Lake Walk Tiny Home Community in Greer a hit with residents

Nestled on a wooded lot on Highway 101 in Greer, Lake Walk Tiny Home Community offers residents a chance to downsize and make new friends.

The community, not far from Lake Cunningham, was created by developer Randy Hanson. With more than 40 tiny homes already on site, Hanson plans to add another 23 to the property in the coming months. Hanson said residents include transplants from Michigan, Ohio, Rhode Island, Florida, and California.

"A lot of the residents are older women who are single and just tired of maintaining a full-sized dwelling," Hanson said. "They have found a home here and crafted a community and have become fast friends."

The development's first phase was constructed just over a year ago. Gravel roads and driveways link the tiny homes together under large shade trees. Several of the residents have added decks, stone driveways and other personal features to their dwellings.

Some of the homes can be towed, while others are permanent fixtures. Hanson said when the homes arrive it only takes about one day to have them installed and made available for residents to move in. The cost of a home is about $80,000 and each home features a similar floor plan. The bottom floors are about 400 square feet, while upper floors are about 100 square feet.

Each home features a front porch, modern appliances, and electric stoves, though some residents swap those out for gas. The property, approved as a RV Park, feels more like a campground setting than a neighborhood.

The homes' average utility bills are between $50 and $70 per month.

"They are very reasonable to heat and cool," Hanson said, explaining that the homes feature an air handler system with an outdoor compressor.

In recent years, tiny homes have become more popular with people across the country who are looking to downsize and live a different lifestyle. Hanson expects a new tiny home community to be constructed by another developer in the Travelers Rest area.

The homes feature high-quality materials, including metal roofs, shiplap pine walls, and ceilings at about 13 feet high. Several residents at Lake Walk also have landscaped yards around their tiny homes.

Linda Burns moved to Lake Walk in December 2017 from Simpsonville. She was looking for a change after her husband died from Lou Gehrig's disease. Burns lived in a 1,800-square-foot home with three bedrooms and two baths in a subdivision. She watched shows on television about tiny homes and thought it might work for her to downsize since she was now living alone.

After moving to Lake Walk, Burns says she never looked back.

"It's the perfect thing for me now," Burns said of her new downsized living space. "I fell in love instantly with this place. I am so happy here. What I like about it most is it's very serene and peaceful and a great community. We have a blast."

Burns added a back deck and a customized driveway to her home. She also turned the upstairs loft area into a space for her cat Angie. Her bedroom is on the ground floor, which provides convenience since she doesn't have to climb up the narrow flight of stairs.

Some other residents have made the upper lofts into a space for their grandchildren to sleep when they come to visit.

Lake Walk has formed a tight-knit community over the past year. The residents meet each month at the community center for meals and music. It's also not far from downtown Greer and Taylors, offering residents easy access to retailers and other businesses.

"It has given us a real sense of community living here," Burns said of the relationships that residents have developed.