7th Edition of “NOAH News is Good News”

01 Nov 7th Edition of “NOAH News is Good News”

Posted at 11:11h in NOAH News by Robin 0 Comments

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The P Word; Placement: The struggle is real

Demand for housing is going through the roof. More and more people are moving into the cities and driving the housing market up. Every major city has beautiful buildings dotting the skyline, as well as many construction cranes, which have become so common that they are just part of the landscape now.

The following states have adopted progressive building codes, or they are home to the most interesting Tiny House projects. Such as, California, Colorado, Florida, Massachusetts, North Carolina, Michigan, New York, and Texas. Thank Heaven for forward thinkers, otherwise we would all still be slicing our own bread!

Every day I hear of a new Tiny House Community popping up or placement becoming available on privately owned land. There are many Tiny House enthusiasts that are happy to share their ‘Placement Finds’ with you via their websites and NOAH sponsors a crowdsourcing website called imatinyhouser.com that has placement options available freely to everyone! If you have info please contribute, if you need info…help yourself. We are all in this together and I truly believe that Tiny Homes aren’t just a passing trend, they are the inevitable future of housing.

NOAH’S Featured Builder November 2018

We are pleased to announce that Rooted Tiny Homes has been selected as NOAH’s Featured Builder of the Month! Rooted Tiny Homes, located in Houston Texas, was started with streamlined simplicity and sustainability in mind.

Jacob Pratel and his wife Daniella, who lead the charge, work with an experienced and dedicated team. Jacob’s father, Robert Pratel is a Top tier General Contractor, Luis and Hector de la Garza are some of the finest Custom Woodworking Craftsmen Tiny Houses have ever met and finally, Jaquelyn de la Garza rounds out the team with over 10 years’ experience in Custom Design and Specialized Woodworking practices!

And you should see the homes they produce! I have personally toured their work and my breath was taken away the second I entered the Tiny Home they had built. I am a detailed person (that’s putting it nicely) and I can tell you that no detail is overlooked with this company! Every surface I touched was finished so beautifully, it was tasteful on trend and spacious. You can tell when a company puts their hearts into their work. For more info visit their website.

Again, Congratulations for being selected as NOAH’s Featured Builder of the Month! As a small token of our appreciation we will be sending out a NOAH Swag Box to the Team at Rooted Tiny Homes! Be sure to take a photo and tag us on social media so that we know you’ve received it.

California is now ADU friendly

California, not unlike a lot of other states, is experiencing a housing crisis. Insanely high rents record low home ownership and overcrowded urban areas are just a few of the issues facing many residents. California has a solution to solve the housing crisis but not without a struggle.

Over the past decade, California has been building at a disturbing rate. The state is building 120% below what is required to keep pace with population growth through 2025, according to a recent report by the California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD).

To manage the cost of living, more Californians are consolidating housing by moving in together, often sharing rooms, sometimes at twice the rate of the national average, or by turning their extra space into a rentable apartment as an inventive way to make more housing available. These types of spaces are called Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs), and are known by many names: granny flats, in-law units, backyard cottages, secondary units and more. No matter what you call them, ADU’s are an innovative, affordable and effective option for adding much needed housing in California.

While many see ADUs as a solution to affordable-housing shortages plaguing the country, others are fighting hard against it. These are the Nimbysts. The Not In My Back Yard people. Close-mindedness is not trending folks, residents need viable solutions. I am all for tradition but not when it stands in the way of necessary progress.

Home-ownership in the state is at a 70-year low. Its almost impossible to locate affordable renting options so, what’s a state to do but pass a law that eases that burden for its residents. The Census Bureau’s most recent American Community Survey revealed that roughly half of total US renters in 2015 — about 20.4 million were spending more than the recommended 30% of their income on housing costs. The lack of housing supply has driven home prices up at a ratio comparable to those of 2007. The current median home value has risen almost 7% in California since this time last year. At that rate, almost everyone will be priced out of homeownership unless they seek out an alternative option like a Tiny Home or other form of an ADU.

Recent bills were passed to clarify and improve various provisions of the current law to promote the development of ADUs, including allowing ADUs to be built concurrently with a single-family home, opening areas where ADUs can be built to include all zoning districts that allow single-family uses, modifying fees from utilities, such as special districts and water corporations, and reducing parking requirements.

It makes me smile inside, being a Tiny House enthusiast myself, to see states becoming more open-minded and passing legislation that allows Americans to live freely, I fear those that don’t will be left behind. So, thank you California for upholding the new standard of living affordably and legally.

JUST A REMINDER…

All new tiny house builds as of Sept 1^st, 2018 with a sleeping loft, will be required to have a secondary means of egress. This egress window is a 24” wide by 17” tall ellipsoid clear unobstructed opening and is further detailed in NFPA 1192 Section 6.2.5.1. And an illustration can also be located in Appendix figure A.6.2.5.1.