Tiny Houses off the beaten path (sort of)

[Leigh Ann Smith]

I have a question for those familiar with the vacation rental market.  We are 30 minutes from downtown Houston, but in a rural area.  I should say that it's 30 minutes with no traffic - 45+ minutes at rush hour.

We are considering putting 2-3 tiny houses on our 35 acre property.  We wonder if tiny houses might have a "cool factor" that cabins wouldn't have.  Is there a market for those who just want to get away from the city for a day or two?  People coming to Houston's medical center for treatment could also be a source of potential renters.  There is nothing fun to do at our place, except that it is a Christmas tree farm, so people might like going for walks in the tree field.  Tiny house at a Christmas tree farm might be attention-getting in any case. 

Zoning is no problem for us, nor are building code restrictions, with the exception of putting in a septic tank.  That part can be a headache, but it's not insurmountable.

Do you think we'd have a market for that type of property since we are not located in a vacation destination?  

[Teri Feeney Styers]

So, I just went through the process of doing two things: I bought a fixer house on a large lot. I turned the SF house into a duplex by creating a "tiny house" apartment on one end. I also went through a land split to carve off a small building lot with the intention of constructing a couple of tiny houses. Just started marketing the duplex this week and am getting decent interest. Everyone likes the idea of the tiny houses next door - but who knows if they will sell? These won't be on wheels... I live in a great tourist area - I've thought of an Air B&B concept but obviously I am not ready yet. I just don't want to make a costly mistake. Since you are building several maybe you could market it as a group retreat / family reunion kind of thing... or go for the whole Christmas theme... Keep us posted.