All Forum Posts by: Kurt F.

If I were doing a 5 or 10K project with above average contractors, I would not hesitate on 30% down.  There are many smaller projects that just can't feasibly work for a contractor without a higher percent down.  

But toward the OP's original post and a project of 100K +/-, then no I would not turn over 30K in one payment.  Proportionately, that amount would likely not be fair to both parties.

There are some built-in problems with a 30K / 30% downpayment, even if it's for materials, and even if you have them delivered to your house / property the same day.  How many individuals on this forum know what a 30,000 dollar pile of materials necessarily looks like?  As opposed to a 25,000 dollar or 35,000 pile?   I'm sure JScott does, as would the contractor members, some others, etc.  But I'll bet a paycheck that they are in the distinct minority.

Ultimately, there's really no reason to reinvent fair procedures when more substantial sums of money are involved.  It's done all the time, and I've done it on projects for many years, but you'll likely need to look beyond residential for a good pattern to follow.  (Incidentally, I cringe a little at some of the discussion of the types of contracts / agreements used.)    In any event, the contractor needs to provide an accurate and detailed schedule of values for everything involved in the project.  From there, a progress payment schedule that is fair to both parties must be developed, and is not at all difficult to do.  If you don't know how to do this part, you can easily get some input.  As the project progresses, it is generally obvious what work has been completed, materials stored, etc.  The contractor applies for periodic payment and the client must promptly pay.  

I agree that the contractor's job is not to finance the client's whims, but I'd also agree that the client needs fair proof of service.   Requests for 30% or 20% or 60% with no detailed paper backup are too arbitrary to be considered. 

I'm planning my path toward purchasing another property (I own my house outright plus a duplex with small mortgage).   Typically, for conventional bank financing, what credit score is required to get the best financing terms?  I've searched the forums a bit and some seem to indicate that 720 is a number above which the differences are slight.  Is that true?  Thanks in advance for your input.

I seem to have gotten it for 0 dollars.  Thanks!

To say ply is better than OSB -- or vice versa -- doesn't really mean a whole lot.  There are so many variations on the specs of each that you'd really have to do a bit of homework beyond the generic names.  Many types of OSB outperform many types of ply.  Neither type likes water.  Building codes generally interchange the two for sheathing / sub flooring. Always check the warranty requirements of your finished floor material as it relates to subfloor performance requirements.

^ Well, actually OSB is used more than ply for sub-flooring.

countertops and benchtops are the same thing

A possible point about the issue of trying to implement tiny houses into certain circumstances. I think that in general, the Tiny House Movement is by nature almost anti-real estate, and that seems to be tough to digest for some investors. Obviously, much of the Movement is about unburdening oneself from the trappings of real estate -- getting as far away as possible from the way real estate even works -- so, it's then difficult and clumsy to plug tiny houses back into the mainstream markets, as most of the logic of the prototype disappears out of context.  Forcing them into weird contexts soon proves impractical, and often not even legal.

A tiny house novelty hotel can make money -- but how about a bunch of tiny house hotels scattered everywhere? Probably not very successful. The Caravan example feels unique and fun because the prototype is more one-of-a-kind and completely out of context -- and out of context to the point where other odd objects are often substituted -- a teepee, a train car, a spaceship.

Same thing as an AirB&B -- fun and novel for a while, but after the novelty wears off, any other nice RV might easily be substituted.

As for renting a tiny house over the long term, I've already raised some practical and logistical questions in previous posts -- in short, I think renting as opposed to owning runs counter to the nature of the Tiny House prototype, and the reasons for living in one.

Wait, what's the "relatively easy way"?   As you've noted, to group several tiny houses in an urban setting, you're pretty much down to novelty hotel adaptations, since zoning prevents much else.  Correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think J Martin plans to become a hotelier.  Which, means "a person who owns/runs a hotel", for people living in Iowa.

But I can't really tell where you're thought process is headed, especially when I mentioned long-term renting and its feasibility.  Relatively speaking, and from a national perspective, tiny houses are generally thought to be, well, tiny in size.  As rentals - by obvious comparison with most markets -- tiny houses are also surprisingly expensive for such a small living space.   Although, when I alluded to this, you disagreed and countered with examples of high-rent locales -- essentially letting me know that tiny house are really neither tiny nor expensive, and that my perspective is probably skewed by the experiential poverty of my midwest location.  Again, for Iowans:  that means that we live out in the sticks.  ;-)  Sorry, K. Marie, I promise to stop messing with you. 

@Sunny Clark -- yah.  Well said.  It's funny, and as I'm sure you know, Tiny House as a Movement is not without a philosophical basis. The thoughtful proponents of the movement can speak quite clearly as to the logic and rationale of what they are doing.  You'll hear them use words like freedom, independence, creativity, etc.  The best of the movement isn't about hiding one under the legal radar in someone's backyard.  Or another novelty hotel for bored folks.   I wonder what they'd think of a half-dozen wooden RV's tethered together on a patch of asphalt.  But hey, whatever blows your hair back, I suppose.

@Tina C. 

Was the pine the finish floor pre-rehab?  I'm always curious how pine holds up over time.  I think it depends a bit upon what species of pine it is.  Did you sand out a lot of dents, etc.?