Tiny Home, Big Heart

We met Carli & her beautiful sidekick Claudia back around in 2015 and were looking for land at that time in the Portland Metro Area for her to build her own tiny home. Carli comes from a family of doers, makers and earth shakers. Her parents have built their own homes so Carli’s standards for her home were very high, plus she is a minimalist and knew she didn’t need a big home to make her happy. Since nothing was coming up that fit what she had envisioned she took a break for a few years. We kept each other in our lives and celebrated personal victories along the way. The thing that we began to see more and more in Carli was a warrior’s spirit in a sweet and caring capsule.

When she wasn’t making beautiful jewelry and hanging with her friends and Claudia she was fighting animal abuse and standing up for what she is so passionate about, raising awareness about animal injustice all over the world.

Then last year Carli reached out and mentioned that her housing situation may be changing and that she would like to start looking again at what was on the market, and then sent me this beauty:

A new construction tiny home within the Portland Metro Area!

When we went to tour it, it checked so many of the boxes of what Carli mentioned would be essential to her and Claudia, but there was also a lot of details to this project that were not smoothed out from the seller. So, we found ourselves in limbo for many months and trying to piece together the answers to the many questions we had about this home to make sure it was in deed a good fit and investment for Carli and Claudia.

 

After we placed together a few essential pieces of information we needed Carli took the plunge and reserved the unit to put her in first position once the home officially was registered with the state, still knowing that it was still uncertain that she would be able to be the owner of the property.  When the state finally recognized the home, there were 2 other buyers that bid over what Carli had reserved the unit for and were trying to bump her out of 1st position. We put our heads together and fought back without overbidding to ensure that she didn’t loose this spot and in the end Carli prevailed over her competitors.

We found ourselves officially in contract and began our inspections and though there was definitely a lot of back and forth with the seller over the items that needed to get corrected, Carli again prevailed and the journey of getting her dream home finally became a reality today. After 15 years of dreaming of her very own tiny home, I was so honored to be able to deliver her the keys to her very own tiny home.

Carli, I can’t tell you how impressed and proud of you I am for standing your ground and achieving this dream.  I can’t wait to see the special touch your put on this beauty and am looking forward to our many adventures to come.

Backyard “shack” for a teenager

I work with many clients that are squished at the seams.  Our house conversations often question whether they should add on to their home, remodel their basement, or sell and go bigger.  That conversation is the same one I have with myself.  Like my clients, my own 1905 bungalow that has served my two children and I very well over the years, but we too, are over-flowing our spaces.  My son and daughter share a room, we have one full bath, our living room is our shared space where we all hang; we have gotten used to living on top of one another.  Our 900 sqft of living space has made for one tight-knit-family.  We see our “tightness” as a really perk and wouldn’t give that up for the world. But come late summer/fall we will began our house hunt to make space for a fourth to entry our tribe.

But until that time comes, meet the “shack”.  This tiny-wee-bitty shed that we built for summer slumber parties years ago, has become my teen daughter’s summer room.  Its fits only a double mattress (It was an expensive one we’d bought though; click here to know the details). When she gets sick of her brother and I, or needs her own space, she can sleep outside or chill with her girlfriends.  It allows her to ‘be’ more independent.  It allows her to spread her wings, which are growing everyday and are quite beautiful.

The only pitfall so far, have been the raccoons that run over its roof at night and play with the extension cord but sound like giant beasts that want to EAT you.

Working on housing solutions for family, friends and Portland.  Give us a ring for some creative thinking.