Can you buy a tiny home in a tiny home community?
Yes: the communities in the table above sell homes, and most of them lease the land under the home. You own the house, usually a park model RV or a small cottage built by the community’s builder, and you keep paying lot rent or a community fee every month. That fee does not end when the home is paid off.
What do you own when you buy in a tiny home community?
When you buy in a tiny home community, you usually own the home and rent the ground. That has 3 consequences:
- The monthly fee continues for as long as you live there, and it can rise.
- Selling means finding a buyer the community approves, or moving the home.
- Lenders treat the home like an RV or personal property, so financing is limited.
A handful of communities are subdivisions where you buy the lot with the home. They cost more upfront but remove lot rent and give you land that can hold its value.
What should you check before paying a deposit?
Check the community’s status, permits and refund terms before paying any deposit or reservation fee. Complaints about tiny home communities most often involve deposits for lots that were not ready for years. Ask:
- Is the community open today, with residents living there? Can you visit?
- Are the permits and zoning approvals in place for the phase you are buying into?
- Is the deposit refundable, and under what conditions? Get it in writing.
- Is the company selling the home the same one that leases the land? If not, who holds the deposit?
- Can you speak to current residents?
Listings in this directory show a status (open, few left, waitlist, full or not open yet) and the date we last checked it. A community that is not open yet is marked as such.
Can you sell your home in place later?
Selling in place means selling your home while it stays on its lot, and not every community allows it. Some approve the buyer as a new tenant; others require you to move the home. Ask for the resale rules in writing before you buy.