Tiny Houses, tiny houses, tiny houses!

General Real Estate Investing
7yFollow

Tiny Houses, tiny houses, tiny houses!

Account Closed
Developer · Denver, CO · Member since 2019 · 273 posts · 106 votes

Hey all! I'm still out  here working to get tiny house developments on the map. Just wanted to poke  out there in the real estate world on good avenues to find mindful investors who are looking at more than just the bottom line, but have the potential to develop an annual revenue of $125M based on current market availability. (Not including new interest as the housing market yet flounders).

Thanks!

Joe

3Reply
89 views

Most Popular Reply

Michael Orlando
Investor · Cleveland, OH · Member since 2019 · 147 posts · 156 votes
5y

@Joe Callantine my partners and I in Ohio are workin towards doing something similar - some kind of air bnb community with tiny homes. Similar to the getaway homes.

Are the tiny homes pre-fab that you’re working with?

I’d love to chat sometime and hear about what you’re doing!

3Reply
See this reply in the discussion

29 Replies

Jump to latestLatest
  • Fant Camak
    Greenville, SC · Member since 2017 · 2 posts · 1 vote
    7y

    Hey Joe, how are you coming along with the tiny house development? Just stumbled upon the idea myself and starting to explore the investment side too.  

    There is a fairly successful one here in the upstate of SC. 

    1Reply
  • Daniella Sanchez
    Real Estate Broker · Melrose Park · Member since 2015 · 68 posts · 44 votes
    7y

    Tiny houses are awesome. It's not just a trend, it's a lifestyle.

    1Reply
  • Account Closed
    OP
    Developer · Denver, CO · Member since 2019 · 273 posts · 106 votes
    7y

    @Fant Camak - Good morning. I'm still trucking along. Finally nailed down the first investor for $250,000. My attorney is drawing up the paperwork now. It wont be enough, but one helluva start! My Real Estate agent is working to get in contact with the owner of a damn near perfect piece of land right in the middle of where I need it to be. It's currently off market, but we feel confident that we can work something out once contact has been made. 

    I have a county already on board, engineering firm already hired and conceptual design completed. I just need to round out the capital part. Once concept is proven, I fully intend to be the nation's #1 tiny house developer.

    @Daniella Sanchez, I COMPLETELY agree! Cant wait until I finish mine and have a place to put it!

    1Reply
  • Phil Kessel
    Rental Property Investor · El Dorado Hills, CA · Member since 2017 · 12 posts · 6 votes
    7y

    Excited to see where this goes! I am definitely on board with the Tiny House movement!

    1Reply
  • Jonathan Nixon
    Rental Property Investor · Fort Lauderdale, FL · Member since 2018 · 86 posts · 33 votes
    7y

    @Account Closed I love the idea. I think you're going to want to approach it similar to a mobile home community. There are a lot of resources to support the upstart out there and many investors are really interested in that niche right now with a potential recession looming. It's a very progressive idea and I hope it succeeds to pay you dividends!

    I would like to suggest a piece of advice Kevin O'Leary commented on recently with Adam Lowry in debate (based off of your original post). If you are going to seek out investors make sure that you are doing it from a business owner/investor perspective first. If the bottom line is not there to support you and your investors, then your good intentions will fall flat. 

    That said, I'd be happy to chat more with you about the project. I have been scouting a few areas in other parts of the country for Mobile Home parks. A tiny home product could be viable for some no doubt :)

    0Reply
  • Account Closed
    OP
    Developer · Denver, CO · Member since 2019 · 273 posts · 106 votes
    7y

    @Phil Kessel Glad to hear it! Tiny houses rock! I have full intention to develop the template community and scale this to where ever there's a need for tiny houses! Sure, there's been a few pop up here and there, but that's nothing compared to what where I want to take this. Just need to round out the capital. Drawing up the paperwork for the first $250k investor.

    @Jonathan Nixon I completely understand "Mr. Wonderful" and his opinions. however the bottom line can not be the primary focus. Yes, let's make it realistic and let's make it profitable. I've ruled VC's and Angel investors out of the equation because they're looking for 3x, 5x, 10x their money back. I can't keep things affordable and provide those returns. If you take care of the people, everything else will take care of itself. However, one must be prudent in their business decisions. As far as the recession threat, now is an amazing time to launch something of magnitude in this sector, as the Great Recession of 2008 is what caused the tiny house movement to take root. Now, we unify, fortify and forge the movement into the industry it needs to be!

    I'm always willing and happy to talk about tiny houses. I'm actively involved in the movement, building my own tiny house, sit on the board of directors of the Tiny House Industry Association and have been pushing local regulation for nearly 2 years now.

    0Reply
  • Jason Boritz
    Developer · Los Angeles, CA · Member since 2019 · 76 posts · 22 votes
    7y

    @Joe Callantine we should talk. I am in the process of doing a tiny house development out in Joshua tree.

    0Reply
  • Account Closed
    OP
    Developer · Denver, CO · Member since 2019 · 273 posts · 106 votes
    7y

    @Jason Boritz

    AWESOME! Where are you in the process? How goes it?

    0Reply
  • Jason Boritz
    Developer · Los Angeles, CA · Member since 2019 · 76 posts · 22 votes
    6y

    @Joe Callantine

    I am working on securing financing. I already found land options that I like and Joshua tree does not have a minimum sq ft build.

    Hopefully within weeks I can purchase the land and start developing.

    1Reply
  • John D.
    Rental Property Investor · La Quinta, CA · Member since 2014 · 1k+ posts · 779 votes
    6y

    Whats your budget for power/water/septic or sewer/building permits look like?

    0Reply
  • Account Closed
    OP
    Developer · Denver, CO · Member since 2019 · 273 posts · 106 votes
    6y

    @John D.

    I'm anticipating $14-16k per spot.

    0Reply
  • Jay HinrichsBusiness Member
    Real Estate Consultant · Summerlin, NV · Member since 2014 · 45k+ posts · 66k+ votes
    6y
    Originally posted by @Jason Boritz:

    @Joe Callantine

    I am working on securing financing. I already found land options that I like and Joshua tree does not have a minimum sq ft build.

    Hopefully within weeks I can purchase the land and start developing.

    https://www.relevantbuildings....

    this is my aviation partners business here in Oregon.. stumbling block he faces is NO bank Financing for these CASH only.. and it has to do with the appraisers..  so it could be hard to scale.. until that is fixed.. 

    Podcast Guest on Show #222
    JLH Capital Partners51 Review
    WebsiteView Page
    0Reply
  • Jason Boritz
    Developer · Los Angeles, CA · Member since 2019 · 76 posts · 22 votes
    6y

    @Jay Hinrichs

    Yeah, you can’t appraise tiny houses because there are no comps. I see things getting fixed. I am still working on finding a lender and feel I will just a matter of time.

    0Reply
  • Jay HinrichsBusiness Member
    Real Estate Consultant · Summerlin, NV · Member since 2014 · 45k+ posts · 66k+ votes
    6y
    Originally posted by @Jason Boritz:

    @Jay Hinrichs

    Yeah, you can’t appraise tiny houses because there are no comps. I see things getting fixed. I am still working on finding a lender and feel I will just a matter of time.

    from what my banker told me its always the construction techniques and the sizes are out of the norm by a lot.  good luck on finding a lender 

    Podcast Guest on Show #222
    JLH Capital Partners51 Review
    WebsiteView Page
    1Reply
  • John D.
    Rental Property Investor · La Quinta, CA · Member since 2014 · 1k+ posts · 779 votes
    6y

    There are some tiny home comps emerging in the J-Tree area in particular, might not be too long before its very viable.  Homestead and other small homes have been a part of that area for a long time, although they are only now getting tricked out.

    0Reply
  • Account Closed
    OP
    Developer · Denver, CO · Member since 2019 · 273 posts · 106 votes
    6y

    Great dialogue everyone! Thank you!
    I've been working on aligning myself with places like the Tiny Home Industry Association, a tiny house inspection and certification company like Bildsworth International and even a Real Estate Investment Trust management company. All of those are all working on various aspects of the issues with tiny houses. I'm focused on the "where do we put them" issue. 

    All of us together will forge this movement into a full-fledged industry!

    0Reply
  • Zach B.
    Bend, OR · Member since 2015 · 15 posts · 1 vote
    6y

    Joe, wondering what is your business model for an annual revenue of $125M. Are you building lots of properties? Operating as hotel or long term residential? I'm working on similar business. I'm starting out with a 4 acre lot in southwest Oregon. Just got it rezoned from SR to Commercial. Problem is that the city screwed me. They approved my rezone but then they realized I wanted to build an "RV Park" so they rushed to implement a restrictive development code specifically for RV Parks within the city limits. There were two reasons I bought this lot... 1) for the city water and sewer, and 2) because there were no restrictions and therefore I could build RV sites AND site built or manufactured modern cabins, shipping container houses. So now I'm stuck with trying to decide whether to go all RV Park OR all shipping container and site built tiny houses. I am infuriated with the city council. You have any advice? Which way would you go? I'm looking for funding too. There is a serious housing and hotel shortage in this area and this lot could cater to both simultaneously.

    0Reply
  • Kiwi Mills
    Rental Property Investor · St.Louis MO · Member since 2014 · 33 posts · 16 votes
    6y

    +1 Tiny Houses :)   

    I tried to do the same thing little over a year ago, but ran into HOA and other zoning requirements in KC/KS that wouldn't allow a house to be put on a vacant lot unless it was minimum of 800-1200 Sq. Ft. Thought I could do dormer Garage and they said it had to be on the main level, so either they were wanting to stop RV's and small mobile homes or preparing for this haha. I'm excited to hear how this works out. ( Oddly enough there was a post in news a while back in KC area about them providing Tiny houses for Veterans so guess it depends what area)

    0Reply
  • Account Closed
    OP
    Developer · Denver, CO · Member since 2019 · 273 posts · 106 votes
    6y

    @Zach B. - Apologies for such a delay in response, I just saw your reply. That does sound like a pickle and that darn city! My primary focus has been to talk to the AHJ's first. Before attempting to purchase/rezone/etc. Due to the fact that many major markets are experiencing such a shortage in housing, playing on a "free market" and "diversifying housing" resonates with many officials. Especially if you can paint an economic picture for them.

    Smaller living is not new, mobile living structures are not new. Tiny houses are generation two of attainable housing and they're better in all sorts of ways, but because of the "newness" cities and counties don't know what to do with them and don't understand the psychographic and/or demographic of people who CHOOSE this lifestyle.

    As a society, we're right on the CUSP of shifting the outdated status quo, and I don't know about you, I believe this is an exciting time to be alive!

    @Kiwi Mills - Yep zoning, HOA, and ownership structure is a hot button. As well as minimum size requirements. The tiny house movement has been gaining such momentum over the last 10+ years, it's forcing cities and county nationwide to review, update and remove outdated code. Such as the minimum size requirements. The American dream is evolving and the private sector is pushing governments outside of their comfort zones. Which is the main reason I'm doing what I'm doing to help provide support and education about what tiny houses are and what they are not.

    Together, we'll all Bring Tiny, home.

    With humble gratitude,

    Joe

    1Reply
  • Bela Fishbeyn
    Member since 2020 · 5 posts · 2 votes
    6y

    Jumping on here to say congrats, @Account Closed, on your new project! I'm just discovering the BP community and was excited to see posts about tiny homes!

    My husband & I bought our first tiny home on wheels 3 years ago and flipped it into a vacation rental in the Bay Area -- it's been doing really well and we're hoping to do it again! Looking to build our own tiny this time around to cut costs (and see if we can do it).


    Would love to connect with a fellow tiny house dweller/enthusiast! We have a bunch of tiny house resources on our blog, thisxlife.com

    0Reply
  • Account Closed
    OP
    Developer · Denver, CO · Member since 2019 · 273 posts · 106 votes
    6y

    @Bela Fishbeyn - That is fantastic!! Tiny houses are truly a solution for many people and for a multitude of reasons! Looking up your blog now. 

    0Reply
  • Daniel Anshus
    Realtor · Bloomington MN (bloomington, mn) · Member since 2016 · 451 posts · 263 votes
    5y

    This thread seems like the absolute best place for me to start asking questions! All the info in here is great, so thank you to everyone who already shared great information.

    I have a client who is interested in building tiny homes (either mobile or permanent) as vacation rentals. I wanted to ask you all where do we even start and what are some of the questions we need to ask? We are at the very beginning stage and haven't identified much besides general locations. Would the first step be too identify 2 or 3 areas and then dive into the zoning of those areas?

    Thank you all for the help!

    0Reply
  • Mike Wadsley
    Real Estate Agent · Littleton, CO · Member since 2014 · 74 posts · 45 votes
    5y

    @Account Closed - Did this go anywhere for you? I've got an investor who's tossing around the idea, too.

    0Reply
  • Account Closed
    OP
    Developer · Denver, CO · Member since 2019 · 273 posts · 106 votes
    5y

    @Mike Wadsley - We are moving forward with a property! I'll PM you.

    0Reply
  • Michael Orlando
    Investor · Cleveland, OH · Member since 2019 · 147 posts · 156 votes
    5y

    @Joe Callantine my partners and I in Ohio are workin towards doing something similar - some kind of air bnb community with tiny homes. Similar to the getaway homes.

    Are the tiny homes pre-fab that you’re working with?

    I’d love to chat sometime and hear about what you’re doing!

    3Reply
Join the conversationCreate a free account to reply, vote on answers and follow this thread.
Log InJoin for Free