How much does a Tiny House cost?

On every open day I’ve had until now this question always comes up. ‘Looks great, a Tiny House, but what does it cost?’. That makes sense, of course, if you start thinking about a Tiny House for yourself or maybe for your children; the cost is an important part of the subject. Financing a Tiny House is more complicated than a regular house, but there are certainly options. I’ve sorted out some information on pricing and costs of a Tiny House for you.

This blog has been on my to do-list for a while now, but it was Mr. FOB (Financieel Onafhankelijk Blog) who pushed me to actually write it. He’s been following the Tiny House movement for some time and offers valuable information on saving money and smart investments on his website, among other things.  A tip from Marjolein! Here are the questions he asked me and my answers:

How much does a Tiny House cost if you buy it turnkey?

A turnkey Tiny House is available from about €40.000, up to…the sky is the limit. The actual price depends on several factors, just like with self-build. Do you want to go off-grid and will you need expensive equipment? If you want a Tiny House on wheels, you’ll need to add the costs of a certified trailer. How big do you want your house to be? Do you want to build bio-based? What are your demands for the interior?

What does a Tiny House cost if you build it yourself from scratch?

The short answer is: from €25.000 upwards. It all depends on your choice of materials, how big your Tiny House will be, if you’ll be needing off-grid equipment and if you will be re-using materials. For example: Martijn en Irene have built their house for this amount of money, but they used secondhand windows and frames. Tiny House Henk built his house for only €1000, but he’s very handy and took his time collecting all his materials. Most of it he got for free, secondhand, received as a gift or found it himself.

What does a Tiny House cost when you buy it as a construction kit and build it yourself?

The only Dutch Tiny house construction kit I know is the Fr:dom from Mindful Homes, available from €12.000,- including taxes. But that’s only the start. There are added costs: the construction kit doesn’t come with finishing materials. And don’t forget to count the hours you’ll invest building the house. But still, I think a construction kit is a very nice and financially interesting choice for people who like to build for themselves but lack the knowledge and confidence to build their Tiny House from scratch.

Afbeelding: Fr:dom van Mindful Homes

What’s customary with Tiny Houses, long lease or ground rent?

Long lease is often mentioned as an option when municipalities are exploring the possibilities for Tiny House living projects. Long lease is – as the name implies – usually for a longer period of time. In some cases, like in Den Helder, the ground underneath the Tiny House itself is sold and the garden is on long lease. That’s a smart construction in which the owner of the land prevents the build of unwanted annexes on the plot. With long lease you have more rights than when you rent the ground: you can sell the house location (there are usually conditions for selling) and you can get a mortgage when you long lease. When you long lease, you pay a ‘canon’ which sometimes can be redeemed in one term. The actual cost will depend on the region: in areas with diminishing populations the price will be less per square feet than in highly populated areas. As far as I know, there aren’t any cases in which the ground for Tiny Houses is rented. An advantage could be that rent is possible for a shorter period of time and you won’t be responsible for charges and recovery of the plot. A disadvantage is that you’re limited in your options for usage.

How can you finance a Tiny House these days?

A mortgage isn’t an option in most cases when you want to build or buy a Tiny House, but there are other options which are extensively explored in my online course: Your Tiny House – from dream to reality. Think of crowdfunding or crowdlending, or ways for saving more money. Do you want to know more? https://www.marjoleininhetklein.com/cursusaanbod/online-cursus/

I hope I’ve been able to answer some of your burning questions. A Tiny House is more expensive per square feet than a regular house, but you’re out of debt a lot faster, if you need a loan at all. Saving money is a realistic option! And then one day, when your house is all yours, and your housing costs are next to nothing, you can enjoy your free time on a hot day like this. Laying down in the shade of your house (when I write this it’s 28°C outside). And that’s worth so much more than a big house with lots of stuff, right? I should say so, and my cat Hella agrees with me ;)