Tiny House Hunters (2014–…): Season 1, Episode 5 - Firefighter Goes Super Tiny in Savannah - full transcript

Across the nation,
people are going small--

really small...

These are so cute!

...buying tiny houses,

some just a microscopic
100 square feet.

Whoa.

There's a tiny house.

It looks really small.

This tiny trend
is picking up big steam,

with everything from
converted train cars and barns

to yurts
and microhouses on wheels.



I'd be a gypsy
on the run.

- It is 96 square feet.
- Wow.

Savannah firefighter
Nicki is making a huge change,

downsizing
from her 2,400-square-foot house

to something an eighth the size.

It's small, small space,
that's for sure,

but this is very cute.

I don't think you need
this much room in a bathroom.

It's good to have a little bit
of room in the bathroom.

Uh, I don't need that.

But 6'5"-tall boyfriend Tudor
quickly realizes

he may not fit
into something so small.

Definitely not my size.

I don't think
Tudor could even



turn around
if he had to come in here.

You could probably even put
a nice chair here.

Are you kidding me?
There's not even enough room

for a couch for me to lay down
and watch TV in this house.

My name is Nicki,
I'm a firefighter/paramedic

in South Carolina,

but I live about 30 minutes away

in a town
called Thunderbolt, Georgia.

It's on the east side
of Savannah.

We have our own very small fire
department here in Thunderbolt

where I volunteer.

I'm a lieutenant
at that department,

and that's where my heart is.

I live in a five-bedroom,
three-full-bathroom house.

It's 2,400 square feet.

The size of the house
worked for Nicki, a single mom,

when her kids, Carissa and Jake,
lived with her,

but now that they've grown up
and have moved out,

she doesn't like having
all that space.

Maintaining a big house

is a lot of time,
a lot of effort,

and a lot of money.

I have better things to do
with my time

than clean a big house.

So that she has
more time and freedom,

Nicki is planning rent out
her supersized house

and is on the hunt
for something small--

really small.

She wants a place that's no more
than 300 square feet.

That's 1/8th the size
of her current home.

She's so eager to find
a tiny house,

she's been selling off
most of her belongings.

I've always been drawn
to the idea

of living in a small space.

I don't need so much room.

I don't need
all these belongings.

I originally wanted to live
in an RV.

In my research,
I found out about tiny houses,

which seems like a much homier
and more long-term option.

I love the idea of having
a tiny house

that's mobile, that's portable.

I like that I can move it around
and not stay in on spot.

I plan to take my tiny house

to the campground
at Tybee Island

20 minutes away from Savannah.

If I get tired of living
on Tybee Island,

I can move to downtown Savannah.

If want to move to Hilton Head
for a while, I can do that.

She would like to buy
her tiny house

for $40,000 or less.

That's about $130
per square foot.

- It sure is a beautiful day.
- Mm-hmm, sure is.

I really want a house

with some kind of architectural
style or flare,

maybe like Victorian or Cape Cod

or a little cottage
of some kind.

I want a tiny house
with a little bit of color.

Most of them don't have
any color on them.

They're pretty plain,
but I guess I could paint it.

She also wants a front porch,

even if it's small.

The windows
need to be bigger, though.

Yeah, but there's three.

Helping Nicki figure out
which tiny house to buy

is boyfriend
and fellow firefighter Tudor.

Nicki is a definitely
one of a kind.

She's really free-spirited

and is not afraid
to go her own way.

I think it's good for me
to go along with this process

because it always helps
to have a second opinion.

But having enough room
for Tudor's 6'5" frame

might be a challenge.

He will be spending
some time in there.

I want to make sure he fits
in it and he's comfortable.

It looks like
stainless steel.

And for Nicki, going small
doesn't mean going bare-bones.

She wants
a fully equipped kitchen

with a complete bathroom.

I also would like
a sleeping loft.

I don't want my bed
in the downstairs.

It takes up too much room.

- I really like the ladder.
- I don't like the ladder.

I'd rather have stairs.

I think you'd get tired

of climbing up a ladder
all the time.

- Here you guys go.
- That looks great.

For me, having a tiny house
symbolizes freedom.

I'll have more free time
to do anything I want

and to have the finances
to do so.

The tiny-house movement
is definitely a growing market,

and I can see why,
even though most people

think of the American dream
as a having a huge house,

people like Nicki
have a great idea

in reducing
all their costs of living.

Wow, that is adorable.

First up,
a tiny cabin on wheels.

It's currently at a campground,

exactly how Nicki
plans on setting up her home.

It's 192 square feet,

about 1/12th the size
of her current house.

Because it's less
than 81⁄2 feet wide,

Nicki wouldn't need a permit
to tow it between campgrounds.

Wow.
That's really cute.

It's custom-built.
It is made of pine.

It's a little rustic
for my taste,

but I could paint it
any color I wanted.

It has some built-in storage,
which is very necessary.

That's a good idea.
That's really practical.

A mini garage.

I have to say,
I really like this roof, too.

I do like the roof.

It's also wired with a satellite
that can travel with you,

connected to
the flat-screen television

that does come built in
with the house.

Also a very nice feature.

This little front porch
folds up.

It's on hinges.

And the little covered area
also folds down.

That is an awesome idea.

The price is $28,500.

That's a great price.

Wow.
This is beautiful.

Totally livable.
I could do this.

Actually,
it feels very spacious.

The vaulted ceilings
definitely help.

Are you kidding me? There's no
living space in this tiny house.

And the kitchen
isn't much bigger,

but it has the storage
Nicki wants.

A lot of cabinet space.
That's a really good thing.

I like these countertops.
Is this a propane?

It's propane.
That's good.
I like that, too.

There's no oven in this one,
but you can have toaster oven.

That's good.

Now, the living room does have
a sleeper sofa,

so there's room
for a guest.

Tudor's kind of large,
and I'm assuming

he might like
to be able to fit there.

Yeah, might not be
the best judge for that one.

It's a little small for me.

Well, they do have
a fireplace.

It's very big and bulky.
This takes up so much room.

I have no idea why Nicki's
complaining about a fireplace.

I think that's great.

This is the only closet
that would be for your clothes.

Okay.
That's kind of small.

I don't know if I could fit
all my clothes in there.

I think it would be
an adjustment for Nicki to move

from a five-bedroom home
into a tiny house,

but if that's what she
wants to do, it's workable,

and she is ready
for this adventure.

That's interesting.

Kind of feel like
I'm in a barn stall in here.

This just isn't my style
in here.

Well, it's a good size.

I don't think you need
this much room in a bathroom.

See, I really like it.

- It's not amazing.
- It's good to have a little bit
of room in the bathroom.

Uh, I don't need that.

I know Nicki
wasn't crazy about it,

but I love that there's
a regular-size bathroom.

Well, moving on
to the sleeping-loft area,

which in this house is accessed
by this removable ladder.

Can't imagine having to get
up and down this ladder

and pick it up
and move it.

Well, this does help
keep cost down.

The ladder is less
than the stairs.

Oh, goodness.

Wow.
It's really small up here.

It looks like you fit
pretty well.

I'm wondering
about your other half.

You're gonna
have to come up here

and tell me
what you think.

Yeah.

Definitely not my size.

The loft is so cramped,
I feel like I'm in a coffin.

I feel like if sat up
too suddenly

in the middle of the night,
I'd clobber my head.

I don't know.

That may be one of the downsides
to the tiny-house idea.

For the price,
it's a good deal.

I love the folding porch.

That is such a clever feature
and so useful.

Yeah, having a porch
you can take with you

wherever you go
is definitely a plus.

The size of room
is really good.

It has a decent-size shower,
I guess.

You could actually use
that shower

without bumping your elbows
on the wall.

The style
isn't exactly my style.

It's a little rustic.

And last but not least,

the sleeping area
was so tight.

It's a little small
- for me.
- Yeah.

The next house
they're seeing is still tiny,

but it's anything but rustic.

The colors are a little wild.

Oh, my gosh.

Empty-nester Nicki
wants to cut loose

from the burden of maintaining
her 2,400-square-foot house

in the Savannah suburbs
by downsizing to a tiny house

300 square feet or less
on wheels,

so she can live
anywhere she wants.

With her boyfriend, Tudor,
along for a second opinion,

she's seen
a 192-square-foot cabin

that Tudor barely fit into.

It was well below
her $40,000 budget.

And while she liked
the folding porch,

she wasn't a fan
of old rustic style,

and the loft space
was tight squeeze.

While Tudor is at work
at the fire station,

Nicki and Mary are looking
at a new build

that's 240 square feet.

Okay, are you gonna
take some pictures for him?

Oh, yeah.
I'm gonna show him.

This house is 10 times smaller
than her current home

but bigger than the place
they just saw.

Well, I know
you wanted something

with architectural details
and color,

so I found you this one.

Well, you're right,
it does have

a lot of really cool
architectural features,

but the colors
are a little wild.

Oh, my gosh.

It looks like
the Easter Bunny exploded.

But it has solar panels,

which would allow Nicki
to have power

even while not
at a full-service campground.

That's very cool.

It looks really big, though,

like it would be difficult
to move around.

It's not really.

It just is a little longer

because this
is a custom-made trailer.

It supports the porch,
but it's still road-legal.

It is $58,000.

Holy cow.

That's almost twice as much
as other houses I've seen.

It is, but the solar panels
and some of the other features

add to the cost,
but it makes it very special.

- All right.
- Come on in.

Wow.
This so pretty.

It feels very large,
very open.

It doesn't feel cramped up
at all.

I even Tudor would feel like
he had enough room in here.

This house has paddle stairs

with overlapping steps
to support each foot.

The stairs can be steeper

and not as wide
as a regular staircase,

which saves space.

Now, you can't fold them
out of the way.

That's true.

I didn't think about the fact
that they can't be moved.

It's just a little space.

There's already
not much space in here.

And this house doesn't have
any external storage areas.

She only has this one closet.

Awfully small
- to be for an entire wardrobe.
- Right.

Well, I want you to take a look
at this kitchen.

It's really about the size
of a kitchen in a home

three to four times
as big as this one.

This is a good-size kitchen
- for a tiny house.
- Yeah.

I like these countertops a lot.
They're very nice.

Great.

However,
there's no cooktop in here.

He could install one

by cutting out
the countertop right here,

but you would lose
these drawers.

The house's only bathroom
is a tight 8x3 square feet.

Whoa,
this bathroom is very small.

It's cute.

I don't think Tudor
could even turn around

if he had to come in here.

And I like the window
above the sink.

And I guess I could put
a mirror here if I wanted to.

A mirror
might make it feel bigger.

It may not be high enough
for Tudor to see into,

but he can look out the window
and you can look in the mirror.

This loft is very spacious.
It's not cramped up at all.

I could actually fit
a pretty good-size bed up here.

And I love this little
arched window here.

This is so cute.

I love the interior.
I love the windows.

I do like the stairs.

The kitchen's great.

It is missing
some important features,

like a cooktop.

I don't know about the colors
of this house.

They're awfully garish.

It would fit in well
downtown in Savannah.

Another downside
is the price.

It's almost $20,000 more
than I wanted to pay.

Yes, well,
we have the solar panels,

the stairs instead of a ladder,
the extra windows.

All of these things
do add to the price.

This house has
a lot of really cool features.

I'm just not sure
I want to spend that much money.

To show her
something more affordable,

agent Mary
is taking Nicki and Tudor

to a less expensive place,

but at just 96 square feet,
it's also the smallest.

- There's a tiny house.
- It looks really small.

I think living in a tiny house
is gonna be so much easier.

Whatever makes you happy,
you know?

Now that here kids are grown up,

Nicki, a firefighter,
wants to simplify her life

by downsizing
from her 2,400-square-foot house

in the Savannah, Georgia, suburbs

to a portable, tiny house.

Boyfriend Tudor is all for it,
if he fits inside.

I know my daughter
has mentioned

maybe wanting a tiny house
of her own some day.

You guys can get
- matching ones, maybe.
- Matching tiny houses?

Why not?

With about $40,000 to spend,

Nicki has seen
a 192-square-foot cabin

with a sleeping loft that
wasn't exactly Tudor-friendly.

Definitely not my size.

Next was a colorful home.

Even though it was only
a little bigger than the cabin,

she was concerned that
it might be tough to transport,

and it was over her budget.

- There's a tiny house.
- It looks really small.

Since Nicki wanted a house
that's easily mobile,

I found this cute
little cottage.

It's pretty tiny, but I'm hoping
Nicki will like it.

It is 96 square feet.

Wow.

At this size, it would be
pretty easy to tow it.

That's true.

And back here
by the trailer hitch,

there is storage.

I love the outside storage.

You could fit beach chairs
in there or something.

Tiny beach chairs.

I like the overall look.

The architecture of the house
itself looks great.

Even though it's plain,

I could paint it
any color I wanted.

The exterior is so adorable.

It looks like a playhouse,
and it makes me smile.

This house
does not have a porch.

No, it just has
a removable staircase,

but this house
is only $27,000.

Okay.

Wow.
This is very cute.

It's a small, small space,
that's for sure,

but it's laid out really well.

With the lofted ceilings,

it doesn't feel
as cramped as I should.

Notice that it's wired
for satellite.

And you can mount a flat-screen
on that wall,

and you could probably even
put a nice chair here

and sit back and relax
and watch TV.

Are you kidding me?
There's not even enough room

for a couch for me to lay down
and watch TV in this house.

I do like this feature
up here--

this extra
little storage space.

It looks nice architecturally.

You could even mount your TV
up there if you wanted.

It might be more comfortable
to watch it from the loft

than downstairs.

That's a good idea.

The kitchen
appears to have

a pretty decent
amount of storage space.

Now, there's not a lot
of work space in this kitchen

and there's no cooktop.

You would have to use
a portable cooktop

and plug it in.

I don't know where I would put,
like, a toaster oven.

That would also have to be
stored and brought out.

Everything would be stored
and brought out one at a time.

There's no stove.
There's no oven.

There's no place to even eat
in this tiny house.

For, like,
some sluggy-type person

that just plays PlayStation
14 hours a day,

this would be all they need.

This house actually has
a pretty nice-sized closet.

I wasn't expecting
such a large closet

in such a small house.

Can fit a lot of clothes
in there. Great.

Well,
moving on to the bathroom.

All right.

Take a peek in here.

Now, this bathroom
does have a full-size shower,

which I like.

The big problem
with this bathroom-- no sink.

In this house, the only sink
is the kitchen sink.

And it is really far.

It's not very far away,
but I just don't like the idea.

Fair enough.

I don't want to leave
the bathroom to wash my hands.

There are so many things
that could go wrong with that.

Well, this does have a ladder,
which isn't my favorite thing.

I wish it folded up and moved
out of the way somehow.

It's taking up
the whole room.

You know what?

It actually feels
pretty good up here.

It's not super cramped up.

The builder designed it
for a queen-sized mattress.

Uh.

It's a pretty good size.
It's very wide.

- Is it long enough?
- Yeah.

Check it out--
I can actually lay

all the way down
without my feet hanging off.

That's nice.

I love the way it looks
on the outside.

It has a nice style.

The siding is plain, but I could
paint it any color I wanted.

And its small size
would help it be easier to move.

I love all the windows
in here.

It feels very light
and very spacious.

However,
it is missing a cooktop.

There's not really
a whole lot of room for seating,

which would be an issue for me
if I wanted to stay.

I don't like this ladder.

It's not a comfortable thing
to go up and down.

Every time
you go to the bathroom,

you'd need to go up and down
the ladder.

But the price
is really good.

Even though Nicki
is excited to downsize,

deciding just how tiny
she wants to go

is no small decision.

That's a big problem.

Our house hunters are upgrading
to tiny houses.

Could you live
in something this small?

With a budget of about $40,000,

Nicki wants to buy
a portable house

that's less than 300 square feet
and gives her the freedom

to live anywhere she wants
in Savannah, Georgia.

With the help
of her real-estate agent, Mary,

she's ready to make a decision.

The first house
is a 192-square-foot cabin

listed for $28,500.

It's well below my budget.

Yeah.

I really, really liked
the fold-down porch.

That was a great feature.

It had the cooktop
you wanted.

The main closet
was pretty small.

The style of it
was just not my taste at all,

but I think
that could be fixed.

But the bathroom took up
too much space in the house.

Another thing I didn't like
was that fold-up ladder.

The sleeping loft
was very short,

much too short for Tudor.

The second house is the largest
at 240 square feet.

It's also the most expensive
at $58,000.

I showed Tudor
some of the pictures I took.

He wasn't a big fan
of the color scheme.

The colors
are a little garish.

But you get the solar panels
and the customized trailer.

The kitchen was fantastic,
and the loft was spacious,

but the closet
was really small.

The bathroom
was really tiny, too.

I'm really concerned
about the price.

Her third option, a cottage,

is the lowest priced home
at $27,000.

It's also the smallest,

but it had spacious loft
that both she and Tudor fit in.

It was really cute,

and even though
it was very small,

that would make it
very easily portable, as well.

It did have a little bit
of exterior storage space.

There's no cooktop
in the kitchen.

There's not a lot of
counter space in the kitchen.

It had a ladder
to the loft.

And the bathroom
was missing its own sink.

That's a big problem
with that house.

The house doesn't have
a porch either,

which is a feature I liked
on the other two houses.

Even though that house costs
so much more than the other two,

I think
it's really worth it.

It's gonna be
my main residence,

and it's worth
the extra money to have

all the niceties
that I wanted,

plus some
I didn't even think of.

I would like to have the little
house with the colors.

The colorful one.

- That's right.
- Oh, wow.

The colors,
they're starting to grow on me.

My tiny house
was just delivered.

I haven't even spent the night
in it yet.

When I walked in,
I immediately felt happy.

I started smiling,

and I couldn't stop
for like 15 minutes.

I'm happy with my decision
to go over budget on my house.

The extra money really
was worth it to me

for all extra nice things
that I got.

I like this house because it has
a lot of architectural interest.

It was much prettier
than the other houses.

And she's come
to appreciate the bold colors.

I think they're very bright,

and they attract
a lot of attention.

Having Tudor tour

the tiny houses with me
really helped me a lot.

He thought of things
that I didn't think of,

like having more room
in the loft area.

Currently,
my tiny house is located

on my friend Jim's property.

I will be moving it to
the campground at Tybee Island,

and that's where I'll be staying
for a while.

I can move it anywhere I want.

I'm not bound to one spot.

I won't have to spend a lot of
time cleaning or maintaining it.

I'll be able to go out
and enjoy the world

and do whatever I want.