Martin Lodge-on-Wheels: 10’x20′ House for $37,900

While looking for more LendingClub P2P loans to fund today, I ran across a couple that was trying to buy a tiny home called a Lodge-on-Wheels. The current model is 10 ft. by 20 ft. and costs $37,900. I thought it was pretty neat to help fund this loan for people trying to achieve financial independence.

Inspired by her experiences after Hurricane Katrina, owner Julie Martin wanted to design an affordable tiny house that can be easily moved from place to place on a trailer. It is made primarily out of wood, unlike most of the RVs out there, which probably doesn’t make it something you want to be moving around all the time. But I love the look and feel of it, much more “homey” to me.

To get started, just park the LoW, plug in an extension cord, and connect a garden house. Some features:

Composting toilet, no sewer line required

Tankless water heater

Microwave/convection oven, 2-burner stove, fridge/freezer

Cedar countertops, and even cedar-walled shower.

Fully insulated

Hardwood (bamboo) floors

Loft for queen-sized bed

Beyond emergency housing, the possible uses for such a place are interesting. The site seems to be catering towards hunters and outdoorsy folks looking for a portable lake cabin. However, as the couple suggests, this could be a permanent home for anyone. You could simply “rent” someone’s backyard space and live in it. Find some cheap land and own your home for less than a BMW. If you have the yard space yourself, you could create your own rental property or in-law suite.

Be careful with these if you have a homeowner’s association – most of them disallow freestanding structures. Almost everywhere, houses have to be much bigger than this (either by local building codes or a homeowner’s association), and so it might not work to buy land and move this on it.

This one actually looks like one of the bigger tiny homes I’ve seen pictures of, and costs less than some of the others. I think its a great idea to live minimalist. If I had owned a plot of land I’d buy a couple of these and then just set it up for rent for when events are taking place in town.

Thanks I was just looking for a new loan on LC to fund. The last one I did didn’t go through. I asked them a question about when they will start living in it to see if the rent payment really will go away.

I have to admit, whenever I see one of these things posted on a blog… I want one! 🙂

I would probably invest in a person who was going to use the money to buy one of these. From what I can tell, the people who live in these (permanently) live much more frugally than most people. I would be more confident in their ability to pay back the loan because of that. But maybe that’s just my perception.

Does anyone know how the insurance works for these things? Is it like a trailer, that goes on your auto policy, or does it get its own homeowner’s type policy?

One thing to be careful of – the national insurance company I work for does not write auto policies for someone who doesn’t have a permanent address (PO boxes do not count). Even if we’re not insuring this house/vehicle, we will not write your regular auto if we know you’re living out of this thing in someone’s backyard or a random plot of land.

NPR had a story on these last week one day – a grad student living in one so she could afford harvard or something like that if i remember right. she had it parked in someone’s yard.
part of it was about going minimalist – a very neat concept considering most people want a bathroom this size.

I brought a foreclosed home with close to 2000 sq. ft.; three bedrooms, 2 baths, and a quarter of an acre in a gated community for less than twice the $37,000 + cost of the 10 x 20 described mobile home. Mine house needs repairs but I will be able to sell it for a lot more than a woodsy mobile home. Of course, I can’t haul it to a remote location.

I can see making do with this for a short, say, beach side vacation. Where you’re gonna spend most of the time outside, cooking meals on a BBQ. Good for a couple in love. Otherwise this confining space would totally get on my nerves. No way would I want to live there. It looks clean and nice here in the picture, but add any personal items and it would get clutter-y real fast. I’m just afraid they’re gonna start pushing these on baby boomers who are running short for retirement. I don’t need that much space, but at least 500-600 sq. ft. to feel comfortable. This is just a little too small for me.

@ Jonathan – No reason not to purchase the floor model. It might have had some traffic from people looking to purchase one, but for such a discount, you can’t go wrong. Especially if you are intent on purchasing one to begin with. Of course, this is assuming that the Floor model is in decent condition.

This is a very interesting home concept, but I have to say it is probably impractical for a large segment of the mobile, vacationing crowd – retirees. A loft for a bedroom? Most people over 65 or so could not climb that ladder or crawl into the loft for bed; my parents definitely could not. I realize the small area next to the bathroom area could be used instead, certainly for one person, but that definitely eats into the available space. So as a small home for a grad student, very fascinating idea. As a primary home or frequent get-away for older recreating folks, not so much.

Wow, can’t lend if you are from Texas! Lending Club is not authorized in all states…..” At the moment, individual lenders can invest in Notes if they are a resident of one of the following States: California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Louisiana, Maine, Minnesota, Mississippi, Montana, New Hampshire, Nevada, New York, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Utah, Virginia, Washington, Wisconsin, West Virginia, and Wyoming. ” …I counted 44 states allowed in the drop down so not sure how they parse lenders vs lendees…

Me I’d rather build my own for way cheaper if I had that kind of money some people want for these tiny houses. Why not buy an rv you can have a nice one with slideouts for more room for cheaper or same price 5th wheels too that’s how I look at it. You can make less then 20k easy and if you know where to look you can probably get some stuff you need free.

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