation.io
Subscribe - https://www.youtube.com/c/TinyHomeTours
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/Tinyhome.tours/
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/tinyhometours/
Newsletter : https://bit.ly/THT-Newsletter
Podcast : https://bit.ly/tinyhometourspodcast
Apply for a tour : https://bit.ly/THTTourApplication