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Once upon a time, the ultimate goal for homeowners was to climb up the property ladder, gradually trading up for bigger and bigger homes until reaching retirement. Nowadays, with house prices increasing and the cost of borrowing unpredictable, we’re seeing a growing trend in the opposite direction.
Introducing: the rise of the tiny home, where bigger definitely doesn’t mean better, and functionality reigns supreme. Thinking of taking a step down a rung or two? Here’s why it might appeal to you.
Why we’re loving small homes
There are a few different factors driving the tiny homes movement. If any of these feel relatable to you, it could be worth thinking about how you might size down and see the world in a grain of sand.
Finances
The idea of reducing your mortgage and bills is always going to be appealing, but depending on how small you go, you could end up with no mortgage at all. Useful tools like Money.co.uk’s home equity calculator can help you to determine if you have enough equity in your current home to sell up, allowing you to build or buy a smaller house outright.
Green credentials
For some people, decluttering and trading down is a reflection of their commitment to leading a greener lifestyle and reducing their carbon footprint. Having less stuff and consuming less energy by running a much smaller home is only a good thing.
Aspirational lifestyle
For others it’s about what a smaller home represents, be that the chance to live a simpler life, or the opportunity to move around more freely , perhaps even embracing the motorhome lifestyle. The desire for more freedom and less responsibility is often what’s at the real root of the desire to downsize. This article on handling clutter in your home from Simply+Fiercely might be a good place to start along these lines.
How to fund your tiny home dream
If you’ve decided that living small really is the new living large, then you’ll need to come up with a plan for how you’re going to turn your dream into reality. If you’re not already a homeowner then you’ll have to decide how you’re going to finance your plans and start researching mortgages. Ideally you’ll already own a property and be able to sell up to fund your new, simpler lifestyle.
If you’re keen to get the ball rolling as soon as possible then one option is to sell your house for cash with We Buy Any Home or similar sites. This way you’ll have near-total control over timescales and can choose a completion date that suits you. Services like these can offer you cash in the bank in as little as seven days.
Is tiny living for you?
An easy way to decide if a smaller home is right for you is to spend a couple of weeks assessing how you use your current space. Do you tend to spend most of your time in just one or two rooms? Do you have a lot of belongings that you don’t use regularly?
If you can answer yes to all of these, it might be time to think about switching things up.
