We’ve all seen those super speeded-up “how to” videos on Facebook. The ones where a woman goes from plain to movie star in 2:30, or bakes a cake with 15 ingredients in 1:15. The fast vids make hard and complicated things look oh-so-easy, making them so very tempting to try for ourselves.
The latest of these DIY social media videos show you how to build your own portable, collapsible, rebuildable, super cool, stylish, move-anywhere-in-the-world tiny home. Which isn’t even all that tiny.
But buyer beware because we’re here to point a few things in this “easy” lifestyle you may not have considered.
Because, yes, it’s only $32,860 for a 290-sq.-ft. M.A.Di Home, as the sleek Italian modules are called, or $72,748 for an almost normal-sized 904-sq.-foot version. And yes, you can raise it up in six hours, but you’re going to need a few things that the sellers don’t really emphasize. That “crew” of six needs to be professional builders and include an electrician, plumber, and window fitter.
And per the speeded-up construction video, you need your own uber-modern crane and an operator who knows how to use it without taking out the rest of that crew. You need an architect and a foreman on hand, so the roof doesn’t end up as the foundation, and the bathrooms aren’t on the roof.
Oh, and yes, it’s “portable,” if you have a massive commercial trailer, like the kind you see hauling lumber cross-country. You know, the ones that say “Stay back 200 feet, not responsible for broken windshields!” Yeah, those ones.
One more thing: the video shows the completed and fully furnished house as incredibly Euro-swank, with staged furniture and accessories that will probably run you another $100K. And don’t forget that furniture has to be moved as well, and you don’t really want that $2,000 Italian chair being smashed in a U-Haul by your cousin Sal, do you? So, build in another couple thou for professional movers.
The manufacturer boasts that all models come with a fitted bathroom, kitchen connections, and technical installations (whatever that means), assuring eager buyers that you’ll get your enormous box of home parts in just two months from final acceptance of the plans.
All of the homes are made on site in Italy, so you might want to factor in another umpteen thousand in shipping costs, and another two months for that arrival time, as it’s presumably coming by boat, train, and trailer. They also boast that it can be “easily stored away,” but where? On that extra acre of land you have? Build in another $10,000 to $10,000,000, depending if you’re storing your M.A.Di Home in rural Kentucky, or Malibu, California.
One last thing, while we’re on the subject of land. The manufacturer notes proudly that the homes are earthquake-proof and potentially green, if you purchase and install your own solar panels, LED lighting, and rainwater conversion systems.
Another $100K maybe? Not to mention sanitation hookups (unless those composting toilets appeal to you).
What are we up to now? Probably anywhere from $250,000 to $15,000,000, depending on geography and hood. Call us crazy, we think it might be easier just to buy, sell, and move when the time comes.
Cool house, though, bro.