Tiny House, Huge Mortgage: Pint-Sized Living For ... $475K

BETHESDA, MD — The tiny house craze has spawned TV shows and a different crop of home owners in recent years, but a former Pepco substation turned house was decades ahead of the fad.

And for $475,000, you can own a 315-square-foot tiny house at 4905 River Road in Bethesda.

The structure – built in 1940 -- was sold by the utility to a homeowner in 1980 for $4,000. It sits on a 1,846 square-foot lot.

According to the real estate website Zillow, the Bethesda tiny house has all the amenities: slate roof, stove, refrigerator, full bath and a loft bedroom.

The substation turned home sits at the corner of River Road and Willard Avenue. It’s less than a mile from the Friendship Heights Metro station, along with shops and restaurants.

Here’s how the house is described on Zillow:

Condo living without the fees! Tiny house, slate roof with 16” concrete slab steel girders supporting 22” brick walls, providing exceptional insulation. Tiny kitchen with all necessities: stove, fridge, sink, storage, stack washer/dryer. Tiny living room/office space, full bath. Loft bedroom with spacious loft closet. Surrounded by a chain link fence with off-street parking.

Zillow says agent Rita Liptz with W.C. & A.N. Miller, Realtors, A Long & Foster Co., has the listing. Call her at (301) 299-6000 for more information.

»Photos of house at 4905 River Road in Bethesda, courtesy of MRIS/Zillow