Inside 'new concept' tiny home village with rent from $1200 - 'copy' communities are being built, bu
A NEW tiny home village offers residents the chance to live there full time with monthly payments as low as $1,200.
Tiny homes have surged in popularity as Americans adopt more minimalist and affordable lifestyles amid high rates of inflation.
In San Antonio, Texas, a new tiny home community has popped up, and it promises to deliver all the ease and affordability of tiny living without sacrificing on design and aesthetics.
In a new video, TikToker Stephen Martinez, a realtor who goes under the @Realtor_Stephen_Martinez username, showed off the new tiny home village.
The homes have a starting sale price of $140,000, making them far cheaper than a traditional housing unit, which often runs from $300,000 or more.
“I’m curious to see what they look like because we’re not used to this style,” Stephen said.
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City-wide, there are three communities featuring tiny homes within San Antonio, but few have fully embraced the tiny home lifestyle.
INSIDE THE COMMUNITY
As Stephen entered one of the first tiny homes on the block, the house welcomed him with a full driveway and pillars surrounding a light blue lot home.
Stephen said all of the units were not designed for large families, so you have to keep this in mind when considering if you’d be able to make a tiny home lifestyle work.
Instead, they work great for working professionals and empty nesters, who often don’t need as much space to live the vibrant lives they want without a huge amount of material items.
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The home tour included a personal look into a full kitchen space with a wide window for airy light.
The kitchen also comes with granite countertop and a full sink and oven.
“To be honest, they’re really not that bad especially if you live in other cities where space is at a premium,” the realtor shared with his thousands of followers.
For instance, a studio in New York City often only provides around 500 square feet while costing $3,500 in rent, according to RentHop.
And with the minimum size of a studio being only 150 square feet, the tiny homes available in San Antonio can appear quite impressive.
Stephen said the tiny homes available in San Antonio are also energy-efficient, making them even more affordable in the long run.
Due to their energy efficiency, your monthly cost could come around to roughly $1,200 based on a typical mortgage payment.
That’s very similar to the price of a one-bedroom apartment in the area.
“Except here you own instead of rent,” Stephen said. “It has everything one needs.”
Also included in the set up is a full-sized bathroom with granite countertops, a shower and stackable washer and dryer connections.
The loft area you can use as your bedroom is “actually a cool space,” Stephen said.
“I’m almost six feet tall, and there’s plenty of room above my head,” the TikToker added as he walked around the spacious bedroom area.
Even in a tiny home space, you don’t have to skimp out on what you love if you’re an outdoorsy individual.
Outside the tiny home’s interior, Stephen walked into a large backyard, which provided ample room to set up a playground, play fetch with your dog or even just host an outdoor barbecue.
Each neighborhood offers pool and playground amenities as well, making the buildings a solid option if you have a smaller family.
“If you need someplace affordable, this is not a bad idea,” Stephen said.
There are also several incentives available if you do decide to purchase a tiny home in San Antonio.
That includes fully covered closing costs.
Or, for a few hundred dollars more, you can get something bigger or more traditional, Stephen said.
Still, there are many advantages that come alongside tiny home ownership, including a simpler lifestyle and lower monthly payments.
“Stop paying rent because it’s all about home ownership, San Antonio,” Stephen said at the end of his video.
A NATIONAL TREND
Several other tiny home villages have been popping up around the country as developers recognize the demand for low-cost, minimalist housing.
In Elizabethtown, Pennsylvania, Tiny Estates offers 58 tiny homes, and rent begins at just $650.
At first, the space operated more like a hotel, but owner Abby Shank said over time, it became the community it is today, far different from its past as a mobile home park.
“Everybody kind of has a different lifestyle and a reason for having their tiny home, but it’s created this nice, well-rounded sense of community,” Abby said.
The space includes a community garden, firepit, mailbox space and laundry facilities.
Meanwhile, in Wilmington, North Carolina, the Eden Village offers a solution for homelessness, providing a 32-unit tiny home community for those who fit the criteria of “chronically homeless.”
To live in the village, you also must have a physical or mental illness that makes you a high cost burden to the public.
Once approved, you’ll pay only a small portion of your monthly earnings.
Orlando, Florida has also built a tiny home community with rent as low as $350.
The Orlando Lakefront at College Park community officially launched in 2015 when the 1950s RV park transformed into an upscale tiny home village.
“We offer available lots to tiny housers who wish to legally park, live on the shores of a beautiful lake and take advantage of all that a nearby metropolitan area has to offer,” said Adam Money, the owner of Orlando Lakefront.
To date, 27 RVs and 23 small houses line the property, but many more are interested in joining the tiny home neighborhood.
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Here’s another tiny home community where rent starts at just $700, but the waitlist is already growing.
Some tiny home enthusiasts have gotten their monthly expenses even lower, including one woman who built her home from the ground up but now pays only $250 for the custom house.
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