| Looking for a cheap home? You may want to | | | | would be cheaper to buy a little $160,000 house for |
| consider the options below. Keep in mind that they | | | | yourself. On the other hand, when we were in |
| may be just temporary. Years ago I used my own | | | | Michigan a few years ago, good four-plexes brought in |
| home as a boarding house, for example, in order to | | | | enough income from three units to make living in the |
| quickly pay off the mortgage. On the other hand, | | | | fourth almost free. |
| maybe you have no interest in living with others, or | | | | Living In An RV |
| building a home. That's okay - you may still find some | | | | This is an option many retirees are taking now. A |
| clues here as to how to save on your next home | | | | couple years ago we met several older couples who |
| anyhow. | | | | lived in their recreational vehicles for free, by being |
| Building Your Own Home | | | | hosts at campgrounds. Their duties were few, and |
| There are several large companies that sell house kits. | | | | included checking in new arrivals a few times a day. |
| These come with the complete plans and materials | | | | Another way to live in an RV is to buy a lot and park it |
| delivered to your site. You could build it yourself, but the | | | | there. The idea here is that you can live cheaply (if you |
| general idea is to be your own general contractor. You | | | | buy a used RV) until you can finance the construction |
| might get a nice house for 30% less this way. | | | | of your new home. |
| Build In Stages | | | | In Arizona, the Bureau of Land Management, or BLM |
| A friend of mine grew up in a basement as his father | | | | now charges to park your RV on some public lands |
| slowly built the house overhead through the years. | | | | that were previously free. The upside is that the fee is |
| Paying cash as you go to build your own home | | | | only around $100, you can now stay for six months, |
| sounds like a way to save a lot of interest, certainly, | | | | and there are pump-out stations and water available. |
| but it has it's problems too. In this case, it mean no | | | | That's cheaper than property taxes! |
| windows for years. The biggest problem now, is that | | | | Buying A Motel |
| regulations won't allow you to do this in most towns. | | | | Most small motels come with living quarters. Buy a |
| The idea has more merit if you don't take it to | | | | motel and you get a home and a job all in one. Just be |
| extremes, though. How about buying a smaller house | | | | sure that the numbers work, and that you want to |
| that you can afford now, and adding on later? Be sure | | | | work. |
| that it is possible according to local codes. | | | | Houseboats |
| Buying Land To Build On | | | | In some areas of the south, you can see hundreds of |
| If you can't afford to buy a house where you want to | | | | houseboats in the larger lakes. There is the allure of |
| live, maybe you can buy a lot on payments while you | | | | living on the water, but there are also financial |
| are renting or living elsewhere. If values are rising | | | | advantages. Used houseboats can cost much less |
| rapidly, you'll quickly gain equity in your land, which will | | | | than houses on land, you can find places to park them |
| make it easier to obtain financing to build a home in the | | | | cheap or free, and you don't pay property taxes. |
| future. | | | | Even More Cheap Home Options |
| Living In Your Rental Property | | | | There are still other possibilities for cheap homes, if you |
| Buying a duplex and living in one of the units has been | | | | really want to live creatively. Buying a home with an |
| popular for many decades now. Of course, the idea is | | | | extra lot that can be split off and sold might save you |
| that the rent from the other unit lowers your net | | | | thousands, for example. Then there are the lifestyle |
| housing cost. This isn't always the case, though. Look | | | | options that are beyond the scope of this article, like |
| closely at the numbers. | | | | living in a school bus, converting office space into living |
| Some of the duplexes around here sell for over | | | | space, and building a log cabin in the woods. |
| $250,000, but get only $500 monthly rent per unit. It | | | | |