He Builds, Rent Out Guest House
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We own a 2 1/2-acre farm in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico. I moved here 15 years ago because I was tired of shoveling snow, and the living cost is very reasonable. I raised vegetables, chickens, rabbits and turkeys but it was very difficult to make a living on a small farm.
But people loved our little farm so I came up with the idea for a 600 sq. ft. guest house. I raised the money to build it and started renting it out. It produced more income than I was making selling vegetables. Over the years I’ve added more guest houses so that they now provide my retirement income.
I think it could be a great way for any farm to supplement income. I really enjoy my guests through conversation, Potluck meals and friendship. Everything I grow at the farm is available for guests to pick. It makes life easy.
The surprising part is that all my guests come from rural backgrounds and understand rural life, so there’s no learning curve for them. There are a lot of people out there who crave farm life, but it may not be possible for a number of reasons. Renting a guest house costs about the same as an apartment in town and makes it affordable to enjoy farm life.
We call our little houses “Zen homes”. We rent out 2 of them, along with 2 apartments in our main building.
We rent our houses year ’round. Our monthly rate is $1,200; a 3-month rate is $800; and the yearly rate is $550.We prefer to rent long term. We get 330 days of sunshine a year on average, and in this climate, heating and air conditioning aren’t required. We allow guests to have dogs and cats.
I’m a stone mason by trade, and my small houses take about 2 months to build. They have a center load-bearing wall that acts as a divider for the kitchen/living room and the bath/closet/bedroom. The walls have a Styrofoam core so they’re extremely well-insulated. The 4-in. thick insulation is rated at R7 per inch, which results in an R28 rating with 4 in. of insulation. I plaster 2 in. of concrete over wire mesh on each side. With a coat of paint periodically, the houses are virtually maintenance-free.
A house with only 600 sq. ft. may seem small, but it’s actually very livable. I find the houses are easy to rent. In fact, we have room for 4 more rental houses on our property.
Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Michael McKenna and Judyth Hill, San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, PMB #523B, 220 N. Zapata Hwy. #11, Laredo, Texas 78043; simplechoicefarm@gmail.com; www.simplechoicefarm.com).
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He Builds Rent Out Guest House BUILDINGS Houses We own a 2 1/2-acre farm in San Miguel de Allende Mexico I moved here 15 years ago because I was tired of shoveling snow and the living cost is very reasonable I raised vegetables chickens rabbits and turkeys but it was very difficult to make a living on a small farm But people loved our little farm so I came up with the idea for a 600 sq ft guest house I raised the money to build it and started renting it out It produced more income than I was making selling vegetables Over the years I’ve added more guest houses so that they now provide my retirement income I think it could be a great way for any farm to supplement income I really enjoy my guests through conversation Potluck meals and friendship Everything I grow at the farm is available for guests to pick It makes life easy The surprising part is that all my guests come from rural backgrounds and understand rural life so there’s no learning curve for them There are a lot of people out there who crave farm life but it may not be possible for a number of reasons Renting a guest house costs about the same as an apartment in town and makes it affordable to enjoy farm life We call our little houses “Zen homes” We rent out 2 of them along with 2 apartments in our main building We rent our houses year ’round Our monthly rate is $1 200; a 3-month rate is $800; and the yearly rate is $550 We prefer to rent long term We get 330 days of sunshine a year on average and in this climate heating and air conditioning aren’t required We allow guests to have dogs and cats I’m a stone mason by trade and my small houses take about 2 months to build They have a center load-bearing wall that acts as a divider for the kitchen/living room and the bath/closet/bedroom The walls have a Styrofoam core so they’re extremely well-insulated The 4-in thick insulation is rated at R7 per inch which results in an R28 rating with 4 in of insulation I plaster 2 in of concrete over wire mesh on each side With a coat of paint periodically the houses are virtually maintenance-free A house with only 600 sq ft may seem small but it’s actually very livable I find the houses are easy to rent In fact we have room for 4 more rental houses on our property Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Michael McKenna and Judyth Hill San Miguel de Allende Mexico PMB #523B 220 N Zapata Hwy #11 Laredo Texas 78043; simplechoicefarm@gmail com; www simplechoicefarm com
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