WEST COLUMBIA, S.C. — Tiny homes have gained a lot of popularity in the past few years, and now they’re coming to the Midlands. West Oaks Village in West Columbia is a neighborhood that will soon be made up of eight tiny homes.
Developers say it's the first tiny home community in the area.
"We’ve always wanted to be in a tiny community," said Todd Myers.
Myers and his wife, Di, recently retired and will be moving into their 400 square foot home when it’s ready in April.
"We’ve always worked together all our life, we’ve been married for 46 years and we’ve always worked together, so living together in a small space does not bother us," Myers said.
They have a lot of excitement for their little home because it’s a chance to start fresh with only the things they need.
"I’m excited, I can downsize," Di said while looking at her husband. He responded reluctantly, "my clothes are difficult, but we’ll manage." And they both laughed.
The houses in the community can come with one or two bedrooms and they all have full bathrooms. They’re custom built out of state, then shipped when ready. They range from $65 - 90,000.
Bradley Davis, General Manager of Stone Canyon Cabins and manager of the community, said the best part about tiny living is the cost efficiency.
"The average electric bill on these is about 65 to 85 dollars," Davis said. "You don’t have as much room to put stuff, so you’re not spending money on things you don’t need."
He added that the average monthly cost of the home is $650-$750. The lot fees, which include electricity, sewage and water, are $450 a month.
Davis said they’ve sold one house in the village so far. They chose the West Columbia location as their first tiny home village and will soon start building a much larger one by Lake Murray.
"Getting our feet wet with a smaller project was, to us, a good idea to see what hurdles we’d have to overcome," said Davis.
Davis added that tiny homes have become popular the past few years because they’re affordable but still high quality, and they support minimalist lifestyles.