Home ownership isn’t everyone’s cup of tea. Rising home prices, housing shortages and a desire to cut environmental footprints has seen a rise in green housing alternatives over the past years. If you are looking for a frugal, green housing alternative, here are a few ideas that you should consider:
Yurts!
If your building codes allow for these kinds of homes, yurts can offer inexpensive, eco-friendly alternatives. Yurts are fairly affordable so you could avoid a mortgage. Better still, you can put them up yourself. Here’s a handy resource for videos and tutorials on putting up your own yurt.
Granny Annexes
This isn’t exactly a housing alternative but it is certainly a great option to save money when your family is expanding and you need to add more space to your home. This “little home” at the bottom of your garden has multiple benefits from financial rewards to having your loved ones living close to you.
For example, if you would like to help your aging parents move in with you as they need your support, but lack the room in your own home for this, then purchasing a bigger home can cost you a fortune. Instead, you can build a 2 bed granny annexe where your parents can live right next to your home where they can retain some independence.
Granny annexes can also be used for a number of other purposes. You can rent them out to earn some extra income or turn yours into a place where your visitors can stay. A 2-bed granny annexe has the added advantage of offering even more space as a spare room or office.
The main benefits of granny annexes are that they are very inexpensive to build and the maintenance costs are also a lot lower than for a traditional home. Annexes have all the utilities including kitchens, bathrooms, bedrooms and living rooms.
They are pretty similar to tiny houses but compared to those, granny annexes are not entirely separated from the main house.
Tiny Houses
Tine houses are extremely environmentally-friendly and lovely, tiny houses are in great demand these days. Tiny homes are not for everybody, especially those people guilty of overbuying things they don’t actually need or use, because a tiny house does require you to have a minimalist lifestyle. But, for those who no longer want to be attached to physical belongings, tiny houses make a great home.
This type of alternative housing proves that the belief that larger homes are better and more stylish simply isn’t true.