This tiny off-grid cabin in California will set you back $87,000 — cash only, please

A tiny cabin in the Southern California desert is listed for $87,000 — all in cash.

The cabin, which is just 240 square feet, is at the foot of the Pinto Mountains in Twentynine Palms, just a short jaunt from both the Marine Corps base and Joshua Tree National Park.

The Glass Outhouse Art Gallery is within sight of the property, and the main commercial strip filled with cafes and boutiques is just 4 miles away, according to SFGate.

"This off-grid gem is close to a paved road, offering seclusion and privacy without a sense of isolation," reads the listing on ReMax.com. The property boasts an outdoor shower, upgrades like a flush toilet and new sinks, and off-grid solar panels and propane that power the utilities including lights, a space heater and a water heater.

The listing doesn't mention whether the cabin has air-conditioning, a necessity for anyone willing to brave the triple-digit summer temperatures in the area.

"It's a nascent burgeoning area where artists who traditionally don't have money find dwellings," Bryan Wynwood of Joshua Tree Modern told SFGate. He added that, with property values rising in nearby Joshua Tree, people who want to be close to the burgeoning artsy scene are beginning to look at Twentynine Palms.

The cabin, originally built in 1957, is one of many in the area, the result of the federal government's Small Tract Act of 1938. Under the act, homesteaders were granted 5-acre parcels of desert land if they built a structure no smaller than 12 feet by 16 feet, according to the Los Angeles Times.

Though the act was repealed in the late 1970s and many of the shacks fell into disrepair by the 1990s, many in the area have come back, revitalized as short-term rental properties on sites like Airbnb.

Cabin owners told the L.A. Times in 2016 that the properties are "a thriving income source," with one owner, Alita VanVliet, telling the paper that her two cabins generate about $25,000 a year — though she doesn't rent them in the summer.

So, if you've got $87,000 to spend on a tiny home and the desire to either live in nature or make some money, this house just might be for you.

This story was originally published April 29, 2018 at 11:39 AM with the headline "This tiny off-grid cabin in California will set you back $87,000 — cash only, please."