Glenn Robinson came up with a plan for his parents: put a tiny house in their backyard for $185,000. The Robinsons clear $1,000 a month off the tiny house. I've been telling him for years, "Hey, Dad, you should put a tiny house in that backyard." I'm a co-owner of the tiny house and a bit of the project manager. My dad refinanced his home — we got a $230,000 home-equity loan and used $185,000 to pay for the tiny house.

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