Emily Gerde – Guest CoHost

Guest CoHost Emily Gerde presents Ryan Ott. He is a professional builder and has helped many people to fulfill their dream to build a tiny home. In this interview, we learn about the cost involved in building a tiny home and much, much more. If you are dreaming to own one in the future, this podcast will prepare you to ask all the right questions and make a plan before you spend any money. Best to do it right from the beginning.

Know How to Ask the Right Questions

by Emily Gerde

Ryan Ott is the owner of Midwest Tiny Living LLC. Based in Minnesota, Ryan brings a lifetime of experience and experiments to the tiny house community. His approach is to custom build tiny homes for the clients he serves which helps them make the transition in a way that works best for them. This technique, he feels, is the best way to ensure a successful transition from living in large rooms to living in a large world.

 

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We discuss all things tiny houses including pricing, planning, building, and parking. Ryan gives us an insider view of tiny house building and inspires us to think about the tiny house movement as a bigger goal of home ownership.  Ryan gives practical advice on how to plan efficiently and what to consider before finalizing your design. He does a great job explaining the difference between RV’s (which I accidentally call mobile homes), and tiny houses. From insulation to size and practicality, Ryan gives us the insight you need to make an informed decision about building a tiny house. With personal experience in living in a tiny house and camper, I can attest to his assessment of the pros and cons to both.

We dive into what it takes to make a tiny house and why prices vary from state to state. There is a growing confusion with tiny houses prices with most information coming from tiny house television shows. Ryan gives a step-by-step explanation of the cost of materials and how quickly they add up but also assures potential tiny homeowners costs can be decreased easily with used materials, sweat equity, fewer windows, smaller trailer and used appliances. He encourages you to build to the 98% of your life, by making sure your daily needs are met. He gives a great example of a bathtub being an unnecessary item if you take a bath twice a year or a huge kitchen if you only seat more than a few people on holidays. His practical planning advice will assure you design and build the tiny home that best fits your needs and wants.

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Financial freedom is a big part of the discussion as we discuss how tiny houses will save you a lot of money in the long run with no mortgage, small utility bills and low maintenance costs. Tiny homes are one piece of the puzzle for finding new ways to offer affordable houses. This may require some trailblazers to get zoning regulations changed in their area, as well as finding ways to build them up to a specific code to allow more parking spot options. When it comes to parking Ryan believes we all deserve to follow our dreams and live where we want to live and thrive.

You can find Ryan on his website at

https://midwesttinyliving.com/optin-17461619

You can also find him on Instagram and Facebook @Midwesttinyliving

Build Tiny home

 

Find out more about Emily and her Tiny Home experience here

A Tiny House for a Family

And hear how Collen Valles prepared for her move

Moving to a Tiny House

 

 

Episode 90 – The Venus Project

The Venus ProjectI was blown away when I first learned about The Venus Project five years ago through a video on You Tube.

It’s creator, Jacque Fresco, had thought of everything needed for building and maintaining a society that actually allows humans to live the lives they long for.

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Episode 61

Colleen

Colleen Valles, a mother of a 10-year-old and just about now, of a tiny new baby, is also a writer, a knitter, a pet mama and a Tiny House enthusiast. When her 10-year-old daughter got excited about the Tiny House idea, Colleen decided to take action on her dream. She explored all different ways to downsize and move to her parent’s property, but found that building codes pretty much nixed all her good ideas. Continue reading

Like me, lots of folks sign up for a permaculture design course to improve their gardening techniques and learn about how to heal our planet.

However students quickly learn that permaculture is actually a new way of solving problems – virtually all problems – by using nature-tested methodologies.

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Natural building methods are rising in popularity these days due to their often simpler designs, affordability and eco-friendliness. This week, Marianne interviews natural building expert and sustainable living aficionado Patrik Schumann who shares his knowledge and experience on the topic.