How to have a home with no house payments and no utility bills! Video

I came across this amazing video collection. This man shows you how to cheaply build a house and live in it with no utility bills.

His small house is 14x14 and fits 2 people comfortably. The house is designed so you can add on to it if you need more space. House cost $2000.00 He uses solar power, cost 3000.00. Land he says can be bought as cheap as 400 to 700 dollars per 3/4 acre of land. So for $6000.00 (six thousand dollars) he's got land a home and power. He has a well dug for water and uses propane for heat and cooking and to run a generator for less than 200 dollars a year.

I subscribed to this guys YouTube channel and plan to watch all his videos. Here are two to give you a taste of the good life.

Overview:


Cabin Interior:


Could I live like this? Hell Yes. I live in a condo now that's not much bigger than this. I have three stipulations. I need to be in an area where I can fish and I need to have some type of dish internet connection and be close enough to a city - just in case.

Of course all of these ideas could be expanded on he's just giving you ideas to get you started. He has a website and has published some books on the subject here: www.simplesolarhomesteading.com...

If you do this young enough, or even my age 44, you will still have years worth of time to save money for a large nice home someplace without being tied to the corrupt system that rapes us blind. I have paid 300 a month for my condo ( Which seems Cheap for maintenance fees) BUT (initial cost 20.000 to purchase) over 10 years now - that's 3600 a year, 36000 dollars in 10 years. That's a total of 56,000 dollars! Gee, I'd sure like to have that 50,000 dollars back, wouldn't you?

I've seen this around the interwebs in last couple years. Yes, I would definitely give up my mortgage and utility bills to live simple like that. All I can think of is, where I am I going to travel next? No bills certainly give a person options for a much greater lifestyle away from home. Not to mention a huge savings account. In a New York second!

There have been many interesting articles on this type of home and living style recently.

The simple life does have its rewards.

I'm sure they still need to pay property tax, but the other bills are very low.

The one thing I don't understand though is that they keep saying this is a "new" trend. I think this has been around for many, many years, but they used to call them "mobile homes" They were also small, very inexpensive, and could be placed on your own land. The style of this home is a bit different, but the concept is the same.

nope....shoebox syndrome...the trusses are easily made longer, or use timber frame.....the roof could be a function of the roof sheets to be used....like if one uses 3 foot sheets, the roof is 27' 1 3/4 covered and the porch is always best wrapped all the way around. and use the vertical space completely....a loft!

did you know you can get tempered glass for the windows for.....friggin free.....any glass installer has a rack out back or over there on the side by the dumpster, but they rack the unwanted glass for anyone who wants it....when the rack is full, they "blow-up" the "lights" what they call windows in the trade

This is something i have often thought about. But i would need electricity, and i have no idea how reliable that is with just solar and wind in say Georgia(only sunny all year round place i've lived)
My idea was to basically live like this for 5 years while still going to work and saving up to start a business. I imagine having a bigger savings account and a bigger wad of cash in my wallet to spend on fun things instead of bills.

Here are a few ideas.

Taking the Alternative Energy Plunge When my wife and I moved to Montana last year, we found a comfortable home on several acres with a view of the mountains. There was only one hitch – the house was off the grid. In fact, everyone in the subdivision generated their own power, including the bed and breakfast nearby. That doesn’t mean it was primitive. The house had solar panels, a wind turbine, a battery bank and inverter, a generator, and a full range of appliances including washer and dryer, refrigerator, stove, satellite TV, propane furnace, and even a dishwasher. Since I had operated a cogeneration power plant before coming to Montana, I wasn’t too concerned about generating my own electric power, so we bought the house.

www.todayshomeowner.com...

SinMaker - Welcome to ATS. I'm with you, I'd travel too some. Thanks for the post.

BlueAjah - I think the idea now is it's easier because we have better technology like wind power and solar. I lived in a mobile home once, it still had to have a power line to it and we still had to pay for utilities or rent if you didn't own it.

GBP/JPY - Good to know about getting free glass, Thanks.

Bixxi3 - My understanding is a combo of solar and wind works just fine. Solar gets it's power from a peak 4 hours of the Sun's rays each day and it can even be made to track the sun during the day for optimal capture of power. Solar charges banks of batteries (which can be rebuilt/recharged when they go out) and your really feeding off the batteries with the solar constantly recharging the batteries. Solar for the day and warm months when the sun is out a lot and wind for nights and cooler months when there is more wind. The wind power also charges the same batteries.

Here is another cool video I came across. You know that famous wilderness survival guy, Les Stroud? Well, he and his wife decided they were going to get off the grid and this video tells of their journey to this end.Even this survival expert had a lot to learn and had some surprises in store for him.


Two other cool websites I found for getting off the grid cheap with DIY projects are: theoffgridproject.com... and thediyworld.com...

The big problem of setting such a home up is where are you going to work?

Most people have jobs in urban areas. You cannot just set up a little cabin in Manhattan or downtown Chicago.

You can probably buy a piece of land on the cheap somewhere rural or in the wilderness. But how are you going to make your living? If you are going to hunt and gather, that is fine. Most of us are not hunter-gatherers, though. We work in offices around other people in urban centers. If we commute 100 miles to our jobs, not only are we now paying for gas, but we also are spending several hours a day in our cars just so we don't have to have an electric bill or mortgage.

Originally posted by kdog1982
Here are a few ideas.

Taking the Alternative Energy Plunge When my wife and I moved to Montana last year, we found a comfortable home on several acres with a view of the mountains. There was only one hitch – the house was off the grid. In fact, everyone in the subdivision generated their own power, including the bed and breakfast nearby. That doesn’t mean it was primitive. The house had solar panels, a wind turbine, a battery bank and inverter, a generator, and a full range of appliances including washer and dryer, refrigerator, stove, satellite TV, propane furnace, and even a dishwasher. Since I had operated a cogeneration power plant before coming to Montana, I wasn’t too concerned about generating my own electric power, so we bought the house.

www.todayshomeowner.com...

Thanks.. those are exactly the same ideas talked about in the three videos in this thread. The idea of a whole community together doing this is awesome. I could live like this with other people nearby and I think people should if they have kids. Perhaps if I get to do this, I'll buy enough land to start my own self sufficient community. That would rock.

reply to post by hotpinkurinalmint


That's why I'm going to wait a few more years to do this. I don't work for anyone else but myself so it's just a matter of me having the money to do this. I own my home now and in a few years will have another source of rental income from two properties. My wife on the other hand won't like having to either quit her job or switch jobs but she may decide because she wont need to work shell be happier not working. I won't mind a garden, but I don't want to be a full time hunter or farmer. We also don't have any kids so that's not a problem. It's just something you have to decide you can afford to do or change the way you live to make it work.

reply to post by JohnPhoenix


This guy is really an inspiration, I have done my research in doing it where I live (Israel) but it is tremendously more expensive than the numbers he was giving to do this in my country. (prices for land here are simply insane, thanks to people whom are still cannot hold themselves and buy homes for more than 400,000$)

But it is a great idea, and a great beginning to have a normal, sustainable life and not to be enslaved to a system that makes you work for 160+ hours a month just to have the basics.

I live in a home that is not much bigger.

There's is 14 x 14 =196 sqft
My house is 8 x 30 =240 sqft.

The difference is mine is on wheels, A Class A motor home.
I am getting ready to add solar, the lighting and refrigerator are 12 volts and i already have a 6.5 kw generator.
i1.rvusa.com...

If i want to move all i have to do is unplug and drive away.
I only paid $5000 for it and it only has 29xxx miles on it.

I Iove the tiny home, think they are cute....
but I kind of think that my little tiny home would have blown away this past year in a couple of the storms we got.
it's my understanding that they are build small enough to not be considered a home and thus, bypass regulations in many cities. you could build one, put it in your backyard, and rent out your home....

I just wouldn't recommend them in tornado or hurricane prone areas though....

only a couple things i would do different, would be fully stocked bathroom, and that wall on the right side of the entrance, the entire thing would be a window!

reply to post by ANNED


ATS and a motor home capable of shifting me with the seasons?

i truly envy you.

reply to post by ANNED


Nice RV ! I may want to have my off the grid house And an RV but what scares the willies out of me is the gas and upkeep of those things. My 84 year old mother just bought a 12 cylinder Mercedes. That thing sucks gas like you would not believe. I'd love to see your RV decked out with solar panels, that would rock. Hope if all works out nice for you.

Ya know.. I've always wanted to have my own boathouse too so I could travel on the water and fish in the ocean. Marina parking isn't that expensive. If I had all three, that would really be true freedom.

Originally posted by dawnstar
I Iove the tiny home, think they are cute....
but I kind of think that my little tiny home would have blown away this past year in a couple of the storms we got.
it's my understanding that they are build small enough to not be considered a home and thus, bypass regulations in many cities. you could build one, put it in your backyard, and rent out your home....

I just wouldn't recommend them in tornado or hurricane prone areas though....

You bring up a good point. I don't know what the regulations are.. I supposed I'd have to ask before I bought property because I'm sure they change from one area to the next. I don't think no matter the size they can force you to use city utilities. My wife and I agree 14x14 is a little too small but 3 times that size is over 1700 sq feet and that would be big enough. Design is everything though to maximize space. I have seen some really interesting designs of Cob houses. Cob houses are made of mud LOL.. clay and straw and sand but once they harden can stand for over 300 years. Not sure I'd go with cob just it gives me good ideas on designs.
Here are some examples of cob houses:

These can be made hurricane proof by design and there are also regular home designs that can be hurricane proof. I'd have to look into that most probably because I live in south Louisiana and I want to live near salt water for fishing.

I have several folders with alternative homes. His was already in it.

A plan of mine for some time goes like this.

Get kids into various home based businesses and skils. Currently we are trying to find a couple basic things to jump into that cost barely nothing, that they can do at home, or we can, and will earn say 500 dollars extra, to be able to put into the business idea a few of them really liked, but that will take a few years to become more artisan, and that requires a small stream of income going into it.

But this is the carrot. Second hand extended cab trucks in the 80's range before they got computerized, diesel. And possibly one junker that still runs but is cheap for practicing mods on, ie. I want to eventually convert them to run on water or salt water.

Buy land, as big as we can as cheap as we can in a still good area. Say 30 acres.

Buy the cheapest second hand fifth wheels we can.

This video:


Tiny Yellow House - Sage's Gypsy Wagon (Handbuilt portable cabin/tiny home in Boston)

To begin with he bought a very small trailer for like 400 dollars, if I remember correctly. He extended the trailer frame and rebuilt it.

Mine would be full rectangle, no odd shape, and then have an extra shed bult attached to the two at the back, so there would be an overhang for a porch or greenhouse/porch, to the back.

What I see doing is this. Using alternative building materials. Ie. paper crete style cob homes and especially what my plan is, HEMP and LIME cob style bulding for walls and cupboards cabinets, even beds.

Roofing would depend on climate. But the same can be turned into tiles or you can use recycled metal tiles, distressed to any look you want.

Skylights, windows.

I would literally create them to be as big as you can legally make one and pull it, create its own energy, be as Green as possible, and be designed to be part of a home. Ie. My own would have two full length large side homes on wheels, that dovetail together, possibly with a tarped roof. but each pulls separately.

So I could be comfy with my 2 younger sons, and if they're grown by this time, have guest room, grandchild room.

And we'd have many homes on wheels, nestled in the farm, for family, grown kids, friends, and many extra's for guests.

And run busineses, also aquaponics, like that 3 acres that grew over 1 million pounds food and 10 000 fish, fruit and nut trees, chickens and eggs, experiment on mods and free or clean energy, hold worskships, sky gave and telescope building, get a community radio show going, have a lot of fun, and with future profits, buy more tracts of land and really spread this everwhere.

Eventually on some cob homes, saving the home on wheels for guests.

Also erect some yurts on every property too for communal kitchens, extra laundry, gatherings, guests and offices.

But everyone would have land around them, say 1/3 acre and be private. Or more.

Building up old cheap trailer, to be as big as it can be, and then putting two together would make quite nice cozy but still functional size, and if you had 4 younger kid that couldn't have their own, you could always make a small trailer for an extra, quiet space, as a room or study, for yourself, like an art studio nestled nearby.

Using alternative building materials, and hemp is controlled for their big business, so they like to take the worlds greatest gift for everyone and give it to the rich big corporations. Well the lime works with corn husks and other pants too, so just mix and match. It creates a kind of plant stone that is lighter and stronger than bricks.

Whatever you do, make it beautiful and CHEAP.

Here for example is the possible size of one legal RV, so if you picture this doubled you could be quite happy, and do it all for less than 10 000 if you either build up a cheap one on it's way to the junk yard, or build from scratch.

www.greatlakesrvcenter.com...

I've been posting this on my thread for a bit.

www.abovetopsecret.com...
No Matter What Your Politics, Why Is Anyone Living In Poverty?

www.abovetopsecret.com...
Greenpowerscience Offgrid Projects

www.abovetopsecret.com...
How To Make Hydrogen Fuel At Home!

All really dovetailing for a good way of freeing this planet up for everyone. And if you run businesses so have profit, I'd be sinking it into more land here and overseas and duplicating/exporting it all over the world for many others.

Teamwork/Helping Hand. And for any money contributed to others, it would be like baton that you pass forward, for the push forward, for a whole group there to become abundant and freed, they could also, if an only if, they achieve profits, beyond their needs, also Export it by contributing to another Eco Farm.

reply to post by Unity_99


Thanks for the vid, info and links - good stuff all around.