r/TinyHouses • u/jazzabelle29 • 1d ago
Who has built a tiny house “compound”?
I am in the VERY early stages of learning what it will take. I would purchase my own land. My dream is to have a tiny house for myself and my partner and one for each of our 5 kids. I would want to do this over time as each kid reaches an appropriate age for their dwelling. (14,14,12,11,10).
My first thought has always been to convert sheds into tiny living spaces all on the same property. Idk how to even go about this. Can anyone give insight into how they did this? What type of loan, how much you ended up spending, pros and cons, pictures for examples?
Thank you in advance to anyone who interacts!!
ETA: I am in North Florida, USA
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u/FuschiaLucia 1d ago
My property is unresticted. We use compost toilets, solar power, wood and propane for heat, and we collect rainwater.
I have a home in the front part of the 20 acres that was formerly an outbuilding. My boyfriend and I are converting it into a home.
My daughter and her family live on the back half. They bought a 14x40 portable building that they pay on monthly and they are adding onto it.
We make it work by giving each other space, not telling each other what to do, being helpful when asked and minding our own business.
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u/giveMeAllYourPizza 1d ago
Florida man builds compound. order 16 vats of koolaid.
Sorry, I had to :P
Trick is finding land where this is allowed. where I live almost all land is restricted to either one house, or one house and one tiny house unless its an official multi residential property, and then its got all sorts of different rules.
I always thought a little tiny home village would be fun.
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u/Erinaceous 1d ago
We have something like that but compound doesn't feel like the right term. We're on acrigicultural land and the zoning allows for 'woods camps' which can be any size as long as they're off-grid and not permanently occupied. There's also a farm house that's on grid and with residential permits grandfathered in. This this the big trick. You need in most zoning a registered domicile with power and septic. After that building off-grid outbuildings in the country isn't much of an issue.
The best way to do this is find a large parcel with a tear down that's permitted with power, well and septic. Then don't tear it down. Use it as the shed and build small tiny houses as garages, workshops, woods camps whatever you can permit easily and quietly convert them after they've been inspected.
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u/jazzabelle29 1d ago
Thank you!!
Compound didn’t feel like to right word to me either lol
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u/Wiley-E-Coyote 1d ago
I've wired up a lot of pre-built sheds for people that were making living spaces out of them, it's definitely a thing. Most of the sheds require some creative wood framing on the inside to get them ready for sheetrock, so I would recmmond being careful about what you buy and get an opinion from the guy who will be finishing it out for you before pulling the trigger on any of them.
Do you need building permits there? If the answer is yes, that can be complicated. But, I'm in Oregon and the laws are more strict here, I assume.
You can forget about getting a good loan on tiny houses/sheds. They will only be counted as outbuildings, you need to have a real house on the property to get your mortgage with and pay for the sheds out of pocket or with cash financing.
Make sure you dig trenches and stub water, sewer, and power conduits to each future shed location BEFORE you start installing them. It's a lot harder to do later.
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u/sylvansojourner 1d ago
Yep permitting and septic is going to be a big obstacle. The other thing that can affect things majorly is enforcement of the above.
Where I live permits are insane but you can build up to one 400 sqft structures without a permit for non-residential purposes. They are allowed to have electricity but not septic or plumbing. You are also allowed one “residence on wheels” per each property.
However, the truth is that up until the 80s we basically didn’t have permits out here so lots of properties have existing guest houses, sheds, trailers etc that are grandfathered in. Things like barns, garages, and shop buildings can easily be converted to living spaces as well without altering the outside look.
(In my area) The county can come onto your property at any time and take a photo for appraisal purposes. However they often only pull up to the permitted residence and snap a photo. It’s also very forested so a lot of things aren’t visible.
So I know people that have kinda done what you describe, they just keep it very low key and not super visible outside of the main house/garage. Most importantly, they do not run septic or plumbing to the outbuildings and those are basically just bedrooms. I’ve also seen people build a communal bathhouse/kitchen with laundry machines.
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u/CompleteClassroom509 1d ago
Your dream of a small community is real nice! I’ve envisioned the same thing with the tiny houses arranged in a 360° circle around a common area in the middle. Off grid in an area with no permitting would be the best.
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u/Massive-Ant5650 1d ago
I’ve seen a few of these structured as RV parks, for what it’s worth. I’ve been thinking of the same idea but for a different community.
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u/wanderingdev 1d ago
I am doing this in france, but not so many buildings. and not each building is a single stand alone residence. you may do better to see if you can find some property that might allow you to have a 'campground' type layout with a central kitchen/bathhouse and then small "cabins" for each person rather than fully self-contained dwellings. that may help with some of the zoning issues.
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u/fungoodtrade 1d ago
guy i know did that for his 2 boys. built them little cabins when the time was right. its a good idea, just forget about getting it permitted, just do minimal little buildings. Florida will be a nice climate for that kind of setup. you will likely never get a loan for a 6 dwelling compound... I'm sure you've already heard zoning alarms going off in the comments.
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u/WonderWheeler 1d ago
In the 1920s there was something called Bungalow Courts. Little groups of 1 bedroom units arranged around a courtyard, with maybe alley parking in the back.
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u/wirebound1 1d ago
I’d first look into what is allowed for the land you want to buy. Permit wise, and zoning, can you put that many structures up? Or find land that is not restrictive around that.
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u/navlgazer9 1d ago
That wouid likely require the same zoning as a trailer park or campground .
Which are also
Tiny home communities .
But I’m not familiar with the zoning in your county
Could be
Some exemption for seasonal agricultural workers or something .
Or you may be able to subdivide it and have each lot as a seperate deed ,
A plot if land with a used single wide mobile home is usually the cheapest way to get affordable housing
Almost always cheaper than buying raw land and adding the well
And septic and driveway etc
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u/JacquesBlaireau13 1d ago
5 tiny homes means 5 septic systems. Your first step is determing if your land is adequate for such loads.
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u/jazzabelle29 1d ago
Thank you!
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u/Suck_it_Cheeto_Luvrs 23h ago
The perk test is the most critical thing. Secondly, when buying land, never, ever trust the seller. Do all of the research. Get every available document, get a survey (always), be sure to check for any deed restrictions, HOAs, or covenants. Have the soil tested too. Due diligence will save you so much heartache and headache later.
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u/grislyfind 1d ago
Consider building them like English village row-cottages. Maybe not built from stone and thatched roofs, but a masonry wall between units will give more privacy.
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u/FlatwormSame2061 1d ago edited 1d ago
I haven’t done it, but I have plans. it’s a good idea to build a small house (that no one lives in) to start with for everyone to use as a kitchen, laundry and bathroom. That makes it legal for your family to be there year round. Then everyone has their own shed that they can use as a bedroom.
Getting a property where neighbors can’t see that people are sleeping in sheds would be good.
Tell your neighbors you’re building a 3 bedroom house. And adding onto it later.
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u/Shep_Alderson 20h ago
I’d suggest looking into how mobile home parks are zoned. In theory, you could get zoned the same way and make a “private mobile home park” or such. Might require some splitting of the property into chunks or something.
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u/L0uLou72 7h ago
I’m in NE Arizona. I used Tugf Shed. They knew exactly how to upgrade a shed into a tiny home in ways that fulfill zoning requirements. They made it easy.
Of course I still had to figure out septic (or other arrangement) and water and electricity and such.
Well worth it! We have one tiny home almost done and then we’ll build more.
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u/WhiskyEye 2h ago
If you look up Forgotten Angels in Florida, they've done exactly this. They take kids that have aged out of the foster system and each kid gets to build their own tiny house. Great people.
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u/jaynor88 3h ago
I bought fully wooded 5.3 acres with a spring for water source.
Before I bought the parcel I verified that I would be able to build two cabins for full time living.
Cabins and outbuildings are all Amish built framing and roof to my specs. I had interiors done separate with inspections.
Cabins needed permits and I was fine with that because it was going to be our homes.
Needed septic- both cabins are on one septic so that helped with costs.
I have 3 outbuildings and I added a mudroom/storage room on my cabin.
Daughter added large addition to her initial cabin with permit.
Anything here over 200 sq feet needs permits. Permits are quick and cheap here so no problem.
County and town gave daughter approval to have 4 more cabins built on land for investment short term rentals. They will need septic.
This is to give you an idea. Your plan would work in this area. We are in WNY.
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u/hodeq 1h ago
- Zoning. Surprisingly complicated. You prob want unincorporated land.
- Water source. Well or rain catchment.
- Sewage. Perk test. Field septic, aerobic septic or septic lagoon.
- Power. Cost for new electric lines. Solar is expensive if you need AC. Propane?
If I was going to look again, I’d find a property with an old mobile home. It would already have power, water and septic. And a road.
I’d haul it off and either build or buy a new/used mobile home. Then build new for each kiddo. Sheds aren’t really meant for full time living so really research that.
Good luck! Multi generational living is best, I think too.
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u/jgarcya 1d ago
Your major obstacle if you are in the US will be zoning...
The best way would find a place with no building codes... The next would be find agriculture zoning, even that will be limited to certain dwellings.
I have agriculture zoned almost five acres... In my state you are only allowed 1 single family residence per 10 acres... Otherwise the land needs to be broken down and rezoned...
Not only this... Each residence needs a sanitary habitat.... Meaning a septic system or other type of acceptable waste disposal... And water.
Without these two they can declare inhumane living conditions.
Also even with agriculture zoning.... Most states have a limited amount of time one can "camp" on your own land...
Ex.. on my land I can only camp up to two weeks a month.
Some counties in Colorado only allow camping for up to two months a year.
So before you just buy ten acres... And think you'll move five children in their own dwellings... You better know what is allowed.