Whether you want to lessen your carbon footprint, are a minimalist, or just like tiny things, a tiny house could be in your future. California has many tiny home communities but Park Delta Bay is the first and only legal tiny home community in Northern California. It is located on the San Joaquin River in Isleton, CA. It is home to an abundance of tiny houses similar to the one on the right, considered RVs in the tiny home community.
Your tiny house doesn't have to be on wheels though, you could build it on a foundation like a traditional house. You wouldn't be able to live in a tiny home community with it on a foundation. In order to do that you would need your own plot of land to place the house on. It is much more difficult to get permission to build a tiny house on a foundation. Certain states, including California, have become more flexible with their laws and codes but you'll need to make sure you're not violating any of your local zoning laws and building codes. In Calaveras County, in order to build your tiny home on a foundation it would have to be an accessory dwelling to your original home. As stated on the Calaveras Community Action Project website, even if you live in an area with a homeowners association, officials said that property owners have the right to build second units even if they are within the boundaries of a homeowners association that has attempted to ban such units.
Your house would need to be 400 square feet or less to be considered a tiny house. As stated on realtor.com, buildings are required to be more than 70 square feet in size but some are required to be more than 1,000 square feet. In California, the minimum square footage required for a house is 120 square feet. Your tiny house must meet California's safety standards for one of these types of structures: recreational vehicle, park trailer, manufactured home, factory-built house, camping cabin, or site built dwelling.
Tiny homes shouldn't be considered a downgrade if you're contemplating going tiny. Tiny homes can be beautiful and spacious depending on how you plan to use the space you have. On shows like Tiny House Nation, they use every square inch of space that they can. Everything has multiple uses and they are maximizing the minimal amount of space. The picture on the right shows a staircase in a tiny house that doubles as a storage area. You do need to be prepared to downsize considerably though. Donate, sell, or return anything that isn't essential to have in your home.
According to investopedia.com, depending on what amenities and where the house is located, it could cost anywhere from a few thousand dollars to eighty thousand dollars to build your tiny home. Price also depends on who builds it. You could build it yourself or if you're looking for an easier route to tiny home living you could hire a construction company who specializes in tiny house building.
As you may have noticed, tiny homes are not nearly as expensive as traditional homes but since nearly all counties don't recognize tiny homes as regular living units you can't get a mortgage to buy a tiny house. If your tiny house is classified as an RV or travel trailer you may be able to get a recreational vehicle loan to pay for your tiny house. You could also look into personal loans to finance your home. Of course another option would be to pay for your home in cash, which would be the cheapest option. It's likely you won't have to pay a large property tax with a tiny home but you may be required to pay personal property taxes depending on where you live. As a Californian, you unfortunately will have to pay personal property taxes.
Downsizing can be a hard task but if you find the right contractor who can design and build what you're dreaming of, you won't have to worry about the building process. However, if a tiny house is not for you, give us a call at 209-772-9200 or toll free at 800-498-1833 and we can discuss other options.
Sources:
https://godownsize.com/tiny-house-rules-california/
https://nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/can-build-tiny-house-vacant-land-california.html