DIYer Builds Tiny Home For $17K That Brings In $50K A Year In 'Almost Completely Passive' Income

Tiny homes have become increasingly popular in recent years as many look for ways to cut costs and reduce the size of their carbon footprints. One young DIYer figured out a way to turn his tiny house into a giant moneymaker. 

What To Know: According to a CNBC report, 34-year-old Ivan Ellis Nanney bought a parcel of land just outside of Boise, Idaho, for $17,000, and spent another $17,000 building a tiny home on it. The property now generates close to $50,000 in revenue a year.

He originally listed it on Airbnb Inc ABNB in 2019 with intentions to live in it for half of the year, but the overwhelming demand led him to move out for good and start listing the miniature home year-round.

“It became very popular. It just didn't make sense for me to stay there at all. [The income] has become almost completely passive,” Nanney told CNBC.

The tiny home has been such a success for the Idaho native that he is working on two more rental homes. Here’s how he managed to build the first.

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Piece By Piece: The lot, which he purchased back in 2015, came with an abandoned house. He spent close to three and a half years tearing down the old structure and then building the new one using secondhand building materials. 

Nanney was also able to hook up water lines and wire the home for electricity himself, which is quite the cost saver. 

Now he generates a majority of his income from the home and only works about two hours each week setting up bookings. He pays someone to clean the place for about $150 a week and he returns to the location at least a couple of times each year to perform routine maintenance.

Most of the rest of his time is spent traveling, although he also makes some extra money helping other nearby Airbnb hosts with upkeep for their properties.

And then there are the two additional properties he’s working on. One is a nearby house that he bought in 2021 with a down payment of less than $8,000. The other is in the mountains of Idaho, but he’s splitting that one with four members of his family. 

“You can increase your income and reduce your debt while maximizing assets you already own. I don't like having things sit around when someone could be benefiting from it,” Nanney told CNBC.

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This story is part of a new series of features on the subject of success, Benzinga Inspire. Some elements of this story were previously reported by Benzinga and it has been updated.

Image created using artificial intelligence via Midjourney.