tiny house movement catagorized as mobile home park?

Question

anybody here know anything about tiny house development/ movements?? not sure where to post this?

Belinda Lopez · Answer

Most of the Tiny Home communities are classified as RV Parks b/c that is what local officials understand.  Also, if the homes are on wheels, then they are by definition RVs for insurance purposes.  Getting an RV Park permitted is easier than MHP in many areas but they still require the same infrastructure and design.

We've been looking at doing a few Tiny Homes (cabin/cottages) as beach vacation rentals.  We had to find an area where there were no HOAs as most of those wanted homes of at least 800-1000 sqft.  We may end up doing a hybrid of RVs and Tiny Homes on some acreage we have near Houston.

Drew Cobb · Answer

I have explored the concept somewhat. They can be either. Zoning a new MHP can be tricky as residents don't like them since they are thought of as something that brings downs their values.  Also, those tiny houses are MUCH more expensive then mobile homes, which I don't get...

Brett Shoemaker · Answer

@Annette Ammarell I know this post is very old, but what direction did you end up going?  Has it been a success?

Annette A. · Answer

@Belinda Lopez here is a layout i found on google... i like the idea of a common ground and utiltiy house, but not on the closeness. I agree deff not a crammed in design... i would do say on a 5 ac lot maybe 8-10 units only; giving them space in between and privacy;, but a common area for a firepit, grill and gathering; a walking path down near the brook with a sitting area; a bridge; and benches to sit and a deck to sit and read and have their coffee;  maybe something like a cabin platform for sitting out in the woods away from the homes?? maybe a community garden and edible landscape integrated into the plantings. Add utility house for showers, bathrooms, and laundry. It wouldnt be large units, so it wouldnt bring in children per say. I would think the draw would be the college students and maybe intern drs and nurses?

There are some great layouts on google image. I could do say two or three grouping of the with one common area?

Drew Cobb · Answer

I am curious as to your project and would love to keep up on what you find. I have been looking at it out here in Cali...

Belinda Lopez · Answer

That can happen with any RV if you don't invest in a simple anti-theft device and leave the home unoccupied for a long period of time.  Had a mobile home park under contract that had 7 homes in it, the FEMA trailer disappeared pretty quick once the area folks realized the park was unattended.  Slowly several of the other homes started disappearing bit by bit!  Someone was dismantling them for scrap metal.  By the time the property was to close the homes were all totally destroyed; deal died.

@Annette Ammarell, it would make a great match.  I'm looking at a organic farm and then the Tiny House community and another investor is putting in a senior MHP.

The economics of Tiny Home communities are just like RVs in that the more you can fit in there, the higher your ROI but that may not be the lifestyle Tiny Home Dwellers are looking for.  They don't want to be in apartments or have a huge mortgage but RV Parks tend to cram the homes as tight as possible and you can get into the same social issues/problems as mobile home parks or apartments when you have folks in tight quarters for long periods of time. With an RV Park you just ask the troublesome folks to leave so there is a benefit to that but then you can have greater turnover and a less stable rent roll.

Annette A. · Answer

@Orlando Paz very true- maybe theres a way to have a "hitching post" to chain it down with a lock and key?

Orlando Paz · Answer

Also keep in mind that unlike mobile homes, these tiny homes can be stolen. I've read an article, where this actually happened to a tiny home owner. The guy was so affected by the experience, that he decided to rent an apartment instead. Just something to take into consideration, and perhaps look for ways of preventing such things from happening.

Annette A. · Answer

@Ben Richie "Funny, I was just thinking about this today. Not only do tiny house owners have a lot invested in their home, if they built it, they also take a lot of pride in their creation. Sound like good tenants to me.

If you don't find an answer about developing your land here on BP, you might check out your area on Tiny House Community. They have listings of parks that accept tiny homes (mostly RV parks) and would be a good source for people in the know about permitting.

If going the RV park route, you would want to see if there are any local length of stay limits or closed seasons."

Thank you Ben for the info. You should go check out google pictures of some tiny house communitites. I really like some of the layouts and the feel of it. I think it would be great for what purpose i have, of short term VR properties.

Annette A. · Answer

@Orlando Paz i am thinking you are right about them being RV's. I am going to go the town code off. and find out more.

There are some really great lot plans/ layout of a small community. It would be great for local college students... but it would be temporary houseing as not to bring in rif raf's that bring down the quality of the place.

The vision i see is a peaceful restuful community for short term staff at hospital and high end college students ... but it isnt going to be cheap to stay in one. Like a cabin/ hotel price; with a week long stay discount; and / or a month long discount .

i wonder what somebody would pay to stay in one of these? It would be like a RV park but more of a cabin feel...

tiny house movement catagorized as mobile home park?

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