Dave wrote on 08/24/15 at 09:33:29:

Good to know, and looking up code for Garwood, it looks like they follow the International codes for residential dwellings, which might mean that I have to retain the larger trailer to be allowed to reside there (some areas will not allow you to use a small building as a residence) so maybe I should just work on renovating that, as daunting a task as it seems
An 8x12 shed would be fairly cheap, and I can rent to own a prefab one for less that $200 a month, but would the local authorities leave me to live in it in peace? If I keep the larger trailer, it's legal, but might not be without it
Hmmmm

How far to your nearest neighbor? If I missed it, sorry,,, but city or county?
And, in Texas, if you have ten acres, you can get away with a lot. No building permits required, no inspections,, tax assessor will have a look at the house and assess value for tax purposes, and maybe snitch you out for something,,

justin_o_guy2 wrote on 08/26/15 at 20:34:04:

There's a house right next door, though it's abandoned and falling down
10 acres I would not want, I had an acre once, that was bad enough

justin_o_guy2 wrote on 08/26/15 at 22:16:49:

That's sort of the attitude I took with my acre and my push mower; after a while I just mowed around the house and said the heck with the rest of it

Gonna hafta put a raptor on it?

Man sorry to hear all this Art. Best of luck getting thru it all. Years ago while single without kids I had a similar situation. I had a fairly large storage place that I was doing some silkscreen work out of. It was a no management on site type of place. I ended up throwing a fold out couch, fridge, microwave and TV in it. There was a restroom on site for renters and I used that. Like Dave said I got a cheap gym membership for showers and such. Managed to live there for 7 months at like 80 bucks a month rental fee. Saved as much as I could and got a new place. It was kinda like a big studio minus the shower. I just had to be careful about coming and going at all hours of the night.

When I got out of the Air Force (after 4yrs) I stayed on my old mans place in an 10X24 travel trailer.
It had a toilet but no hookup, so I built me an outhouse, of course you would probably have to use a bluebox, maybe you can rent one.
That's how I lived from march to 0ctober when I got back in the military (they offered a bonus).
As long as the trailer is a roof what don't leak, run an extension cord off a pole (have the power company put up a construction box).
Tell them (the city) you are demoing the trailer.... or planning to build... and get one of them $35 permits, unless as you say, there are no restrictions.
You can have a construction box run to an empty lot if you want, so you don't have to have a permit for that.
So you have power and water....get you one of those big sheds for the $200 a month, then rent one of them blue boxes for your toilet (they probably charge per month), then all you have to do is build you a tent for a shower area.
And save , save , save  
Good luck on your endeavors.....
better yet.... find you a rich old widow and be a gold digger, or a boy toy..... could be fun for awhile