Hey guys! I'm a real estate professional trying to offer better solutions for people facing challenges with buying a tiny home (not here to market/sell anything, just doing market research🤙😎)

I've recently met with some manufacturers to get an idea of what most people's barriers are when going for their very own tiny home, and a lot of builders are saying it's really difficult to get these things financed by a bank.

For those here who HAVE been able to get a bank loan for your tiny home, it would be a huge help if you could share any insight with someone who's never financed one such as myself.

I'm working to structure in-house financing for these manufacturers so buyers don't have to endure the bank hassle, and the goal is to make sure we can offer the best loan options and the easiest access for homebuyers.

Here's some things we're hoping to know about the loan market for these tiny homes:

• When you got your loan/home • How your bank classified it (modular home, trailer, tiny home, rv, etc.) • Length of the loan • Your monthly payment • Interest rate • Required down-payment % • As well as any notes of things that made the process either easier or more of a headache overall

Thanks y'all! 🏠💓

Looking at different ways to attach the body to the trailer. It is on a camper trailer and I'm just wondering if there's anything better how skyline bolted it to the frame? Also, I've heard I don't want my floor joists to line up with the cross members of the trailer. Anyone know about that and a reason why?

I've been living in a tiny house with a composting toilet for just over 6 months. So far I've had countless issues with the composting toilet (CT) and I'm considering installing a flushing toilet instead, so just want to know if anyone's had similar experience's to me. The thing that frustrates me the most is this CT company advertises their toilets as 'low maintenance' and 'easy to install/use for anyone' But this just isn't true.

Below are just some of the issues/gripes i have:

- Mixer arm doesn't work: Both chambers have arms that aren't effective. They're not broken, they're just useless at churning. This has meant that to avoid quick build up of toilet paper etc, Ive had to resort to getting wooden stakes and bashing everything down through the pedestal. Not ideal or sustainable.... especially when people come over and I've gotta go bash their poo down after they leave

- Cutting pipes and dodgy installation mechanisms: Sorry, but to advertise something as 'easy to self install' seems a bit misleading when all the pipes have to be cut to fit. I only have a hand saw, so this took days. And the pipes are then joint by being jammed inside each other, without being properly screwed or sealed.

- The flimsiness of the pipes means that during the swapping over of chambers the pipe that connects the chamber to the fan disconnected. So the fan that keeps the air circulating (and smell gone) is no longer attached and working. No clue how to re-join them because the pipes are jaggered from the dodgy installation. Again, it doesn't help that they're not cut by professionals and don't have proper connection mechanisms.

- After swapping the chamber over once, the fluffy seal that lines the lid came off completely, which now means I have a vinegar fly infestation in my toilet because there're spaces where the seal is broken, pipes have cracked, and bolts have come loose (in multiple other places too).

- Ive also had to make a stand for the chamber to sit on, because if it's left on the ground (like recommended) the fluid drainage is shocking, which obviously leads to an unpleasant stagnant smell. As a young woman living by myself, this was near impossible to set up alone;

- I can't use my range hood because the smell of urine fills the house. When I started the building process I was very adamant on one thing only: I didn't want to compromise on a composting toilet, I wanted a flushing one. The company I built with were very pushy on a CT and I ultimately caved. I've since reached out to ask about the pipes connecting my rangehood and bathroom, but the tiny house company has not replied to my emails or texts (sent months ago).

Unfortunately, this is only the start of the issues. I'm contemplating getting a flushing toilet installed. I really don't want to, but the constant issues arising with my CT is outweighing the pros of having one. Is this typical? Is the composting toilet really worth the hype?

Hey all! Hope you're doing well.

I have this absolutely ridiculous idea that I would love for this community to highlight flaws in.

Heads up:

I've driven rigs heavier and larger than my proposed idea. I've also driven hundreds of thousands of miles around the United States.

Idea:

I would seriously love to build a 53' dry van ( Semi Trailer ) into a portable home. I've drawn up several concepts/floorplans with a few styles.

I've settled on my ultimately favorite concept, 1 Bedroom 1 Bathroom, Compact Kitchen and 20' Garage.

This would ideally be a year round living situation as I would relocate if the need arose.

My goal is to "solar-ify" the trailer to run almost all appliances/accessories with the addition of a Tesla parked in the garage. ( I don't expect to be full charged at all times, more of a "well that's nice" type of charger )

My request to you:

Would any of you be willing to help me trouble-storm all the issues you see with this borderline fever dream of a "tiny" home?

Thank any and every one of you that take the time to read this and contribute! Love you!

I plan to build a tiny house to sell. I am already an accomplished handyman so the build will be no problem.

However, I'm wondering how many potential buyers would be put off by a composting toilet?

Would a solar/battery system that allows it to be fully independent of grid power be a major selling point?

Are wooden interiors desirable to most buyers? I'm considering cladding the interior with light colored bamboo plywood, then caramelized(darker) bamboo countertops and desk/table tops. Too much?

Would people prefer a diesel or propane heater?

How desirable is a ground floor bed? Personally I wouldn't want to climb up and down a ladder or stairs in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom.

Feel free to add any other insights that might help with building a more desirable and practical tiny house.

Thanks for your input.

After over a year of searching I've finally closed the deal on a really nice tiny house. It's quite small, since it's meant to be easily moveable, so I'm looking for some practical tips from people who've lived in tiny spaces. It's 6m20 long, 2m55 wide, and an impressive 4m20 at the highest point. It looks spacious now, but I'm aware that it's mostly empty at the moment, and I'll probably struggle with finding storage space.
My first move will be to install some decent kitchen cabinets, but apart from that, there doesn't seem to be much space to put things. Any ideas? I'm open to advice, and happy to include a few pictures of the interior if that's helpful.

Hello, I want to put in a tiny door in the loft of my tiny house. I have a gable roof, so this tiny door will be on the flat end of my house. The spot where I want to put the door is 24 inches wide between the studs (although I could have it frame out to be larger if absolutely necessary). Of course, no pre-made doors are available to fit such a space. I've looked at various items from skylights (too expensive) to windows, steel access panels and thought about ripping down an all wood exterior door. Maybe the lower half of a Dutch door... A big concern is insulation/condensation.

Just wanted to ask what tiny fire escape solutions you may have come up with. I'm not super handy and it has to be affordable too. I remember reading years ago about a lady who put a tiny door in her tiny bathroom to allow for direct removal of her toilet compost. Curious if any of you have found a tiny door or escape wall panel/hatch for an application like this. Thanks!

Prices I'm seeing is 35000-60000 CAD for a finished home with no bells and whistles. That seems. Suspiciously low. Almost like they're lowballing me on the extra hidden fees.

Has anyone done a monolithic dome? What was your experience?

Hi everyone. Hoping for some hive mind help. I’m looking to build a kit home around 500-750 sq feet. I’m in an area that will require architectural plans and has building codes so I can’t just do what I want. I’m looking for a nice, quality, simple kit home that I can assemble. I’m hoping to avoid fully prefabricated unless it’s nice quality like real wood and doesn’t look like a trailer or shipping container.

Best thing I’ve found so far is this one for example. 79k for a 730 sq ft a-frame: www.7dayaframes.com. Wish it came with the flooring and siding but it comes with everything else. About $100/sq ft or less for a kit is a good price point for me. Any ideas?

was wondering what people use to model there tiny homes. I'm trying to build the most cost effective tiny home for my girlfriend, future kid & I to live in was wondering if yall had any recommendations on programs to design it on

Hello, I've been looking into the idea of getting a tiny home, have some land I could place it on, which seems like the best way to productively make use of it. Ideally i'd like to get something insulated and with electric wiring. I see quite the variance in the market, so that's why I wanted to post here, for example, I've seen some companies list them for 150-200 k, while also seeing amazon and boxable list them more like 20-50 k. That price variance makes me think something is up, as far as perhaps ones bad quality or ones a scam (marked up). Is there any solid websites/companies anybody has had luck with? There seems to be so much information out there, and it can be quite challenging to filter through. Thank you for the advice! :)

I have plans to make a THOW that is not only a size of a 20-25ft travel trailer, but also light enough to be towed by Tesla Model X

I also wanted to be insulated and sturdy to be protected against the elements

Any suggestions?

So, I've had more than a few people in my life discuss tiny houses (and some distant family members getting into the business of selling tiny houses), and I'd love all of you guys' opinions, because I'm genuinely curious.

Basically, I don't get the hype. I feel tiny houses are a glorified version of trailer homes and come with the issue of renting land and potentially getting stuck someplace when the landlord raises the rent (the same trailer park rent trap). Even if the down payment is more expensive, I feel it's better to save up and buy a "traditional home" or maybe even move someplace where I can afford a "traditional home," especially with the rise of online work. Also, I'm kind of sad to see the rise of tiny houses, because I feel it means my generation (I'm a millennial) truly will never reach home ownership.

Basically, economically, I get the plus, but besides that, is there something I'm missing? What do you guys like about your tiny homes? How long do you intend to stay in them? Do you think they're a good way to save money on rent or have a good resale value? Are there any restrictions or things to keep in mind? I'm very ignorant of the tiny house market and am looking to get educated on the subject, especially because home ownership sounds like a pipe dream, but at the same time, I'm very suspicious of tiny homes.

Hello. I’m interested to know if anyone has bought plans for a tiny home through www.australianfloorplans.com or another similar company.

They have some pretty cool designs that look like they would check a lot of boxes for me. I’m at the initial stages of planning and wondering what plan you chose? What was the cost to build? Were the drawings complete and easy? What would you change?

Hi! I have some question about insulation. I'm building on a trailer, so max outside width is 255cm.

1. What would be the target U value for floors, walls, roofs? I see conflicting information about this. I live in EU, temps go as high as 40C and as low as -10C. It's a tricky balance between wall thickness and insulation value to maximize the space inside. For the wall i got an U value of 0,232w/m2k with 200mm thickness(this includes the drywall, studs, insulation, battens, cladding), that would leave me 2150mm useful width inside. Does this sound good, or i can go away with something thinner?

2. My trailer's metal frame is flat, so no wheel wells. My plan is to build a subfloor on this and then the walls. Should i put insulation between the metal frame too, like XPS? Or it won't do much because of all the metal nearby(or even cause issues). My layers would be: metal frame, plywood, diffusion open membrane, studs with insulation between, osb, vapor control layer, laminate flooring. Should i put anything between the metal frame and the plywood? I've seen people do foam sill seal for example, but i don't think thats doing anything helpful.

Not sure if these are labeled differently. Thinking of building for my son a living space that's seperate from our house so he can grow a sense of independence. I don't know if this is called something different, building wise.

Custom features: locally milled and sustainably sourced lumber. Port Orford cedar siding, Myrtlewood flooring, stair railing, Douglas fir. 12 tempered double-paned windows. Water: Standard hose hookup. 2 axles/4 leveling jacks. Electrical 50 Amps. Sewer hookups.

204 Sq ft. Length: 24' Width: 8.5' Total height: 13.8' Estimated weight: 10,000-12,000 lbs. Built 2024.

Interior comes furnished including bedding, towels. Kitchen: Wood cabinets with brushed nickel pulls. Custom butcher block & countertops.Large stainless steel sink with cutting board. Small refrigerator. 2 burner electric induction cooktop. Electric oven/air fryer combo. Bedroom: Stair access. Loft with Queen bed, organic mattress. Storage bookshelf, closet. Bathroom: water saver toilet. Shower with curtain. W/D hook-up in bathroom. Propane on-demand water heater. Electric wall heater. LED energy saving lighting. Ceiling fan. Smoke, CO2, propane alarms. Fire Extinguisher.

Honest question here. I have a tiny house. I travel for work. And I hate going home, because I know it will still be a half-finished shed with no A/C or heat when I get there.

The plumbing was done by a family friend and it was awful. The electric was done by actual family and it was worse.

I don't have 100k to drop, but I'm tired of the feeling of dread whenever I have to return home. I just want to hire an Actual Professional to make it right.

What Google keywords do I use? "Contractor" doesn't do it. What do I look for? How do I find someone to just... make my tiny house a tiny home?

This is for a tiny house built before it was cool, aka a sub 600 sq ft stick built house I bought my mom. Pending an electrician’s opinion I believe it doesn’t have a ton of electrical power to go around (60A service maybe). That said, what do you use for heating and cooking? I’ve been considering propane but while it’s efficient and doesn’t use up much power it runs more expensive than electricity and I don’t feel confident doing the work myself. Also looking for recs on a good heater for a space like ours.

Looking for advice on an accumulator/pressure tank for my cabin. Size and brands will be helpful. It'll need to fit in the space shown with my pump. (~16 inches out from the wall by about 30 inches long) I plan to enclose it in a cabinet when done.

I have a shower and washing machine along with two sinks. I'm primarily looking to smooth out the flow and keep the pump from running hard when a sink is running with the shower or washer. Guessing we use 3 to 5 gallons per shower. Not sure what the water usage is for the washer, but it is a mid size over and under.

We are looking at buying some land by a popular lake as a summer retreat but when not staying there would like to rent it out in Airbnb. About 100k for the land and 80-100k for the tiny home. Thoughts? Who has tried this? Experience? Is 100k enough to budget for?

I am looking into a floating house in New England. My mortgage broker said I’d never get a conventional mortgage from a big bank, but from my research online it seems there may be small banks or credit unions out there willing to do it. Is anyone familiar with any?

Is there a best option for a pumpable black water tank? I was thinking something rectangular that could fit under the tiny house. But I’m struggling to find info on what tanks are best. This would only be fed from the toilet.

Maybe there’s an alternative that’s better?

I know others with a similar situation who use a buried ibc tote and pump it monthly. That seems to work OK.

Any help is greatly appreciated! Thanks