We didn’t want to live in an expensive house so bought a floating tiny home- we can’t get takeaways but save £22k a year
BUYING a home can be expensive - but perhaps the answer is to leave dry land.
A couple has revealed how they moved onto a floating tiny home on a lake, and now save £22,000 a year.
Sarah Spiro, 27, and Brandon Jones, 40, live off-the-grid and claim their main housing bill is their £3,800-a-year mooring fee.
The couple, from North Carolina, spend their days doing watersports on the lake and working at their outdoor jobs.
Sarah is a guide for an adventure company, while Brandon works as a marina manager for the lake.
Sarah told Business Insider: "We would pass by these floating cabins all the time. And in my mind, I was always thinking, 'Gosh, what do I have to do in life to get one of those?'
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“That would be my ultimate dream — having all my hobbies right at my doorstep."
So she decided to make her dream a reality.
Over three years ago, they bought their first floating home, but it needed a lot of work and wasn’t “liveable.”
Not put off, the hard-working pair spent two months transforming their 360-square-foot floating home, which has 400 square feet of external dock space.
After two years, they had the opportunity to upgrade to a bigger floating home, which came with the added benefit of a guest room to host family and friends.
This gave them the opportunity to rent out their smaller first home for some extra cash, before selling it off to save them the work of being landlords.
Their £3,800 mooring fee includes a place to dock, so they can access their home from the land and head into the nearest town, which is about 40 minutes away.
It also gives them access to city water.
Sarah and Brandon spent most of their time on Fontana Lake, where the Asheville Citizen-Times estimated there are around 400 floating homes, and five harbours that operate like “small towns”.
While they have to forego takeaways and being close to shops, one of their favourite things about their life on the lake is having incredible views at all times.
We would pass by these floating cabins all the time. And in my mind, I was always thinking, 'Gosh, what do I have to do in life to get one of those?
Sarah Spiro
Sarah added: "I just love that no matter what you're doing, you can look out the window and have this super peaceful view — even if you're just doing dishes.”
The couple admit that they are aware their tiny home lifestyle isn’t for everyone, but they think they’ll “never go back” to a normal home on land.
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Their home cost them £69,000 between them, including their renovation work, and they added that they didn’t think they’d have been able to find a typical house for that.
Sarah urged people to be open-minded about the unusual way of living and said: “Just give it a shot. And if you don't like it, I can guarantee you somebody else will.”
