Royal one of my readers keeps me supplied with neat finds and this one is really neat and he shares some great advice too. Royal discovered these houses built in Ozark, Alabama and is going to give us a tour through them.

Last June, Mr. Blankenship of Ozark, AL constructed five small homes that are each only 500 sq. ft. They are 1 bedroom, 1 bath, with a nice front porch, living room and kitchen. According to the people living there, they are extremely well insulated and they can have their dogs there without any additional charge.

These were all constructed as rentals. (The housing market being what it is.) Each small house has a concrete parking area out front that is sufficient for two vehicles each. They are conveniently located within a block of the downtown area. They can walk to City Hall, the supermarket, the dollar store, the Methodist church, a couple of restaurants, and an art gallery.

The builder poured all the slabs in one day and once they started framing, they had all five of them framed, drywalled, and painted within 3 weeks. They have silver-colored metal roofs. And each home is painted in a different pastel color so it is easy to find which one is yours. The homes all have very small yards for minimal upkeep. And, it took less than 3 weeks for them all to be leased out for the year.

Mr. Blankenship was familiar with the local planning commission, wrote up the appropriate paperwork, talked with the commissioners, and had no problems getting it all approved. He is now considering building some more of them.

So, in a round-about way, I’ve covered most of the vital concerns: planning, location, construction, renting (just under $500 a month).

Recent Update: I managed to get a few interior photos of just one place … and drew a floorplan (NOT 100% to scale) to give you the idea of the layout. I understand that all five have the same layout. Even though the roof-lines and exterior colors are different. The guy I visited with says that summer or winter — his monthly electric utility costs are only $50 a month. The rent is $500 a month. All appliances, including the vertical stack washer/dryer, come with the place.

The guy who built these also built seven 1,000 sq ft shotgun houses on the intersecting street that rent for $750 a month. – Royal

Thanks Royal for doing all this research and for getting permission to shoot an interior of one of the rentals. These look very livable and maybe others can duplicate this process across the country.



