The definition of reclaimed wood cited by Craftmark, Inc. states: “Rough (nail and bolt holes, large knots and cracks, aged patina, circle sawn, rough cut, wormwood, etc.) to clear upright grain wood.” (CVG) almost perfect that’s almost impossible to find. Yes, it’s old. But it’s appealing to a new generation of homeowners, builders, designers, and architects who are interested in caring for today’s environment,” therefore, it is considered architectural and artistic.
I found a small reclaimed wooden house for the price of $75,000 in Luling, Tx. Too expensive for our budget and not nice at all. So we decided to visit a Park modeling company. Here we went into several of Park’s models and the best designs for our needs were the smallest at 400 square feet similar to tiny houses. A couple of the ones we loved, one was $59,000 and the other was $64,000, plus shipping.
But honestly, looking back at all the places we’ve been doing our homework for when the time comes, we’re leaning towards living in a small apartment or RV. In a small 1-bedroom apartment, we would get the same square meters we need as a small house. We don’t have to make a big investment, just pay rent and utilities. No trash or yard maintenance, no building maintenance, plus we can move out after the lease is up.
Another option, if we were to buy an RV, the investment would be much less than going into a small house. Why? We wouldn’t have to buy a lot or land, we wouldn’t have to have a septic tank installed, which we know is optional, but we would want one. A septic tank, electric and water facilities would make it a better resale value if we wanted to move, as well as make life easier for the small house.
Always keeping in mind that one of the best advantages of having a small house on wheels is that you can move when you need to. But we can do this with the RV too and much easier because all you do is rent the place.
Another way to look at it is that if we own a house, a tiny house, a shipping container or a park model, we would always have to arrange for additional expenses. On the other hand, the additional expenses for an RV would be just where it is parked plus electricity. I know there are off-grid tiny houses, solar panels, composite toilets, and many more options for lower expenses, but we’d rather have the same big living comforts with the tiny house touch.
Currently, monthly expenses are approximately $600 for a 4-bedroom, 2-bathroom house (Wi-Fi, landline, cable TV, water, electricity, yard maintenance, taxes, insurance, garbage disposal), plus the mortgage. On the other hand, if we decide to live in an RV park resort area long term, the monthly rent for parking would be about $640 with a lake view, plus electric. But think about it… Someone who lived in the trailer park told us that his monthly electric bill was $40 and that he had 24/7 air conditioning.
Not bad, long term RV park is a resort and has hot tub, pool area, fire pits, 2 BBQ areas and outdoor kitchen, gazebos, free dog wash area, walking area Pet Friendly, Concrete Parking Areas, Fenced, Security, Mailboxes, Garbage Disposal Area, Laundry Room, Fitness Center, Recreation Area, Business Office, Free Cable, Free Wi-Fi, Additional Parking, and All Retail nearby convenience. For us it would be like being on vacation every day! We would only have to buy the RV with the square footage we need. Do you have to move or do you want to move? Take it away!
A small alternative life has not been ruled out. How about a houseboat? We still have to do some searching for this one. This is a thought we cannot get rid of. We want to consider visiting some real estate houseboats and finding out what the prices are, the monthly fees for being on the water, and the pros and cons of living on a body of water. I guess it all depends on where you are. Does anyone reading this article have a houseboat and can give us some feedback? We sure would appreciate it!