The housing crisis in America has worsened over recent years, but it seems home ownership has only become more prohibitively expensive for Americans in just a few short years.
To make matters worse, corporations are buying up more and more family residences with no sign of this practice slowing down soon.
These factors, and indubitably several others, have amalgamated to form a unique problem for the American home buyer—it’s now harder to buy a home now than it was during the Great Depression. As a result, many folks, despite working full-time and multiple jobs, have turned to alternative housing solutions, like tiny homes.
It seems people are purchasing pre-fabricated, small homes from known retailers that they can get delivered to a property they already own to avoid paying exorbitant rent/mortgage fees in other areas.
A TikToker who goes by Graim (@gilgra2023) shared how they were able to buy a tiny home directly off of Amazon for $32,475 on a zero-interest credit card to put on a part of a 13-acre plot of land they own.
Graim expressed that he had hoped to erect several of these tiny homes on his property to rent them out for around $750 to $800 a month and build a tiny home community that would help him bring in some revenue.
@gilgra2023 #greenscreenvideo ♬ original sound – ggraim1
The tiny home that he’s referring to is offered by the Doinuo Store, which offers a variety of different sizing options at different price points, and all of them seem to include a finished home including fixtures like a bathroom, flooring, windows, doors, and pre-set hook-ups for ventilation/heating/cooling arrangements.
Graim seemed ecstatic that he was able to purchase a 19×20 square foot home for less than the price of a brand new fully loaded Toyota Camry, and he shared that enthusiasm in his viral TikTok.
He touches on the fact that there are different options when purchasing the home and that he’s compared some of the offerings to other retailers as well.
“You can get one as low as $18,000,” he says. “I wanted to get one that I can try to make into a decent-sized space where I can get some residual income coming in monthly. The goal is to bring in over $800 a month, $750 to $800 a month I think we’ll be able to do that easily with this.”
He continues, “The crazy part about this is that this is supposed to be here January, like…I just did this today, had some calls with some business people and we price-matched with Home Depot, we price-matched with a lot of other people and somebody was like have you checked Amazon?”
After heading over to the popular online retailer, he says he was shocked to discover the item.
“So we checked Amazon and it literally was a better deal all around and we’re gonna get it for…we’re gonna get it within the week,” he says. “Literally within the week this is gonna be delivered somebody must be present to sign.”
While this may seem like a dream solution for many folks who are tired of throwing their money away on rent or are shocked by the high costs of homes, there are a few things to consider.
Many of these pre-built tiny homes that are sold online, toe Doinuo one included, often contain the word “shed” in their description. While folks are living in these units, this could mean that depending on the area/climate that one lives in, additional work may be required to ensure that these domiciles are habitable for full-time living. Thankfully, several folks have shared how they’ve been able to turn their own sheds and tiny homes into pretty cozy abodes, without breaking the bank.
Many viewers had varying opinions on the tiny home he showed off in his video. One quipped that they didn’t think it was worth the money at all, writing, “30K for a shed is INSANE.”
Someone else said they would entertain purchasing one, if it came with a heavy discount.
“Waiting for these to be on TikTok shop with 90% off,” they joked.
Someone else penned that there were several other costs associated with the purchase of the home that folks weren’t considering like electrical, plumbing, and permits.
Another user was already coming up with ways for Graim to pocket a little cash for himself after the shed was delivered, advising, “Call and say it has scratches they should give you $5,000 back.”
And then some thought it could very well be a decent setup, if the price was right.
“I’m curious to see you insulate, add heating, plumbing, electric etc. also curious of the final cost once its all said & done,” one wrote.
The Daily Dot has reached out to Amazon via email and Graim via TikTok comment.
