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I'm thinking that very few folks, these days, have the mindset & skill set & finances & timeframe to build their own houses. And it wouldn't be just the curren

I'm thinking that very few folks, these days, have the mindset & skill set & finances & timeframe to build their own houses. And it wouldn't be just the currently-active NIMBY's who fought tooth and nail against any "simple changes" that might halve the average cost of a house overnight.

inigyou 3mo ago
A house doesn't have to be fancy. Live in a tent on a grassy lot? Why not? But you can't, because the lot is unaffordable
- mothballed 3mo ago
  Last I checked 5 or so years ago a lot big enough to drop a yurt on in San Francisco was only like 100k. Legally unbuildable, but perfectly usable and sanitary with an incinerator toilet, solar, and hauled water. Maybe 200k all in, in roughly the most expensive place in the US.
  - inigyou 3mo ago
    If it's legally unbuildable, does that mean you're spending 100k just to get yourself imprisoned for having an illegal structure?
    - mothballed 3mo ago
      Yes edit: as a comment, there are a lot of people in places like big island hawaii for instance, that do something like this under burner LLCs with shipping containers, then just move them when caught and do the same thing over again.
      - inigyou 3mo ago
        I suppose as long as it's 100% temporary, it might be legal (I am not your lawyer). So maybe a caravan trailer, a tent, or a covered up cargo bicycle will be allowed. But I'm not paying $100k to sleep in a converted bicycle bin, I can do that just as well under a bridge!
        fragmede 3mo ago
        Location, location, location. Where's this bicycle bin and where's this bridge?
        inigyou 3mo ago
        Are you saying there's a $100k unbuildable empty lot in the middle of Manhattan or LA?
        deleted 3mo ago
        [deleted]
mothballed 3mo ago
I was working 60 hours a week, plus raising small children, plus had zero construction experience, plus buying literal pieces of lumber and block paycheck to paycheck as money allowed. If you start at 18 and finish in 20 years, you are still ahead of age of median new home buyer by 2 years. Some people have valid excuses, but most do not.

inigyou 3mo ago

A house doesn't have to be fancy. Live in a tent on a grassy lot? Why not? But you can't, because the lot is unaffordable

mothballed 3mo ago
Last I checked 5 or so years ago a lot big enough to drop a yurt on in San Francisco was only like 100k. Legally unbuildable, but perfectly usable and sanitary with an incinerator toilet, solar, and hauled water. Maybe 200k all in, in roughly the most expensive place in the US.
- inigyou 3mo ago
  If it's legally unbuildable, does that mean you're spending 100k just to get yourself imprisoned for having an illegal structure?
  - mothballed 3mo ago
    Yes edit: as a comment, there are a lot of people in places like big island hawaii for instance, that do something like this under burner LLCs with shipping containers, then just move them when caught and do the same thing over again.
    - inigyou 3mo ago
      I suppose as long as it's 100% temporary, it might be legal (I am not your lawyer). So maybe a caravan trailer, a tent, or a covered up cargo bicycle will be allowed. But I'm not paying $100k to sleep in a converted bicycle bin, I can do that just as well under a bridge!
      - fragmede 3mo ago
        Location, location, location. Where's this bicycle bin and where's this bridge?
        inigyou 3mo ago
        Are you saying there's a $100k unbuildable empty lot in the middle of Manhattan or LA?
        deleted 3mo ago
        [deleted]

mothballed 3mo ago

I was working 60 hours a week, plus raising small children, plus had zero construction experience, plus buying literal pieces of lumber and block paycheck to paycheck as money allowed. If you start at 18 and finish in 20 years, you are still ahead of age of median new home buyer by 2 years. Some people have valid excuses, but most do not.