Foreign Property News | Posted by Zarni Kyaw
A family fed up of paying thousands on rent each year have done what we all fantasise about and built their own house.
Now they get to travel the world by renting out that tiny home to tourists. Genius.
Bela Fishbeyn, 34, and Spencer Wright, 32, worked out that they were throwing around £23,000 just to rent a home with their daughter Escher Kamalova, three.
Four years ago Spencer was working full-time while Bela worked in an office four days a week. They were tired, rundown, and working hard just to spend the majority of their money on rent.
While most of us just despair over the reality of renting, Bela and Spencer chose to make a change – and they say anyone can do the same.
They set about making a tiny home for the grand cost of £100,000, naming it The Escher after their daughter.
The end result is pretty glorious – what the house might lack in size it makes up for in stylish design, a hideaway bedroom, and a proper kitchen with all the mod cons you could want.
The family now rent out the home, which sits in Boulder Creek, California, with amazing views of the valley, for half the year so they can travel the world with the money they earn.
Bela, who is now the executive managing editor of The American Journal of Bioethics (AJOB) at Stanford University, said: ‘I don’t think we’re outliers in too many ways… we’re a young family, interested in our health, freedom, and opportunity.
‘We’re tight-knit and love taking on projects together as a way to learn and develop our futures.’ Bela is able to work remotely while Spencer stays home and looks after the family, giving them the freedom to travel in the summer and winter.
Spencer says: ‘This big thing that sets us apart came about because we’ve taken small steps, over and over again, that each time gave us more control over our lives.
‘We’ve slowly increased Bela’s ability to work remotely – now she’s fully remote.
We also decided that I should stay at home and work on family projects so that we could make the most of Bela’s remote work.
‘We built a tiny house in order to beat a terrible housing market in the San Francisco Bay Area.
‘These are decisions that most people could push for and accomplish over three to five years. It’s just about prioritising freedom and hustling on margins to make it happen.’
The family originally lived in the tiny home full-time, but after eight months listed the property on Airbnb for between £150 to £275 a night. Along with a stay in a beautifully decorated tiny house, guests get access to over 20 acres of woodland and hiking trails, a furnished canvas Belle tent, and a 300 square feet deck with panoramic views. They’re also planning to add a new cedar soak hot tub this year.
Renting out the home has given the family the freedom to travel all over the place. ‘While we were first bringing the house online as a rental, we played things pretty conservatively, keeping our travels fairly limited to California and visiting family in North Carolina, with some short trips to Mexico and the like mixed in,’ Spencer explains. ‘But now that the house is stable and renting well, we’ve been a bit more adventurous. ‘We just got back from a five-week trip to Spain and in February we’ll be touring a fully-loaded Sprinter van for a whole month.
Ref: Property Report
