With the pandemic raging, people want to get out of their homes, where they often spend 100% of their time due to telecommuting.
The mini-cottage in the countryside is an option available to them.
The mini-cottage is approximately 120 to 540 square feet (50 m2) in size. It can be built in places that are often less accessible. It is found on platforms on the mountainside, near a river, a lake, in the forest or even in a tree.
Location
Renting mini-cottages is becoming more and more popular in Quebec and if you take a look at the cottage rental sites, I can tell you that they are very busy these days. A mini chalet is not designed to accommodate many guests, most of the time it is for maximum 2 to 4 people.
The rental price varies between 150 and 300 dollars per night. Despite their smaller dimensions, there is still a lot of equipment. However, we can forget the dishwasher, the washer and the dryer.
building
The mini-cottage can be built on site by a contractor, can be ordered from the factory and is quickly installed in a modular fashion.
You can also buy ready-to-assemble sets. There is usually no foundation, therefore no basement, and it is mostly built on piles.
Potential savings
Buying a large cabin adds additional expenses that you need to plan for in your budget. Building a mini-cottage for yourself will save you a lot of money.
Here are the savings:
- Buying price
- Lesser mortgage
- Municipal and school taxes
- Insurance
- Energy costs
- Purchase of furniture
Municipal regulations
No matter the size of your mini-cottage, you still need a permit from your municipality to build. It should be noted that if you want to do short-term rental, very few municipalities allow it.
If you decide to build mini-cottages to offer for rent, the most profitable is to be able to build several of them on the same land.
To give you an example of the number of mini-chalets you can install on a lot, here is an excerpt from the regulations of the city of Brownsburg-Chatham, in the Laurentians.
The example of Brownsburg-Chatham
Advice
◆ Always check with your municipality before ordering your chalet to find out about the restrictions in force.
◆ The financing of several mini-chalets on a piece of land is not easy to obtain with the banks. Make sure to use your home equity or mortgage line of credit.
◆ Don’t forget that even if it’s a mini-cottage, you still need septic systems and an artesian well.