She Lives Comfortably on Disability. $450 a Month. Full Tour.
THE DETAILS
Home: Custom tiny home, 14 x 34 ft; no loft; open ceilings throughout
Builder: Hilltop Structures, Cumberland Furnace, Tennessee
Model: Custom combination of two Hilltop models (modified 14x38)
Financing: No mortgage
Lot rent: $450/month plus water minimum and metered electric
. . .
Lisa had a corporate job in Colorado and a house she was renovating when she met someone. One thing led to another and they sold their properties, bought a 40-foot RV, and traveled the country. They stopped in Tennessee to visit friends, found a farm from the 1800s, and bought it. They spent six years cleaning the land, remodeling the house, growing food, and canning and preserving everything. Then Lisa got sick. Autoimmune diseases. She went on disability. She could no longer work the animals or the land.
She got a divorce, moved into a camper, and started looking — not just for a home, but for a community. She already knew the builder she wanted: Hilltop Structures in Cumberland Furnace, Tennessee. She found Lakeland Ridge in Eastern Tennessee by accident. It fit.
He home was funded entirely by the proceeds from the farm and adjacent property sale. No mortgage. Lot rent is $450 a month plus water and metered electric. She is on disability with a tight fixed budget and was deliberate about every decision.
The home is a custom combination of two Hilltop models. Lisa studied the blueprints while the home was being built and made precise decisions: a shorter footprint, French doors, two large windows instead of four small ones, and no loft. The loft decision was simple. If she had enough things to need a loft for storage, she had too many things. The open ceiling runs the full length of the home and she considers it the defining feature.
The living room is her favorite room, she measured the couch from the blueprint before buying it. Six feet wide, it fits perfectly. She needs to keep her feet elevated because of her condition. The couch can also sleep a guest. A lift-top coffee table has storage underneath. High ceilings, a 180-degree view, roomy feel. She said it just doesn't get much better.
The kitchen is fully functional. She cooks every day from fresh, mostly because there aren't restaurants close by. She moved from a camper kitchen that made her miserable to this: full-size stove, full-size microwave, big sink, butcher block countertops. A furniture piece from the farmhouse serves as pantry and library. A stacked washer/dryer fits in the laundry nook.
The bathroom was a design priority. Lisa wanted a bathtub. Not every tiny home can fit one. She modified the model combination specifically around the bathroom, tub, separate shower, vessel sink, exterior window. Because she skipped the loft, there is additional shelving in both the bathroom and the bedroom that would not otherwise exist.
The screened porch runs across the front of the home with French doors and a 180-degree view. When the home was delivered, the lot dropped off sharply at the front. Lisa designed a two-tier deck and had a local builder construct it. It's safe and she loves it.
Lisa has lived many lives. She planned to die on the farm. She had legally confirmed she could be buried there. Life required something else. She said she wishes she had done this sooner and that there is nothing wrong with living this way. She speaks directly to others on social security or disability: this is a real and workable path. The community shows up when you need it.
HER ADVICE
"There's so many of us out there struggling. This is a relatively inexpensive way to live a quality life in a community. You can be as social as you want and you can be secluded in your home as well, and everyone seems to be accepting of that."