Buy a tiny house in Austin for $30K

A creative solution to an Austin permitting issue created a windfall, albeit a tiny one, for a local couple building a home in Swede Hill. In a bureaucratic twist that doesn’t quite rise to the level of Kafkaesque, but is a bit absurd, the owners bought a lot where a house had burned down in the Central East Austin neighborhood and ended up building a tiny home they never intended to have.

Their original plan was to build a primary home and an accessory dwelling unit (city development-speak for a garage apartment or similarly detached, standalone residential building)—building and living in the back unit first while working on the larger, main house to move into eventually. While they had permits for all, the city required that they build the “primary” residence first—but it did allow them to build one as small as is legally possible.

The result is this cuter-than-it-had-to-be home, which, at 225 square feet, is truly tiny by most standards. It has been permitted and inspected and has a certificate of occupancy. You will, however have to move it (and have somewhere to move it, too, of course).

While appliances are not included in the sale, the unit’s tankless water heater, split-system AC/heat pump, and ceiling fans will stay, it appears.

Floors throughout the home are Brazilian cherry engineered hardwood. The house has a full-size bathroom and porcelain-tile shower and Grohe bath fixtures.

The kitchen also has porcelain tile, as well as a stainless-steel sink with a high-arc pre-rinse faucet, LED under-cabinet lighting, and electric/gas cooktop connections

• 1004 E 14th Street [Moxi Constructs]