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The efficient-home problem has already been solved. We call them manufactured homes. They're cheap, and are actually up-to-code for long-term living.

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they're cheap to acquire, but long-term, not so good. They're also very flimsy, so everything sort-of goes at once.

Yes, you can spend a lot more on one and get nicer finishes, but the end state is the floor sags and none of the doors shut.

It depends on what you mean by long-term and probably how well you take care of it. Growing up, I lived in one for years with no issues. So did my best friend, for even longer (at least a decade, no issues with sagging or warping). And this was in the rainy, wet Pacific Northwest.

I dare say they are better built than the flimsy plastic tent we saw linked in the OP.

$36,000 / 120 months = $300/mo. If it lasts 10 years, that's a pretty good ROI.

No argument it's built better - and to code, no less.

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