Tiny houses
The housing shortage has become more and more acute in recent years. With self-storage at LAGERBOX, the effects of that shortage can be reduced somewhat.
If you don’t have enough room in a smaller flat, you can put your belongings into storage with us. Additionally, we want to offer another approach. You can consciously opt for a smaller flat and outsource everything you don’t acutely need to a self-storage unit.
Or move into a very small flat and put almost everything into storage at a self-storage facility. This is basically the tiny house concept, which involves people moving into very small houses or flats. What it's all about?
Let LAGERBOX explain
The trend’s main target group are minimalists, people who seek a life with less clutter and see this as a philosophy to live by. However, the target groups also include students and people who can no longer afford to finance a larger home of their own.
In these cases, tiny houses are an appropriate and convenient solution.
The small box-like houses are affordable. The ones in the lower price range cost around 5,000 euros, the medium range goes up to 20,000 euros, and one might pay around 50,000 euros for a more luxurious version. Read on to find out what you need to consider when building your own tiny house.
Parallels between self-storage and tiny houses
Indeed, there are several parallels between self-storage and tiny houses. For one, they come from the same place. Both movements are originally from the US and have not been established for a very long time here.
Self-storage companies offer their services in densely populated urban areas because large cities are home to many people with a lack of space and offer short distances. Tiny houses, too, are often found in large cities, which is simply where most people live nowadays.
The reasons why people use the services are also similar. The financial crisis in 2007 and 2008 forced people to find creative solutions since housing became so expensive. That’s how the tiny house idea was created. However, since tiny houses are small, they do not provide much space for storage.
This is where LAGERBOX comes into play.
This is an important issue not only in the US and Europe. In Asia, too, many people have been living in densely populated spaces for a long time now. Consequently, more people are talking about tiny houses there, too.
Special features of tiny houses
One of the big differences in Asia is that their tiny houses are often on wheels for greater mobility. Design-wise, however, the interior is a lot like a real house and less like a caravan or camper van. It’s a house in its own right, even if it tends to look a bit cute.
The demand for tiny houses is rising. And because demand creates supply, the past few months have seen providers of tiny houses proliferate. Regardless of whether people live in them temporarily or just for the duration of one holiday, tiny houses are popular.
In the town of Mehlmeisel in the Fichtel Mountains, there’s a whole village made up of tiny houses, a tiny village, where people from all social and age groups live together. More villages like that will follow.
Nevertheless, it must be noted that the demand still is highest in urban areas because that’s where most people live. For this reason, even policymakers are talking about it now.
Tiny houses as a form of support
The media are often talking about tiny houses in connection with homelessness. This is because the association “Little Home” has made it its mission to enable homeless people to live in such houses for free so that they don’t freeze during the coldest days of winter.
Building a tiny house: pros and cons
There are a few pros and cons to consider when building a tiny house. Let’s look at the benefits first. Construction costs are manageable and, if you have some technical skill, it won’t take too long to build either.
Maintenance costs are typically quite low and one generally needs little time for maintenance and care. If you decide to travel spontaneously, you can take your home with you. In any other case, this type of mobility would be unthinkable.
However, there are also some major disadvantages. You still face considerable red tape for funding and insurance in Germany because the authorities are relatively unaccustomed to this form of living. Further, the houses are simply too small for a whole family to live in them.
The quality of living can be limited by the lack of space. Living in them permanently is only possible with a building application, which is too daunting a project for many. Still, buying a tiny house is a viable alternative.
Regardless of whether you’re the inhabitant of a tiny house or live in a tiny flat, LAGERBOX and its self-storage offerings are reliable partners for all things storage.
