For Sandra Brooks, living in a tiny home was an easy, affordable way to spend her retirement.

“I wanted a place I felt I could live the rest of my life,” said Brooks, a resident at Escalante Village in Durango. “I feel like I could live here and be older and that people would kind of watch out for me.”

But tiny home living is easier said than done, especially for the new tiny home owner or residential community developer.

Tiny homes, typically defined as 100- to 400-square-foot homes, have a reputation as trendy housing that offers more mobility, an environmentally friendly lifestyle and an affordable housing solution.

Moving into the compact homes, however, means navigating government regulations, financing challenges, unexpected costs, and overcoming misconceptions and learning curves, La Plata County residents and developers said.

“The misconceptions about them are that they are just cute and that this is a fad that is going away,” Brooks said. “I don’t believe that.”

As a new tiny home owner in 2019, she quickly learned about driving with propane tanks in the home, sewer hookups and adding skirting to the home’s base.

For those who want to live in a community, there aren’t many tiny home developments to choose from in Colorado, she said. Escalante Village was touted as one of Colorado’s first tiny home developments when it was approved in 2018.

“Here, we’re a tourist attraction,” Brooks said, referring to Escalante Village. “One person asked me, ‘Do you have a bathroom in your tiny home?’”

Financing can be an initial barrier for both developers and residents.

“There are some banks that don’t want to talk to anybody where the word ‘tiny homes’ comes in. That includes the developer like me,” said Bob Lieb, owner of Escalante Village.

For developers in Durango and La Plata County, the zoning and planning approval processes can be expensive and take more than a year to complete.

In Durango, the city’s construction oversight was intense enough to deter two potential partners, Lieb said.

Connecting to water, sewer and electricity systems is expensive and can outweigh the cost savings of a tiny home, said Chris Hall, owner of Hermosa Properties north of Durango. Hall plans to open a 22-space tiny and manufactured home community next summer.

“Cities, towns and the county should spend some time developing the standards so there isn’t a lot of guesswork, so they know what to expect,” Lieb said. “I think if people know what to expect ... that’ll give people some ideas for what they can or cannot do.”

When Hall’s development gained county approval in the fall, he and others expressed enthusiasm about the idea in part because the community would add affordable housing options for homeowners.

But tiny homes can be more expensive than people think.

“A lot of people are surprised they (tiny homes) cost as much as they do,” Lieb said. “Some people think a tiny home should only cost like $10,000. It’s sticker shock when they find out they cost a lot more.”

If a home is self-made with few extra amenities, it can cost as little as $10,000. The average cost is between $30,000 and $60,000.

But homes that are ready to go and RV-certified typically cost around $70,000 to $80,000, Lieb said. Brooks’ custom-built home cost about $100,000, she said.

In a county where homes often cost $500,000 or higher, tiny homes remain an attainable option, Hall said. The average home value in La Plata County is about $432,000, according to Zillow.

In La Plata County, there are not enough affordable rental units for households in extremely low, very low or low-income brackets, according to the Colorado Department of Local Affairs. The federal government says housing is “affordable” when a household spends 30% or less of its gross income on housing costs.

About a third of moderate-income renters and homeowners are cost-burdened, which means they spend more than 50% of their income on housing payments.

The limited housing stock is experiencing rising prices while trying to meet population growth expected over the next decade. Urban flight to rural areas during the coronavirus pandemic seems to be adding to the challenge.

“I don’t know that it’s a solution to affordable housing any more than a studio apartment is a solution to affordable housing,” Hall said. “They’re expensive, and you get what you pay for.”

While tiny home residents and developers face barriers setting up their compact living spaces, the end result is worth it, they said.

Brooks said she is “100%” happy with her decision to live in a tiny home.

“Someone who is looking for a tiny home needs to think about why they want one,” Brooks said. “They’re fun, they’re affordable, they have a smaller footprint. But they’re also very small.”

smullane@durangoherald.com