Dos And Don’ts To Remember When Buying A Tiny Home

Tiny Homes on Maui

Many people are buying into the notion of downsizing their home life because they realize they could get away with having less than they thought. Those who follow a minimalistic lifestyle would agree that with smaller homes, there’s less clutter and stress. Regardless of your reason for buying a tiny home, it is clear from the market research that the sales of these little houses are on the increase, according to Business Wire.

Building a tiny home is often more cost-effective. However, you may consider buying a tiny house instead if you don’t know how to go about it. Furthermore, there are some dos and don’ts that homeowners should look at before making the final move:  

Remembering the Dos of Buying a Tiny Home

Inside of a Tiny Home

Although tiny homes are quickly becoming a favorite among many, there are certain things these new tiny homeowners should remember. Below are some of the dos to incorporate into the decision:

  1. Carefully plan before buying and moving

Moving into a smaller house doesn’t necessarily mean fewer moving costs. That said, it’s crucial to plan your finances for the whole process properly. You can research the various types of tiny homes, like the ones on foundations while others are on wheels. You can also decide whether you’ll have a shipping container, motorhome, yurt, tiny cabin, or shed. Likewise, it’s best to consider the floor plan to know whether the space is enough for you and your family’s lifestyle.

  1. Have the tiny home inspected

Once you’ve found your dream house, the next thing to consider is inspecting the house. By doing so, you can get what you paid for. That said, you can ask the seller questions such as:

  • Are the electrical wires properly installed?

  • Is there running water?

  • Are there any leaks?

  • Is the tiny house properly insulated?

  • Are there smoke detectors?

Furthermore, you can consult a professional tiny house inspector to make sure everything runs smoothly once you’ve purchased your new tiny home.

  1. Conduct a home inventory check

Homeowners should ask the seller or estate agent about the inclusions in the deal, such as certain appliances or furniture. Some homes come fully furnished, while others may need additional purchases to complete the interior look. The goal is to list the most essential appliances, furniture, and fixtures that don’t take up much space. Hence, if you're buying a tiny house with a bulky sofa or a huge refrigerator, it's best to replace it with the perfect size.

  1. Expect flexible options for living

Because a tiny home has limited space, tiny homeowners should expect to apply some flexibility to their daily activities. It would be best if you were comfortable with options like folding beds, foldaway tables or chairs, and modular storage when purchasing a tiny home. This may seem tasking at first, but the benefits of living in a tiny house outweigh these.  

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150 Kai Hele Ku Rd Unit C, Lahaina

$799,000

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Lahaina

150 Kai Hele Ku Rd Unit C, Lahaina

0 Beds 0 Baths 0 SqFt Land MLS® # 409594

Days on Market: 131

Hawaii Life (W) Cell: 808-280-0113

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$1,900,000

Kapalua

205 Keoawa St Lot 7, Kapalua

0 Beds 0 Baths 0 SqFt Land MLS® # 409567

Days on Market: 134

Hawaii Life (W) Cell: 808-208-1385

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$785,000

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Kula/Ulupalakua/Kanaio

16255 Haleakala Hwy, Kula/Ulupalakua/Kanaio

0 Beds 0 Baths 0 SqFt Land MLS® # 409571

Days on Market: 134

Kokua Realty LLC

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$209,000

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Molokai

303 Makanui Rd Lot 225, Molokai

0 Beds 0 Baths 0 SqFt Land MLS® # 409557

Days on Market: 136

Molokai Realty LLC Cell: 808-646-0837

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Listing Image for 0 Kalua Koi Rd Lot #55 1 of 17 Listing Image for 0 Kalua Koi Rd Lot #55 2 of 17 Listing Image for 0 Kalua Koi Rd Lot #55 3 of 17 Listing Image for 0 Kalua Koi Rd Lot #55 4 of 17 Listing Image for 0 Kalua Koi Rd Lot #55 5 of 17 Listing Image for 0 Kalua Koi Rd Lot #55 6 of 17 Listing Image for 0 Kalua Koi Rd Lot #55 7 of 17 Listing Image for 0 Kalua Koi Rd Lot #55 8 of 17 Listing Image for 0 Kalua Koi Rd Lot #55 9 of 17 Listing Image for 0 Kalua Koi Rd Lot #55 10 of 17 Listing Image for 0 Kalua Koi Rd Lot #55 11 of 17 Listing Image for 0 Kalua Koi Rd Lot #55 12 of 17 Listing Image for 0 Kalua Koi Rd Lot #55 13 of 17 Listing Image for 0 Kalua Koi Rd Lot #55 14 of 17 Listing Image for 0 Kalua Koi Rd Lot #55 15 of 17 Listing Image for 0 Kalua Koi Rd Lot #55 16 of 17 Listing Image for 0 Kalua Koi Rd Lot #55 17 of 17

$369,000

Molokai

0 Kalua Koi Rd Lot #55, Molokai

0 Beds 0 Baths 0 SqFt Land MLS® # 409545

Days on Market: 137

Molokai Realty LLC Cell: 808-646-0837

Listing Image for 0 Haumana Rd Lot 101-b 1 of 10 Listing Image for 0 Haumana Rd Lot 101-b 2 of 10 Listing Image for 0 Haumana Rd Lot 101-b 3 of 10 Listing Image for 0 Haumana Rd Lot 101-b 4 of 10 Listing Image for 0 Haumana Rd Lot 101-b 5 of 10 Listing Image for 0 Haumana Rd Lot 101-b 6 of 10 Listing Image for 0 Haumana Rd Lot 101-b 7 of 10 Listing Image for 0 Haumana Rd Lot 101-b 8 of 10 Listing Image for 0 Haumana Rd Lot 101-b 9 of 10 Listing Image for 0 Haumana Rd Lot 101-b 10 of 10

$1,350,000

↓ $80,000

Haiku

0 Haumana Rd Lot 101-b, Haiku

0 Beds 0 Baths 0 SqFt Land MLS® # 409544

Days on Market: 137

Island Sotheby's International Realty(W) Cell: 808-281-9065

In Escrow
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$349,000

Haiku

0 Door Of Faith Rd, Haiku

0 Beds 0 Baths 0 SqFt Land MLS® # 409550

Days on Market: 138

Live Maui Real Estate LLC

Listing Image for 0 Haleakala Hwy Unit 1 1 of 12 Listing Image for 0 Haleakala Hwy Unit 1 2 of 12 Listing Image for 0 Haleakala Hwy Unit 1 3 of 12 Listing Image for 0 Haleakala Hwy Unit 1 4 of 12 Listing Image for 0 Haleakala Hwy Unit 1 5 of 12 Listing Image for 0 Haleakala Hwy Unit 1 6 of 12 Listing Image for 0 Haleakala Hwy Unit 1 7 of 12 Listing Image for 0 Haleakala Hwy Unit 1 8 of 12 Listing Image for 0 Haleakala Hwy Unit 1 9 of 12 Listing Image for 0 Haleakala Hwy Unit 1 10 of 12 Listing Image for 0 Haleakala Hwy Unit 1 11 of 12 Listing Image for 0 Haleakala Hwy Unit 1 12 of 12

$559,000

Kula/Ulupalakua/Kanaio

0 Haleakala Hwy Unit 1, Kula/Ulupalakua/Kanaio

0 Beds 0 Baths 0 SqFt Land MLS® # 409517

Days on Market: 139

West Maui Land Company Inc

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$1,950,000

↓ $300,000

Lahaina

2020 Waianukole St 1, Lahaina

0 Beds 0 Baths 0 SqFt Land MLS® # 409494

Days on Market: 142

Compass Cell: 808-276-6881

Listing Image for 0 Kaupakalua Rd 1 of 14 Listing Image for 0 Kaupakalua Rd 2 of 14 Listing Image for 0 Kaupakalua Rd 3 of 14 Listing Image for 0 Kaupakalua Rd 4 of 14 Listing Image for 0 Kaupakalua Rd 5 of 14 Listing Image for 0 Kaupakalua Rd 6 of 14 Listing Image for 0 Kaupakalua Rd 7 of 14 Listing Image for 0 Kaupakalua Rd 8 of 14 Listing Image for 0 Kaupakalua Rd 9 of 14 Listing Image for 0 Kaupakalua Rd 10 of 14 Listing Image for 0 Kaupakalua Rd 11 of 14 Listing Image for 0 Kaupakalua Rd 12 of 14 Listing Image for 0 Kaupakalua Rd 13 of 14 Listing Image for 0 Kaupakalua Rd 14 of 14

$3,999,000

Haiku

0 Kaupakalua Rd, Haiku

0 Beds 0 Baths 0 SqFt Land MLS® # 409399

Days on Market: 149

Compass-W

Listing Image for 230 Crestview Rd 15 1 of 20 Listing Image for 230 Crestview Rd 15 2 of 20 Listing Image for 230 Crestview Rd 15 3 of 20 Listing Image for 230 Crestview Rd 15 4 of 20 Listing Image for 230 Crestview Rd 15 5 of 20 Listing Image for 230 Crestview Rd 15 6 of 20 Listing Image for 230 Crestview Rd 15 7 of 20 Listing Image for 230 Crestview Rd 15 8 of 20 Listing Image for 230 Crestview Rd 15 9 of 20 Listing Image for 230 Crestview Rd 15 10 of 20 Listing Image for 230 Crestview Rd 15 11 of 20 Listing Image for 230 Crestview Rd 15 12 of 20 Listing Image for 230 Crestview Rd 15 13 of 20 Listing Image for 230 Crestview Rd 15 14 of 20 Listing Image for 230 Crestview Rd 15 15 of 20 Listing Image for 230 Crestview Rd 15 16 of 20 Listing Image for 230 Crestview Rd 15 17 of 20 Listing Image for 230 Crestview Rd 15 18 of 20 Listing Image for 230 Crestview Rd 15 19 of 20 Listing Image for 230 Crestview Rd 15 20 of 20

$1,850,000

Kapalua

230 Crestview Rd 15, Kapalua

0 Beds 0 Baths 0 SqFt Land MLS® # 409396

Days on Market: 149

Keller Williams Realty Maui-L Cell: 808-870-7736

Listing Image for 124 Hokai Pl #20 1 of 23 Listing Image for 124 Hokai Pl #20 2 of 23 Listing Image for 124 Hokai Pl #20 3 of 23 Listing Image for 124 Hokai Pl #20 4 of 23 Listing Image for 124 Hokai Pl #20 5 of 23 Listing Image for 124 Hokai Pl #20 6 of 23 Listing Image for 124 Hokai Pl #20 7 of 23 Listing Image for 124 Hokai Pl #20 8 of 23 Listing Image for 124 Hokai Pl #20 9 of 23 Listing Image for 124 Hokai Pl #20 10 of 23 Listing Image for 124 Hokai Pl #20 11 of 23 Listing Image for 124 Hokai Pl #20 12 of 23 Listing Image for 124 Hokai Pl #20 13 of 23 Listing Image for 124 Hokai Pl #20 14 of 23 Listing Image for 124 Hokai Pl #20 15 of 23 Listing Image for 124 Hokai Pl #20 16 of 23 Listing Image for 124 Hokai Pl #20 17 of 23 Listing Image for 124 Hokai Pl #20 18 of 23 Listing Image for 124 Hokai Pl #20 19 of 23 Listing Image for 124 Hokai Pl #20 20 of 23 Listing Image for 124 Hokai Pl #20 21 of 23 Listing Image for 124 Hokai Pl #20 22 of 23 Listing Image for 124 Hokai Pl #20 23 of 23

$878,000

↓ $1,000

Kihei

124 Hokai Pl #20, Kihei

0 Beds 0 Baths 0 SqFt Land MLS® # 409412

Days on Market: 149

Coldwell Banker Island Prop-KP Cell: 808-281-7313

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Not Forgetting the Don’ts of Buying a Tiny Home

A Row of Tiny Homes

Thinking of a new home could be exciting, but new homeowners shouldn’t get ahead of themselves too quickly. Moreover, they could spend too much time and effort that they could apply elsewhere during the process. Therefore, homeowners should be aware of the following don’ts when buying a tiny home:

  1. Be Afraid of Decluttering

Buying a tiny home means living only with the essentials. To achieve this, an excellent way to start is to let go of unnecessary things. However, decluttering can be a challenge for some, especially when transitioning to a tiny house. Some of the reasons for struggling to declutter are the following:

  • Thinking you might need it someday

  • Feeling guilty for wasting money or getting rid of a perfectly good item

  • The object is sentimental or something that you’ve used in the past

  • The task of decluttering is overwhelming

  • Thinking that your house will be boring without them

Determining your reason for struggling is important so you’ll know how to overcome them.  Likewise, you can donate or sell useful, perfectly good, or sentimental items that you have like old clothes, bulky furniture, and other decor. Otherwise, throw out broken or useless things such as broken appliances and a pile of scratch papers. Remember, your goal is to fix the clutter issue and prevent it as you move into your tiny home.

  1. Work By Yourself

Starting a new project, such as building parts of your tiny home, may sound like something you can accomplish by yourself. Unfortunately, too many things could cause the project to fail, especially if you don’t know the basics of building something. 

The structural and functional aspects are best left to the experts. Consulting a tiny home builder and researching building options could clarify whether to proceed with the project or purchase a complete home instead.

  1. Ignore local residential laws

Not everyone will buy a tiny home to live in as a permanent residence; using it as a vacation home or rental could also be an option. For this reason, the new tiny homeowner should familiarize themselves with the local rules, regulations, and laws whether they want their tiny home on the mainland or on some vacant land in Maui

Wrapping Things Up

Tiny home living is becoming a trend, but the question remains: will it be suitable for every person or family? It’s not a question everyone will answer straight away. Some will do more research, while others must experience tiny home living for themselves. One thing is for sure: considering the dos and don’ts will help narrow down the options.

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Evan Harlow Maui

Evan Harlow ranks among the best real estate agents on Maui annually and is in the top 1% of Coldwell Banker agents worldwide in production. Evan has the expertise, experience, and work ethic to help you achieve your real estate buying and selling goals. We promise exceptional service and support from the beginning of the process through closing and beyond. See what Evan's clients are saying on Google.

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