A 26-year-old Atlanta woman pays nothing to reside in the tiny house she built in her backyard for $35,000.
Precious Price bought a three-bedroom, 1,400-square-foot home in 2019 for $196,000. She then entered the Airbnb business to earn extra income, allowing vacationers to rent her spare bedrooms.
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The COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 dampened her Airbnb business, and she found it difficult to rent to people since no one wanted to share a house with other people with the risk of contracting the virus.
Realizing that her three-bedroom house was too big for her, she decided to build a tiny house in her backyard and allow vacationers to rent the entire house.
Price’s first step toward her luxurious tiny home was to make things legal by obtaining building, plumbing and electrical permits. Next, she bought a shed and recruited a local contracting team to do her concrete slab foundation in October 2020.
The shed’s renovations cost her around $35,000 without taking a loan from the bank.
“Instead of taking out a bank loan, I cashed out $8,500 in stocks and put about $20,000 on my credit cards to pay for everything,” Price said in CNBC. “I was able to pay off this debt last year.”
Amid the renovations to the shed, Price stayed with a neighbor for $300 a month and continued renting out her home.
Her 296-square-foot home finished in March 2021, but she placed the tiny house on Airbnb to recover the money she spent building her new establishment.
“By charging between $89 and $129 per night and $1,300 for monthly leases, I was able to bring in almost $32,000 in gross rental income,” Price said. “And this January, I moved into the tiny home to save on living expenses.”
Price pays $1,580 for both homes, including electricity, water, internet, and mortgage and property taxes.
Now, Price enjoys her queen-sized bed, which is located above the front door. Nestled in a corner next to the front door is her small desk. Across from the workspace is a daybed that also acts as a couch. Price included a spacious kitchen with a wooden sliding door that divides the kitchen and bathroom. The tiny house is a combination of modern and rustic. And although it’s a tiny house, Price’s choice of fixtures sometimes wipes the fact that she lives in a shed from her mind, like her glass shower doors.
Price knows her house is too small for gatherings, so she plans to use her fire pit. In 2021, Price stopped using her home for vacation rentals, knowing housing insecurities were happening, and she wanted to make a difference.
“Having this home has given me a ton of real estate options, including rental income and backup housing for myself or aging family members,” she said.
Now, she’s renting to local students and low-income workers and plans on adding more guest suites to the main house.
“This year, I’m excited to fully experience the tiny home lifestyle for myself. It’s amazing what you can do with a bit of backyard space,” she said.
