I'm New To Tiny Houses, Where Do I Start?

Created by Tomasz Jóźwik, Modified on Thu, 11 Jan at 6:41 AM by Tomasz Jóźwik

If you're new to the concept of tiny house living or have recently decided that the tiny house lifestyle is right for you, you'll most likely have alot of questions! We understand and we're glad to help you through every step of your tiny house journey. That means from where you are now to living happily in your tiny house that's perfect for you. So, here we go!

PLEASE NOTE: We offer a free service called 5-Minute Tiny House Consultation where we help get you started on your tiny house journey.

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We Support Your Decision To Live Tiny

First and foremost, we're here to help and offer support for you. If we didn't mention something below or failed to answer a question you have or roadblock you think will prevent you from living tiny, feel free to click the support icon on our site any time. This will get the conversation started and allow us to answer your questions.

Search the tiny houses

We are the world's central source for buying, renting and selling tiny houses and places to park them. The best place to start your tiny house search is by searching the tiny houses listed with us. We work with tiny house builders all over the world and many of them list not only their tiny houses currently available, but also their models that they can custom built for you. In your search, you can filter by listing type, price, location, features and more. Click here to browse our listings. If for some reason you don't see a tiny house that's a good fit for you, please contact our support and we'll get you in touch with the right tiny house builder for you.

Cash or finance?

If you're looking to purchase a tiny house, you'll either have the money upfront or need to secure financing. If you have the cash, search away! If you'll need to secure financing then there are a few options. We have heard good feedback from people that found a listing on our site and went to their local credit union to get a loan. Lighstream Bank is another good option that many people have had success with. If the tiny house you're looking for is RVIA certified, you'll most likely be able to secure financing through traditional RV lenders.

Parking a tiny house

One major piece of the puzzle if you decide to buy and live in a tiny house that's mobile, is finding a place to put it. The Tiny House Listings website offers parking listings for those that have land for rent or sale and those looking for it. As we continue to push these tiny house parking listings, we'll see more and more options and places for you to park your tiny house. Also, here are some more ideas for place to park your tiny house from Steven, the founder of Tiny House Listings.

What about the legalities?

The best place to learn if your tiny house can be parked legally on your property is by calling your local planning and zoning department. If your tiny house is on a foundation, this typically means simply building your home up to local codes and specs. Very often (but not always), a tiny house on wheels can be parked on your property if you satisfy certain conditions that need to be met by your local planning and zoning department. Be sure to make them your 1st phone call as they can walk you through the process.

What about utilities?

Off grid power: If you're wanting to live completely off-grid, living in a tiny house is a good option. This is because the threshold in terms of power needed is quite low. This is especially if your tiny house is well-insulated and uses energy-efficient appliances like a mini split unit, for example. For heating you'll do well to have a vented propane heater or small wood stove. Heating a home off-grid with electricity usually consumes too much energy. Using a mini split to cool your home several hours per day with off-grid energy is possible, assuming again, your tiny house is very well-insulated to keep the conditioned air in.

Water: If you're off-grid, having water on hand can be accomplished using quite a few methods. The most obvious is to dig a well and tap into the water below you. This would mean having a water pump to bring the water up. A small electric water pump powered by the sun and energy stored in a battery isn't a bad way to go. You can also collect rainwater and have it on hand it for later use. A small RV style water pump can then be used to pressurize and pump water into your home. Or if your water containers are at a higher elevation, you can let gravity do the work. Here's a video we put together that shows a complete water collection system used for a tiny house.

Sewer: You'll need to put your black water and grey water somewhere while living off-grid. Both can be placed in a septic tank like a traditional home. There are even smaller, plastic options available that cost very little to buy and install. You can also filter your greywater through rocks or even plants assuming you use environmentally friendly cleaning products. For your blackwater, by far the easiest and best method in our opinion is a composting toilet. Simply empty when it's full.

If you plan to live on-grid, for energy just run power to your home in the form of an RV-style hookup or run power to your home like a traditional home. For water you can tap into public water and sewer and off you go.

How do I get my tiny house delivered to me?

If you plan to purchase a tiny house on wheels, it'll need to be delivered to your location. There are quite a few options for this. Learn more about them here:

We hope you have found this guide to be helpful. Of course, if you have more questions, please feel free to reach out to our support team so we can assist you.

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