Ah, tiny home financing. For many tiny home buyers, figuring out how to finance a tiny house is one of the most stressful parts of a tiny home journey.
Here at Mint, we want to make your tiny home journey as smooth as possible, so we’ve researched tiny house financing options for you. And yes, we have found ways to secure tiny home financing even in tough times.
The short answer is yes, but you likely won’t be getting a traditional home mortgage. The reason has to do with the fact that tiny houses are not typically attached to land.
Attaching a house to land is what makes it real estate, and it’s real estate that is eligible for mortgages. Understanding this detail will make your quest to find tiny home financing much easier!
So what tiny house financing options are available?
Can you use a personal loan to buy a tiny house?
Yes! In fact, personal loans have historically been one of the most popular ways to purchase a tiny home. Companies like LightStream, SoFi, and FirstTech, offer personal loans you can use to finance your tiny home dreams.
But while personal loans can be a great option, it’s worth noting that lenders are tightening up a bit on this type of funding.
Don’t worry, though; we have many more tiny house financing options for you to explore!
Things to know:
If you already own a traditional home, you might be able to refinance your house to buy a tiny house. And if you go this route, you’ll specifically want to look into “cash-out” refinancing.
Cash-out refinancing allows you to liquidate the equity in your traditional home. Once you have those funds, you can use them to buy your tiny house!
The cash you’ll be taking out of your home is the equity. This could be the part of the loan you’ve already paid down or the equity you gained, thanks to appreciation.
Things to know:
A home equity loan is another way to get tiny home financing!
A home equity loan is similar to refinancing, but the key difference is in the number of mortgages you have.
When you refinance a traditional house, you replace your original home mortgage with a new, first mortgage. With a home equity loan, however, you are taking out a second mortgage to utilize the equity.
Things to know:
You can think of an unsecured line of credit like a credit card. And if you don’t own a traditional house or substantial asset, an unsecured line of credit could be a feasible way to get financing for a tiny house.
‘Unsecured’ means there is no collateral to back up your loan. I.E., there is nothing the bank can take if you don’t pay. This makes these loans riskier for lenders, so interest rates are often higher than other types of loans.
The upside? Lines of credit can allow you to borrow more money— even up to 500k in some cases!
Unsecured lines of credit are also “revolving,” which means the pay-back schedule has flexibility, unlike a personal loan with a fixed timeline.
Things to Know:
It’s always a good idea to shop around for RV loans you can use to buy tiny homes, but you can check out BECU if you need a place to start.
Things to know:
When lenders tighten their belts, finding tiny home financing can be discouraging, but don’t lose hope! We still have two more powerful options for you to investigate. The first is using a co-signer.
If you applied for tiny home financing and were denied, please don’t take it personally. When markets change, lenders change their policies, and this can make things tricky. Remember, approval has nothing to do with your worthiness.
You are amazing and valuable; you just have a tiny house problem to solve!
A co-signer can be a powerful asset; just be sure to do your research before broaching the matter with someone. That way, you’ll be prepared to answer their questions and explain in detail how you’ll repay the loan.
And don’t discount anyone either! Someone doesn’t have to be related to you to cosign a loan.
Is there someone else who would benefit from you owning a tiny house? A landowner, perhaps? Or someone who would gladly act as “the bank” and let you make payments to them with some interest on top?
It’s always a good idea to seek professional council when setting up these types of arrangements, but if you can show someone how they stand to benefit from buying you a tiny house, you could have access to the funds you need regardless of your credit score, debt level, job status, downpayment, or anything else.
Things to know:
Whew! Did you know there were so many types of tiny house financing available? And we can’t even fit them all into this article. You could also approach a hard-money lender, liquidate an asset, start a Go-Fund Me, or simply ask someone to buy you a tiny house— crazier things have happened!
The point is, we hope you will approach tiny house financing with an open mind and continue pursuing your tiny home dreams even if you hit a roadblock or two along the way.
Thanks for reading our tiny house blog, and we look forward to meeting you soon!
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