Country Places, Inc.

 Many of our customers buy land with the intention of having fun with it now and retiring on it later on. This approach allows them to really get to know the land in all of the seasons, make some trails and pick out the best homesites for a dream home location. The hiccup to this approach is where do you stay when your visiting the property? Some customers have an RV that they can bring with them for the perfect setup but dabbling in the RV world can quickly become expensive (especially if your current vehicles can't pull one). So what do you do if you want an affordable way to stay on your new land? Many people are turning to "portable storage buildings" for an answer. These pre-made, small cabins are a good option for people who just want to get away for the weekend but who don't care to stay in a tent.

 The basic models can vary from stick framed, vinyl sided models to sheet metal construction all the way to tongue and grooved miniature log cabins. The stick framed models are usually a little cheaper and they are able to be insulated pretty easily. The metal ones are very long lasting and can be used as a work/storage shed later on. The log cabins look awesome and remind me of some of the tiny rental cabins near Gatlinburg. I believe all of the buildings can be configured with metal roofs as well if you want to revitalize memories of sleeping under a tin roofed farmhouse in your early years. Most of the buildings come pre-built and can be up to 14'x40' in size (the one above is 12'x28' including the porch). All sorts of options can be "factory" added from porches and lofts to bathrooms and kitchens. If you're a do-it-yourselfer, you can buy the base model and add on the options yourself to save money.

 One benefit to these little cabins is that it's pretty easy to put them almost anywhere on your land. Including where it's cheapest to run the utilities and get a driveway cut in... lowering the startup costs and time required to get onto the land and start enjoying it. Or, if you want to get away from it all and live off the grid, it's also pretty easy to throw up a few solar panels or a windmill to power these little guys. A small holding tank with a booster pump can be tied in to a spring or seasonal water supply to provide plenty of water for minimalist living like these cabins encourage.

 What do you do with the little cabin once you build a house? That's the best part of it being a "portable" storage building... you can relocate it to be a storage shed near the dream house you built. You can leave it set up where it is as a cabin for friends and family to stay in while visiting. It could be rented out for some extra income. Or you could throw some big TV's and a bar in it for entertaining friends. It's only really limited by your imagination.

How can you find out more about these little guys? There are several distributors throughout East Tennessee but I discovered them at a little place down the road from where I live in Knoxville called Select Buildings and Carports. I stopped in to get some more info and talked to Bobby who showed me all of the different models and options they offered (click here for a brochure I picked up). He also drove me down the road to show me a few buildings that were set up on their customer's properties. One was the most amazing play fort I could have ever dreamed of when I was growing up... The other was being converted to an entertainment lodge with a bar, TVs, lofts to sleep in and a full length porch for swinging on. It really gets your mind going to think about what all can be done with these little cabins. If you're in the area and this interests you, then I'd recommend stopping in to talk to Bobby and see what all they have to offer and to hear about the financing options available. Many of these cabins are available with a rent to own option that helps to lessen the start up costs associated with getting set up and onto some land.

I hope you find this info useful and let us know if you'd like to know if the property you're interested in is suitable for one of these little cabins.

Thanks,

Andy Halavonich

This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

(The images I have included on this post were all from the Select Buildings and Carports show lot.)