Would you do this?

[V]

My husband and I have been talking about living in a tiny house, but the problem is finding a place to put it.  I remembered that my father owns land way outside of the city (would be 50 miles for my husband and about 40 miles for me), but we could put a tiny house there.  My father doesn't want us to pay rent, but we told him we would pay property taxes (roughly $125 a year).  The land can't have a house built on in because it failed perk test and the county lines do not run out there.  With a tiny house, we would have solar and could have a water tank that we fill up from my uncle who lives in front of the property.  We would use an incinerator toilet, so sewage wouldn't be an issue.  Are we crazy for even considering this?  We have been searching for a home for over a year and can't find anything we want.  Eventually we would like to leave the state, but due to my husbands's new job he wants to stay until his 401K match is vested. 

If you had this option, would you do it? 

[dandarc]

I wouldn't - commute sounds like a deal breaker for me.  How long is it until your husband vests?

[RexualChocolate]

I guess you need to address why you even want a tiny house. I'm guessing it's environmental reasons, but 90 mile/day commute completely offsets that.

I have no experience with incinerator toilets but if your that concern is environmental impact, you should move somewhere with a leech field and go septic. Net zero for sewage. You said it failed the 'perk' test which I am going to assume is percolate test, so this clearly isn't an option here.

Just buy a lot of land ~10  miles from city with lax enough building and coding standards to let you put up the house. It sounds like the county is not going to want a permanent structure there at all, but building codes and enforcement vary wildly and are very subject to interpretation/graft. If you're looking to move soon, do not buy a house.

[Chrissy]

If you're only staying until your husband is vested, then there's no need for a house... tiny or otherwise.

Also, the commutes would ruin your lives.

[mandy_2002]

If you're only staying until your husband is vested, then there's no need for a house... tiny or otherwise.

Also, the commutes would ruin your lives.

Are there options for studio apartments close to work? This would get you the tiny footprint, force a reduction in stuff, and prevent you from dropping more than  $20k on something you won't need anymore when your husband vests.

The tiny home movement can really fit any "smaller than you have now" abode when your goal is reduced global impact.

[kib]

A lot of places, even unincorporated municipalities, have prohibitions for any sort of mobile home to be parked on property for more than x number of days at a time, or x days in a year.  This could also wind up being a lot more expensive than you envision.  It does sound like a cool adventure but personally I think I'd just go on renting.

[Sibley]

You have 4 pets. Would they be happy in a tiny house? Seriously - I have 2 cats, and if I try to squish them into a space that small there would be murder.

If the answer is no, then abandon your dream until they have passed away.