Wednesday, October 14, 2009

Tiny house by Superior Park Homes temporarily resides in San Antonio.

Richard Malin of Malin's Car Center at 1046 W Hildebrand didn't intend to have a tiny house come to stay in the small car lot behind his auto shop.  He meant it to be a Bed and Breakfast rental cabin on the Blanco or a small home for a relative.   But instead it sits and waits  for its next owner.

When he had it built he thought about how his property on the Blanco River had a tendency to flood so he paid the extra money to have Superior Park Model Homes put the one bedroom cabin on a trailer.  To its builder and current owner it is a "park model" home, a species of small mobile home that is small enough to fit in a RV resort space and meant to stay put.

But this little 11 foot by 20 cabin appears sturdily built and bears a mighty strong resemblance to the tiny houses built by Tumbleweed Homes and advocated by the popular website, Tiny House Living.  Tiny houses can be used as guest housing, for an office or as one's primary residence.  In many places you can park them in your back yard, though you'd have to check your local ordinances.  I think in San Antonio that living in an RV on a driveway is not allowed but if you were to park it in your back yard who would know?

This cabin has a small bedroom with closet, a shower and commode.  It has a small refrigerator, a sink and a cook stove.  I didn't get pictures of the kitchen area so I don't remember if it has an oven. 

Please excuse the mess inside.  The cleaning crew hasn't been around for a while and it is currently furnished with leftovers.  Mr. Malin says he's only had 5 inquiries about the house which is visible from the street.  If you are interested he is asking $18,500 which is quite a bit less than he paid for it.  To put that in perspective a Tumbleweed home of similar size will set you back $46,000.

If you are interested in tiny houses in addition to Tumbleweed homes check out these builders: Texas Tiny Houses in Luling which features salvaged building components from Discovery Architectural Antiques in Gonzales,  Little House on the TrailerMartin House Company LLC,  and Cabin Fever,

December 2010.
Lots of people are looking at this post this month.  I drive by Mr. Malin's shop all the time and this little fellow is still there.   I haven't been inside since I took the pictures.  I imagine it has been straightened up a bit since I first posted this.  I must admit it puzzles me why it hasn't sold yet.

October 2011
It still hasn't sold.

August 2013
It did eventually sell or at least it was moved off the lot.  After that Mr. Malin's shop itself was sold.  I think it sold some time in 2012. 

5 comments:

  1. What does it take to haul it to another site? Does the owner deliver to the north TX area (Lake Lavon at Wylie, TX)?

    ReplyDelete
  2. Mr Malin says it takes a truck that can pull a one ton load. He isn't willing to deliver it himself but I bet you could find someone through UShip that will. Mr. Malin's shop number is (210) 222-9013.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Has he sold his tiny house yet?

    ReplyDelete
  4. Sorry for the delay in moderating your comment. It is still for sale. I saw it there yesterday.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Interested in his number if the house hasn't sold. I'm in MS

    ReplyDelete