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The Going Tiny Series, Part 16 of 45 · Guide 2 of 5: Where Can I Put It?
A free chapter goes up every day. See every part. Rather have it all at once, with printable worksheets? Get the Going Tiny Toolkit.
Land is the one purchase in this whole journey where a mistake can’t be renovated away. A beautiful lot that you can’t legally live on, or that would cost $40,000 to bring utilities to, is a heartbreak many readers have lived through. Slow down here. A week of research can save years.
“Our biggest issue has been trying to find land that has utilities that are at least to the property line.”
— Cynthia, Tiny House Talk reader
The golden rule: make your offer contingent
When you make an offer on land, ask your real estate agent or attorney to include contingencies: conditions that let you back out and get your earnest money back if something doesn’t check out. Common ones for small-home buyers:
- Zoning / intended use contingency: you can confirm in writing that your planned home is allowed.
- Perc test or septic approval contingency: the soil supports an approved septic system.
- Survey contingency: boundaries, access, and easements match what you were told.
- Title contingency: a clean title search, including any covenants.
- Utility contingency: confirmation of power, water, or well feasibility and cost.
Give yourself enough time in the contract (often 30 to 60 days) to get these answers. A seller who refuses all contingencies on raw land is a seller worth being cautious with.
Want to do this on paper?
The printable PDF of Where Can I Put It? has fill-in worksheets for this step, including:
- Land and Lot Evaluation Scorecard
They come with all five guides in the Going Tiny Toolkit.
The land checklist
Legal
- Zoning: the district and whether your home type and size are permitted (Part 13). Get a zoning verification letter if available.
- Legal lot: is it a legally created, buildable lot? Some old lots don’t meet current minimum size or road frontage rules.
- Covenants and HOA/POA: recorded restrictions and dues.
- Title search: who really owns it, any liens, easements, or claims. Title insurance protects you if something was missed.
- Survey: where the boundaries actually are.
Access
- Legal access: does the lot touch a public road, or is access through someone else’s land? If through others’ land, is there a recorded easement? A handshake path is not legal access.
- Road maintenance: is the road maintained by the county, or privately? If private, is there a road maintenance agreement, and who plows the snow?
- Can a truck get in? Delivering a tiny house, a manufactured home, or a well-drilling rig needs a road that can handle it.
Utilities
- Electricity: how far is the nearest pole? Ask the utility company for an estimate to extend service. Long extensions can be very expensive.
- Water: city water at the property line, or a well? If a well, ask neighbors or a local well driller about typical depth and cost, and check state well records if available.
- Sewer or septic: sewer at the line, or a septic system? Has the lot passed a perc test? What type of septic system would be required?
- Internet and phone: check coverage maps and ask neighbors. Telehealth, video calls with grandkids, and online banking all depend on it.
Hazards
- Flood zone: check msc.fema.gov. Building in a flood zone is more expensive and may require elevation and flood insurance.
- Wildfire, slope, wetlands: ask the planning office about any mapped hazards or protected areas.
Life
- Distance to a hospital or urgent care, your doctors, a pharmacy, and groceries.
- Distance to family and friends you’ll want to see often, or who may need to help you.
- Winter: what’s it like in January? Who clears the road?
- Neighbors: knock on a door or two. You’ll learn more in ten minutes than in ten listings.
Ask about the true cost to make it livable
Raw land prices can look like bargains. Add up the costs to make it livable: driveway, power, water or well, septic, permits, site prep, and foundation or pad. In some places these can easily exceed the price of the land itself. Guide 1, The Tiny House Money Plan, has a worksheet for pricing your full path.
A real home from Tiny House Talk
Photo: @rapptorvision
Tiny on the Tundra: A Park Model on 35 Acres in Colorado
Ann Marie's family weighed the "Life" items on this list: they moved to northwestern Colorado to be close to family, in a town with almost no homes to rent. They bought 35 acres, had a 399-square-foot park model shipped from South Carolina, and built a 1,000-square-foot garage for snow-removal equipment because winters there are very cold.
Buying land with a seller-financed contract
Some readers have bought land through a land contract or seller financing, which can help when banks won’t lend on raw land. It can work well, but terms vary widely, and in some arrangements you don’t hold title until you’ve paid in full. Have an attorney review any land contract, and still do every check on this list.
Use Worksheet 5, the Land and Lot Evaluation Scorecard, for every parcel you seriously consider.
Your turn
Where are you hoping to put your tiny or small home? Share your state or country in the comments.
Want the whole series in one place?
This series is free to read here, and it always will be. If you’d rather have it as five clean, printable PDFs, that’s the Going Tiny Toolkit:
- Where Can I Put It? (the guide this chapter comes from): zoning research in an afternoon, call scripts and email templates, and a land checklist
- The Tiny House Money Plan
- Tiny Without the Ladder
- Bringing Them On Board
- Your First Tiny Steps
Every guide adds printable worksheets and a 30-day action plan, and Tiny Without the Ladder comes with the bonus One-Level Floor Plan Idea Book (18 to-scale floor plans). All five are $47, with a 30-day refund.
← Previous: Part 15: Where to Park or Build a Tiny House: Your Options, Ranked
Next (tomorrow): Part 17: When the Zoning Answer Is No: What to Do Next
Not sure which part matters most for you? The free 10-minute What’s Really Holding You Back? quiz tells you where to start. And to get a new part (and a new home) in your inbox each day, join the free Tiny House Newsletter.
Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links. If you purchase through one of our links, we may earn a commission at no additional cost to you.
Alex
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