The build, start to finish, took her eight months; but she admits to taking some long breaks because the process was absolutely exhausting. In the fall when the house was finished, Lydia then 22 years of age owned her own self built house, outright!” – Tiny House Listings
Read and see more of La Casita: Lydia’s Tiny House.
I was mortgage free with a condo at 21 and I didn’t get a special article
Congrats Cat! You are among a rare breed.
Are condos a new trend?
…I’m pretty sure those have been around for a while.
Since the Roman times, Souris.
Mortgage-free on a condo but never free of being in debt on one. Condo associations can assess for money for any reason. Purchasing one means you become partners with all of your neighbors in a non-profit corporation and thereby guarantee all debts, loans, liabilities, lawsuits, construction defects and disaster rebuilds. If you haven’t read neighborsatwar dot com I highly recommend it. Every condo owner and potential buyer should be fully aware of their risks. Good Luck!
You are so right! With HOA’s things can get ugly very quickly. And you have to pay $200 + dollars a month or they will take your property if you don’t pay their fees, regardless of whether your condo is paid off or not.
Wouldn’t it be nice to share in someone else’s joy?
My comment (Wouldn’t it be nice to share in someone else’s joy?) was in response to Cat’s post. I think it is neat when anyone can be mortgage free at a young age.
Girl, please…
Waah!
A condo is like an apatrment, did u build it? No
And ots not a tiny house listing! 🙂
Be happy fir somebody.
Geesh!
How did you pay off a condo all by yourself at such a young age? I want to get into your line of work, whatever it is, provided it’s legal.
Cat, while that is quite an accomplishment, the reason she got an article is because she built her house, which is quite unusual.
Why be competitive and negative? Why not just be happy for her? Her accomplishment is not a slap to yours.
Well done, Cat!
Now this is an article about a small home built by the owner, so a bit different. However, you have still made a great accomplishment, yourself!
You seriously might want to contact your local paper with your story. Your story in the home or finance section would be an inspiration to others on how to be mortgage-free with a condo at such a young age! Folks won’t know to write a story about you unless you contact them.
Best of luck and, again, well done!
just to differentiate, my comment above is not the same as the other Jo’s comment about how could one pay off a condo so young. Some kids are really smart and get into university at 16 (a friend of mine did). Say she choose a well paying profession like nursing (pays well in parts of Canada) and stuck to transit, shopped thrift stores etc. It can be done. Maybe lived with the parents for a while, but that is okay, we all did…
Was it a Tiny Condo?
I, too, am entranced by tiny houses. I am 70 yes old with a limited income and simple needs. Having a small living space is a perfect choice for me.
If like some details. Did you buy a kit or how to get started?
Its that she built the place herself – at 22. Great Job, you too Cat!!
You’re a good person for congratulating both people here,Kristine!:D well done!
Any kind of mortgage freedom is an accomplishment in my book – especially for someone in their 20’s. Imagine the advantage of eliminating rent and having some kind of equity at that age. Definitely better then living with parents and that’s what many are faced with at that age.
This is beautiful! Mortgage free at 22 and building it yourself is indeed impressive. I’m just getting into researching tiny homes and hope to be in one within a few years. I only wish there were more pictures! Does she have a blog or somewhere else we can access more photos?
you might contact her and see if she had a set of blueprints. never know, she might share them w you
Mortgage free but where do you put/park it? Isn’t there a payment for the spot?
The cost to park varies. Some folks buy land, rent space, trade for space, etc. There are usually living costs like utilities too.
This is truly inspiring for all to hear,Congratulations. I see a great future for you.
I so want to build my own.. trying to save the money now…
This is such a cool concept! I loved the article then I started reading the comments! Just don’t comment if you can’t be cool!
It’s beautiful. Congratulations on your tiny home and a job well done.
Congrats~
Very proud of a 22 year old with a goal and the desire to built your own home! It is very pretty! Enjoy without the stress of worrying about paying rent or house payments!
Way to go Lydia! Nothing like living in a house you built yourself.
Being mortgage free at any age is great. But building your home with your own hands AND being mortgage free? Yeah, sorry, that totally trumps moving into a pre-built condo, and definitely merits an article. Also, Tiny House = no condo fees.
Cat… if you can look me in the webcam and tell me that you earned every penny for your condo yourself, with no help from mom and dad, then you totally *should* contact a newspaper to do a feature article on how young people can be independent and self-sufficient, without relying on their parents to get them started financially in life. That’s knowledge that should be shared!
But the more likely scenario… Quick math: a *cheap* condo for $150,000. For the sake of maximizing your earning potential as a teenager, let’s assume you dropped out of school and started working full-time at 15. Now, in order to save up that kind of money in 6 years, you’d be looking at $25,000 annually, and that’s assuming paid cash for your condo (you’d need more for the interest if you had a mortgage). There aren’t many jobs that pay that much to a person under 18 and most juriscidcions seriously limit the hours that minors can work. In this economy, even college grads are having trouble getting that kind of salary. I’m going to assume a 16 year old drop-out isn’t even close. That’s also before any other expenses or income tax. Now of course, the only way to save 100% of your income is to live rent-free, typically in your parents’ house. So that kinda puts the kibosh on “I did it all myself.”
Just sayin’
Cool house excalant work love the table that opens but how does she cook where does she sleep and how does she shower and use the bathroom?
Linda
Great I commend u and have a small favor to ask will u build me 1 LOL
Cat prove u paid for urs by urself !!!
yay to this young woman! I am a fan of the tiny house trend. Are there any parallel trends to get communities to modify zoning?
Does mortgage free mean debt free? I keep hearing and reading “mortgage free” and wonder if there is any debt at all associated with these homes. It would be great if it was but I cannot imagine there is no debt at all. Did they save for years and collect materials? Was money willed to them or given to them? How is it paid for if there is no debt? That is the part I want to know.
I think it depends on the individual. There are multiple paths to financial freedom – sometimes that involves a loan, sometimes savings. It always involves reducing spend and/or increasing income.
Not automatically, but generally. The idea is that you can build a tiny home for less than a down payment on a regular house.
I’ve heard of them being built for next to nothing using reclaimed materials. The most expensive part is usually the trailer, but if you can find cheap land then you can bypass the trailer. People have built them out of recycled shipping containers, grain silos…
Way to go! When I was 22 I didn’t have a choice on housing with no credit or money to buy material! All I had was roommate share rent on an apt! I am proud of this girl for thinking outside the box!