On the move to home security
The fortune Charlotte Fielding paid in rent over the years didn’t buy the security or stability she wanted more than anything for her son.
In March this year I picked up a small bus I’d bought via Facebook, and began ripping it apart. I spent six months converting it into a tiny home, over the cold wet winter months. In September, when Wellington went to Covid alert level 3, I moved into it with my 11-year-old son, and our dog and cat.
When I first started the conversion project, I had no idea what I was doing, and I was afraid of power tools. What I did have was desperation to get out of the rental trap, and a willingness to learn.
We could have moved in immediately, as the bus was set up as a campervan, but it was basic. It needed to be a comfortable and pretty home if we were to enjoy living in it for long enough to make a financial difference. It was also the first time in my life that I was able to choose decor and fittings, which felt important.
I was working full time during the entire build, so I did it mostly at weekends. Sometimes I’d spend a couple of hours building during daylight hours and do my paid work into the evenings. Friends helped when they could, but it was a hard process.
There were many delays and obstacles due to my inexperience. My mistakes cost money and time. Every time I needed to learn how to use a new tool, I’d look up videos on YouTube with keywords such as ‘‘circular saw mistakes’’.
We have been living in the bus for over two months now. Sometimes I look around in amazement that I built this little home. I don’t have skills exactly, but I do have basic competence with so many new things, and I have more confidence in general to give new things a go.
Some things about bus living are harder, like hauling the laundry to the laundromat, and emptying the cassette toilet at a waste-dumping station. There are things to keep track of that no longer happen automatically, such as filling up the water tank, and buying diesel for the air heater or gas for the stove. I have to go to the supermarket more often because we don’t have room for lots of groceries.
Some things are easier, like cleaning. We have less stuff and although the bus gets messy quickly, it’s also quick to tidy. It takes 15 minutes to clean the whole bus.
We have everything we need: a bed each, a desk each, light, warmth, a kitchen, a toilet, wireless broadband, and space for clothes, books and other things. We have a couch to snuggle up and watch Netflix on, and some plants to make it homely. We have a storage unit for some items that were too important to get rid of but that we don’t use every day.
More significant than the daily lifestyle, however, is the relief and peace that living in the bus has brought. I don’t have to worry about rent increases or intrusive inspections. If something breaks, I can fix it myself without waiting on a landlord.
I don’t have to worry about being told to move out, with all the associated stress and costs, especially the difficulty in finding a rental that will allow pets. If necessary, we could just drive our tiny home elsewhere. It’s not an ideal situation, but it is an improved one.
I’ve been lucky to have some good landlords, and unlucky with others, but it shouldn’t be a matter of luck.
Housing is a human right, and New Zealand is failing to uphold that right. The impacts of insecure or inadequate housing can be devastating, particularly for children. It’s absurd that the rental system is so broken that living in a bus is a better option.
The conversion cost about $15,000 on top of the $18,000 to buy the bus. Some of it I had to borrow. I don’t have an exact total because my diligent accounting at the start was abandoned at the end when all my time and energy was focused on finishing the build.
Bus life is much cheaper than renting, despite paying back loans. As well as not paying extortionate rent, I don’t have a power bill any more, and the costs of diesel and gas are low. I pay $50 per week to park in a friend’s backyard, which is fully fenced so the dog and cat have a safe space to play outside.
The money I work for can now be used for my family, for the things we need and want. I’ve been able to cover things for my son that were previously unaffordable, and go to the dentist myself for the first time in years.
Before, I was struggling to stay afloat with more than 60 per cent of my take-home pay going to landlords, who did little to earn it beyond having the capital to buy a spare house in the first place. The fortune I’ve paid in rent over the years didn’t buy us security or stability, which is what I want more than anything. Mostly for my son, but also for myself.
Will I be able to buy a house in a couple of years? Sadly, it’s still unlikely. The housing market remains broken and prices continues to skyrocket. I’m still on a single income and starting on the back foot.
The bus is lovely, but it wasn’t a forever plan, and I don’t know what will happen next.
At least I have an asset I can sell at some point, peace of mind in the meantime, and I’m able to build up some savings. I’ll continue working as hard as I can to build a better life for my son and me amid the nationwide housing crisis.