Tag: tiny town living

How can I finance my Tiny House? $$$$$

On By Shari SnyderIn Tiny Houses, Tiny Living, Tiny Town Texas6 Comments

So you wanna buy a tiny home? Five steps to your dream tiny home:

  • Step one: secure your financing so you know your budget. (see below).
  • Step two: secure your location to park your tiny home. Will you buy land? Park in a family or friend’s backyard, or a Rv park or community? See more info at this blogpost. Also, for insurance questions, see this blogpost.
  • Step three: choose your builder. You can schedule a free 30 minute phone consultation with Hill Country Tiny Houses to discuss your project. We will use your budget and needs as the guideline. (At this phase, you may want to schedule a tour of one of our homes and/or book a weekend stay in a tiny home to confirm it’s the right decision for you. We can suggest airbnb choices in Texas.) use this link to book your call now: https://hillcountrytinyhousesscheduling.as.me/schedule.php
  • Step four: now you’re ready to dive in and make your big dreams come true! We collect a $1,500 design fee/down Payment to start your project. During the planning and designing phase, we use our Chief Architect software to design your floor plan, the architecture, elevations, doll house view, 3D walk through, and help you choose all the colors and finishes. You know, all the fun stuff! When you place your order, this amount is taken off your total.
  • Step five: 25% down to engineer and certify your build and 25% to go into production and 25% when your home is “dried in” and 25% pre-delivery. We do a video walk through at certain stages throughout. Allow at least 8-16 weeks (depends where you are in the que) to complete your project. We deliver it and set it up so it’s move in ready when we leave.
  • Tiny House Lender Options

1. Personal loans from your local bank, Lending Tree, or even PayPal (many people will combine 1-3 loans from different companies to get the desired total) 

2. Home equity line of credit (some will take out a loan this way and when they sell their house, pay it off).

3. Of course, the option to borrow from friends and family and let them be your bank may save on down payment fees, closing fees, and higher interest rates.

4. The last section of this post includes tiny house trailer lenders. The middle section is for tiny houses on land only. I have listed in order of my personal preference.

Notes from a Tiny House Expert

Shari here: As a Dweller, builder, and advocate in this industry for almost 3 years, I have to report…see bottom of post for notes.

TINY HOUSE LENDERS FOR THOSE WHO OWN LAND OR WANT TO BUY LAND

Alamo Lending, A J Allee. Start here ??

Serving all of Texas. aj@alamolending.com. +1 (210) 410-4831

19851 State Highway 46 W. | Spring Branch, TX 78163 | USA

GUILD MORTGAGE, HUGH VAUGHN

Mortgage Broker/Lender. He has access to multiple lenders, but can only serve clients who own land and will put a park model (permanent style–ie. take the wheels off the trailer and put on foundation) style tiny home on it. hvaughn@guildmortgage.net. 512-775-2883. Hugh has had success helping a family in Bastrop, TX, secure a small lot for a small home and get funding. He is a personal friend of ours and we highly recommend him. On the website, you will find some tools like the pre-qualification calculator and affordability calculator.

Thrive Mortgage, Georgetown, Texas

Texas Hill Country Bank

Kenneth Early is our contact over there. We are friends with the President of the bank and they will do what they can to help you. Mention our name. 830-955-8535. kenneth@txhcb.com.

FIRST FINANCIAL BANK

Texas only. No land size requirement, can finance land and home as a package. Builders risk policy.

First Financial bank

on purchases up to $75K.

• 625+ Credit Score

• 12-72 Months

• $50-75K

• No Cash down requirements

• Automatic business decisions during business hours – appx 10 minutes

• 6.99-18.99%

CITIZENS STATE BANK

CITIZEN TRUST BANK

MINNEOLA COMMUNITY

Dallas, Texas area.

CAPITAL FARM CREDIT

If you won or are buying at least 5 acres, this one may be a great fit for you. It does require a down payment and you can not have a chassis (trailer/wheels) under it. Rates are very good in this option. We deliver to you on pier and beam and set on a permanent foundation. As long as it is still under 400 sq ft, it doesn’t raise your property taxes. It is often considered an ADU (accessory dwelling unit). Some cities like Austin, Kerrville and most recently Los Angeles, have already legalized ADU’s. Visit website here.

Loan Star Ag Credit

If you own or are buying at least 10 acres, you can have a fully titled home at the end and get the best rates (even without a construction loan process or down payment) in the industry of tiny houses here. Again, you can not have a chassis (trailer/wheels) under it. We deliver to you on pier and beam and set on a permanent foundation. As long as it is still under 400 sq ft, it doesn’t raise your property taxes. It is often considered an ADU (accessory dwelling unit). Some cities like Austin, Kerrville and most recently Los Angeles, have already legalized ADU’s. 800-530-1252

BULLISH BOB BAGLEY SECURITIES INC.

TYPE OF LENDER: Other REQUIREMENTS: Other COLLATERAL REQUIRED: Yes ADDITIONAL NOTES: Bob is a an Investment Banker (Securities Broker/Dealer) 972-285-5474…

INCOMMONS BANK OF WACO

LOCATION SERVED: Texas Only. This is a full-service lender.…

************************************************************************

TINY HOUSES ON WHEELS – TRAVEL TRAILER OPTIONS

******Again, it is far more difficult to finance these. Cash buyers are best. Banks do not like them because they are mobile and if they need to repossess one, it could be far away and they probably could not track it down. Consequently, they require about 20-25% down payment and shorter terms like 7-15 years and higher interest rates (often times 7-15%). They also require higher credit scores. If you have any assets/collateral to offer, that does make it easier. Oftentimes, people get a family member to loan them the money or they apply for a personal loan, sometimes two or three personal loans to equal the total they want to borrow.

LIBERTY BANK OF UTAH

CITY NATIONAL BANK

Title Required 20% down / min credit score 650 Contact: RonWatson # 903-885-7523 Ext 4139 email: ron.watson@bankatcnb.com

LIGHT STREAM

LIGHT STREAM LOCATION SERVED: USA TYPE OF LENDER: Bank REQUIREMENTS: Personal Loan COLLATERAL REQUIRED:

PROSPER FUNDING LLC

LOCATION SERVED: Nation wide with exceptions listed here.

SOFI

LOCATION SERVED: All States except Mississippi. Call Ken

ONE MAIN FINANCIAL

ONE MAIN FINANCIAL LOCATION SERVED: USA TYPE OF LENDER: Bank REQUIREMENTS: Personal Loan COLLATERAL REQUIRED: No ADDITIONAL

BULLISH BOB BAGLEY SECURITIES INC.

TYPE OF LENDER: Other REQUIREMENTS: Other COLLATERAL REQUIRED: Yes ADDITIONAL NOTES: Bob is a an Investment Banker (Securities Broker/Dealer) 972-285-5474…

INCOMMONS BANK OF WACO

LOCATION SERVED: Texas Only. This is a full-service lender.…

ROCK SOLID FUNDING

Important Note: To help with financing a THOW, please know we can offer a national tiny house certification code that documents the build process via video and the building codes adhered to and saves it in the cloud for you forever. It’s an additional fee for this service, but reach out to us for more info. The value is banks like to see this as well as insurance companies and some RV parks. Each of the following lenders work with this N.O.A.H. Cert. process except for the last two: Liberty Bank and Rock Solid.

NOTES FROM A TINY HOUSE EXPERT

Shari here: As a Dweller, builder, and advocate in this industry for almost 3 years, I have to report it’s been discouraging and difficult to get our clients financed for THOW’s (see below) . We paid cash with the proceeds from the sale of our big house for our own tiny house and many of our clients are cash buyers, sometimes borrowing from family. I believe the day will come when financing becomes easier, but until then, I hope the following info will help you on your journey. 

The first thing you need to understand is the difference between a THOW (Tiny House on Wheels – ie. Travel trailer) and a 399 sq ft Park Model Design – I refer to it as a home on a trailer that can travel occasionally (ie. one with a trailer/chassis under it that comes in on wheels and is designed to be put on land or not moved very often) and a general small home (typically 400-800 sq ft) built off site and delivered to land. The latter is the model we have chosen for our development in Kerrville, Texas, called Tiny Town Texas, coming 2021!

Tiny Houses and RVIA park models on wheels/chassis, are similar to a manufactured home and do not appreciate much in value, esp. if they are not attached permanently to land. Tiny Homes on a foundation on land, however, are treated more like a stick built home and will appreciate in value like any traditional home. We offer modular certified tiny homes as well. The city likes these better and it is the ideal scenario for the banks and insurance companies. You will get far better rates.

Tiny home community developers

On By Shari SnyderIn Tiny LivingLeave a comment

Current Mortgage Rates Stick to Record Low for Another Week

“Mortgage rates remain at record lows, resisting their typical correlation to Treasury yields, which have recently been moving higher,” said Sam Khater, chief economist for Freddie Mac.

https://www.tinyhouseallianceusa.org/hac-loans-for-affordable-tiny-house-developers/?fbclid=IwAR1eVCdCgueL1MTXXXjTGz-evpsSGPbIRFG-cDfVYTJqG8injAcIlvZlgBM

BACK TO THE DRAWING BOARD

On By Shari SnyderIn Tiny LivingLeave a comment

By Shari Snyder

Our Engineering firm in Kerrville

Well, we heard back from the City of Kerrville and unfortunately, it’s not good news. Our petition to build a housing community on the land we were looking at was denied due to flood plane discrepancies which make the land unsafe for development. They had a new flood plain map done on the property.  We are thankful for this protection and discouraged at the setback, but don’t worry; we have already implemented Plan B.

We’ve secured a contract on a new 100-acre piece of land just outside Kerrville that will be perfect for our Tiny Town project. We are full steam ahead, going as fast as our team can to get you into your dream home community. 

Stay tuned…

The Joys of Downsizing: tiny tips with Shari

On By Shari SnyderIn Tiny LivingLeave a comment

By Shari Snyder, Hill Country Tiny Houses

SO you want to downsize?  

Maybe you want to “go tiny” or maybe you just want to clear some space in your head and enjoy a simple life with less stress.  I like to say, “Downsizing is the art of reducing clutter in your environment to enhance your performance mentally, emotionally and physically.”

The most important thing is to get a clear handle on WHY you’re doing this.  Focusing on the joys and benefits will keep you true to the end of the task.  Will the tradeoff be worth it?  Will the peace of mind you gain be worth saying goodbye to some old memories and possibly some things that feel like “friends” to you like old books?  This is an emotional game and to win, you must be ready to take this leap. Take time to overcome your fears to get where you want to be.  

Shrink your “todo” list, NOT your free time! 

One of our clients relates the story about the day she decided to “go tiny” after her husband had been on board for a while.  One Saturday morning, at breakfast, they went over the ‘to do’ list for the day.  So much was related to the 3,000 square foot house they lived in with their 2 small boys.  The wife said, “All I want to do is take the boys to the zoo today.”  to which her husband replied, “If we lived in a tiny house, that would be the only thing on this ‘to do’ list today.”  Will the joy of more time doing what you love and with whom you love be your motivation?

Reduce your stuff to reduce your stress

Another client we interviewed on WHY they want to go tiny replied, “So we won’t keep collecting more stuff”.  They recognized that stuff was not making their life better or their family stronger and their solution was to downsize from a 4 bedroom 3 bath house to a 394 sq ft tiny house.  Will the joy of less stress motivate you to get rid of your stuff?

Does this bring me Joy?

The best advice I got when I decided to go tiny was:  “Don’t ask yourself: ‘Can I live without this?’  Instead, Ask:  ’Do I need this to live?’”  

In each room of my 2200 sq ft house, if I did not need the item to live, my next question was: “Does this item bring bring me joy?”  If yes, then I put it in a separate area for the next few weeks.  I worked on one room at a time.  After I packed up the rest of that room, I took it to the salvation army (I’m opposed to Goodwill where only 10% of my donations help the needy).  I reserved only the most valuable items to sell.  When I left the salvation army, I felt loads lighter and the reward motivated me to want to do it again and again.  I became addicted to downsizing.  I repeated this process in each room twice in about 6 months.  I ended up with 5 boxes/separated spaces:

1.  Storage

2.  Give away 

3.  Sell

4.  “Brings me joy” 

5.  Tiny house (These items usually stayed right in that room til I moved) 

I also liked the idea of my “give away” boxes staying in the garage for 2-3 months just in case I found I missed that item in my every day routines. In the end, I sorted through the boxes one last time before I made a final decision to keep or give away including my “brings me joy” box.

It’s also important to set up boundaries to protect yourself from ending up at this same place 12 months from now. If you’re not downsizing your home, how will you ensure you keep the clutter out?

1. Must change your buying habits. To do this, you have to change your mindset.

2. Ask yourself before a purchase, “How will this

own your stuff or your stuff owns you

less stress

more space in your head

Downsizing Your Home: 3 Money Benefits

On By Shari SnyderIn Tiny LivingLeave a comment

https://www.daveramsey.com/blog/3-money-smart-reasons-to-downsize

HOME SELLING

6 MINUTE READ

If you think moving up in life means buying a bigger home, it’s time to set the record straight. Most American families have plenty of room to downsize their home without cramping their style.

Consider the numbers: The average new single-family home comes in at over 2,600 square feet, according to the United States Census Bureau.(1) You may not think that’s all too big until you look back at history. The National Association of Realtors reports that the average home size in 1950 was 1,000 square feet or less—and families were bigger back then.(2,3) By those standards, today’s homeowners are living large!

Moving into a smaller home may feel like a step down, but a closer look reveals quite a few upsides: saving money, saving time and having less clutter in your life. Downsizing could be just the fresh start you and your family need!

How to Downsize the Right Way

Smaller mortgage payments and spending less time dusting those spare rooms may sound like a dream come true, but is downsizing really the right move for you? Before you head down the path toward downsizing, read on for some tips to ensure your downsizing-dream doesn’t become a costly mistake.

1. Think Long-Term

If you’re thinking about downsizing your house, planning ahead will help ensure your transition is a success. Do you need extra space for that freelance business you’re planning to start? Or were you left you with more than enough room to spare after the kids headed off to college? Only you know if you can spare that extra space or if losing it would be more of a headache than it’s worth! Find expert agents to help you sell your home.

2. Keep It Functional

Remember back in college when your entire life fit in that tiny dorm room? Somehow you had everything you needed within arm’s length. Though that may be far from practical these days, you can still benefit from cleaning out the clutter from those closets. Sell what you don’t need and take that money to the bank, baby! Or donate it to a local charity and get the added bonus of a tax benefit. Wouldn’t it be nice to have less to clean and more money in your pocket?

Think of all the fun you could have if you didn’t have to polish your miniature unicorn collection every weekend. You just might find a whole new world outside your door!

3. Consider Hidden Costs

Downsizing may save you money in those monthly mortgage payments, but what about the hidden costs? Does your home need any repairs to get it market-ready? What about your old furniture and appliances—will they fit into the smaller place, or do you need to bump up that budget for more space-efficient pieces?

And don’t forget to take into account the cost of moving, property taxes, storage, or even higher HOA fees. When it comes down to decision time, you may find that taking that leap to a smaller space will save you BIG time—or that you can save just by staying right where you are.

4. Focus on the Big Picture

Downsizing your square footage might mean your family has to gather around one TV at night instead of spreading out across three or four different rooms (Gasp!). But is more time with the ones you love really all that bad? It just might be the kick in the pants you need to spend quality time together!

Financial Benefits of Downsizing

Still not convinced? Then it’s time to bring out the big guns and talk money. What if you reduced your mortgage by $500 a month and put that cash toward other financial goals? Check out three strides you could make:

1. Attack Your Debt Snowball

If you’re working hard to kick debt to the curb, downsizing your home can help you maintain that gazelle intensity. Let’s say you owe $18,000 on your student loan. With a 6% interest rate and a minimum payment of $200 a month, you’ll be paying on that loan for 10 more years!

But throw an additional $500 at your loan each month, and you’d trim a whopping seven years and eight months off your pay-off date. Sallie Mae will have to find a new place to live, because you’ll be free from student debt in less than two-and-a-half years!

2. Boost Your Retirement Fund

Once you’re debt-free with a fully funded emergency fund, it’s time to build wealth for the future. Dave recommends investing 15% of your household income into Roth IRAs and pretax retirement plans. If you’re still working your way up to 15%, that extra $500 could be the push you need to get there. And, boy, the difference $500 could make! In 30 years, you could have an additional $1–1.6 million in the bank to get you through your golden years. You can do a lot of living and giving with that nest egg!

3. Pay Off Your Mortgage

Want to downsize Dave’s way? Trade in your mortgage for a paid-off home! Use the proceeds from selling your current home to pay cash for a smaller one. Just imagine what you could do with no mortgage holding you down!

If you can’t pay cash, aim for a 15-year, fixed-rate mortgage and put at least 10–20% down on your new home. Apply the $500 you saved from downsizing to your new monthly payment. At 4.5% interest, you could pay off a $200,000 mortgage in less than 10.5 years, saving almost $25,278 in the process. Cha-ching!

Use our full mortage payoff calculator to see how quickly you can pay off your house!

Ready to Downsize? We’ll Show You Where to Start.

Downsizing might not make sense in every situation, but it’s worth a look if saving money and simplifying life appeal to you. Ask an experienced real estate agent to help you determine what your home is worth and show you options for cutting costs. A true pro knows what it takes to get top dollar for your current home and negotiate the best deal on a new one. Ready to downsize but don’t know where to start? We can put you in touch with a real estate agent who Dave recommends in your area.

NEW LAUNCH

On By Shari SnyderIn Tiny LivingLeave a comment
As promised, our big announcement this week is that we are launching a brand new company as an extension of our product line! Hill Country Sheds & Studios will be launching soon as an addition to our current offerings that will supply you with tiny enterprises and sheds. We know that especially during these tumultuous times it’s important to have your own space to do what you love or to focus on what’s important. That’s the beauty of the Tiny Enterprise – it is customizable to you. Whether you want it to be an office to escape the house and get work done, or a yoga studio where you can relax and unwind, or you want to open up a small business and need a building; the sky is the limit. www.facebook.com/hillcoutryshedsandstudios

A tiny town chocolate factory?

On By Shari SnyderIn Tiny LivingLeave a comment

Raise your hand if you would want to live near a tiny town coffee house and tiny town chocolate factory!

Shut the front door!
How blessed we are with the most amazing Tiny house fans across the U.S. One of our customers gifts us with fresh eggs and honey they grow on their farm and we feel so loved!

Now Our Tiny House has even graced the presence of a world-renowned chocolatier Who brought us the most exquisite chocolates I have ever laid eyes on all the way from Santa Fe, New Mexico!
100% made from scratch by Melanie Boudar. She even roasted the beans. What a treasured gift ??
She started her business in Maui and she even entered the world wide chocolate contest in Germany, placing second amongst 2,000 entries. U.S. against all of Europe?
You better believe I’m doing my darndest to recruit her into our community to run the first ever tiny chocolate factory on wheels!

The verdict is in: we had a chocolate ceremony outside the tiny home with our neighbors and yes, we all agree, they taste even better than they look!

Why Kerrville for the first Tiny Town?

On By Shari SnyderIn Tiny LivingLeave a comment

We at Tiny Town Texas have had a nine-year love affair with the city of Kerrville since strategically moving our family there from Michigan. We wanted to live somewhere warm and join a small community of entrepreneur-minded, conservative-thinking, world changers. We found just what we were looking for in Kerrville and are so grateful for the fantastic friendships we have built and we want nothing more than to give back to this amazing community and make Kerrville an even better place for future generations.

When we built our first tiny home in 2017, we were met with such enthusiasm from local business owners and leaders, including the Mayor, Chamber of Commerce, and the Kerr Economic Development Corp.,  Partnering with the perfect Real Estate Investor and his San Marcos team may have taken three years, but it was worth it because we don’t have to compromise our mission as they share our values, which makes the development process loads of fun, not stressful like some previous people who wanted to partner with us.  Our investor will be revealed as the project unfolds, but until then, we anticipate the same enthusiastic response.  Our mission is producing the best possible housing development to improve the quality of life for singles, empty nesters or retirees, and the average working family.

We believe this prototype will stand as a monument and proof that quality and beauty don’t have to be sacrificed in order to create affordable housing. Our business model is built around giving back to the community through the Hero Program as designed by our investor; this program offers a select number of firefighters and police officers a housing incentive package that pays for their first 12 months mortgage payment. The Hero Program will ensure Kerrville can recruit and keep some amazing individuals in the city who fill critical roles. 

Our vision is to create a resilient community by creating a sustainable lifestyle using innovative vertical farming, greenhouses, edible landscaping, solar energy, rainwater harvesting, and ultimately by encouraging financial responsibility. A community that fosters relationships through group activities in a culture of honor will watch resiliency bloom as a natural result. Apartment complexes can never offer this kind of quality lifestyle with the addition of homeownership. We believe it will require innovation to develop land in ways that may not be traditional and we invite you to join us as pioneers who offer creative solutions to get this project done, creating a safe and healthy environment for all; one that will be sustainable to the neighborhood so families can thrive here for years to come.