Tiny homes are gaining popularity, especially among millennials and even retirees.... Here are four tips for working with tiny-home buyers, excerpted from the article “Tiny what?” in the August 2016 issue of Texas REALTOR® magazine.
Be cautious about choosing builders. Buyers should do their research about who they’re working with, since some builders may be building tiny homes just because of their popularity. Find out how many tiny homes they’ve built and how long they’ve been building them, or see if they are members of any industry-related organizations.
Don’t waste your time looking for resale tiny homes. Christopher Galusha, Texas chapter leader for the American Tiny House Association, says he’s not seeing a lot of purposeful tiny-home reselling. “These buyers are usually planning on staying longer. Because of the way the job market works, people are moving around more. But that’s part of the benefit of a tiny home on wheels. If your first job is in Denver and you get your dream job in San Francisco, you just pull up the blocks and move to San Francisco with the house.”
Stay open-minded. “Most people who want a tiny home are pretty eccentric or forward-thinking,” says Texas REALTOR® Scott Kaserman.
“Be flexible and think outside the box,” Galusha adds. “That’s a lot of what the tiny-home industry is about—people thinking outside the box.”
Make sure a tiny home on wheels is street legal. Have your buyer check with the department of motor vehicles to find out current information on registration and rules for transporting the home.
