Read on for the ways inflation blows in 2021. Tiny home plans officially aborted as construction prices have doubled in the last 3 months!
The end of my dream…for now
Well, as of yesterday, my plans for going tiny have been blown up… by inflation. I had my home ordered, thankfully the builder hadn’t started building it yet, so I was able to cancel the order. Why did I have to stop before I started? Because I haven’t got enough in savings (and I refuse to go into debt) to pay for the build now that building materials are over double what they were when I budgeted and ordered the shell of my tiny home back in February.
You hear about lumber prices soaring, which is why I ordered the shell of my build in February, for the lower rates. What made me pull out was the cost to wire and hook into the grid. Yes, I could live off grid, but I work online, so I need to be sure that I have electricity and solar power is not reliable in Northern Ontario. Yes, I could use a generator, but the property owners don’t want the noise of them, so that leaves the grid as my back up source of electricity. No, I can no longer afford the cost of wiring my home, connecting to the grid, putting in insulation, putting in egress windows in the lofts, putting in HVAC, putting in plumbing, etc… with the current costs of materials.
This sucks…or blows! But, I am an optimist and this was my retirement plan put into action early, so I will just hold onto my savings until I can afford to higher a builder to build the entire thing, rather than just the shell.
The Repercussions
Now, to the repercussions of the bowing out at the last minute.
I had given in my two months notice and my apartment has already been rented by someone else and we have less than a month before we are out! I have two kids and 5 cats — we are not easy to relocate on a moments notice.
It was time to deep breathe and take stock of the situation. We could live anywhere in Ontario and we can afford the higher rent — once again, thanks to inflation. So, we could see what was available in our building, or go somewhere else. It was then that I remembered the building (same owners as the one I am in now) that I had looked at a few years ago. It is in a wooded area beside the Thames River, and a public park with bike paths, a splash pad, children’s park, and outdoor pool. It is as close to living in the forest up north, while still being in the city, as I am going to get. I was on the phone in seconds and with only one apartment without applications on it, my application was in. Now, we wait for approval.
Photo Credits:
1. Photo by Niklas Kickl 2. Ehimetalor Akhere Unuabona 3. Rendy Novantino 4. Peter Burdon 5. Omid Armin on Unsplash
