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Tiny House Loans: How to Finance your Tiny House, Park Model, or RV

If you’re looking for a tiny house loan or financing for any related projects like solar panels, vehicle loans, RV loans, boat loans, boat repair loans, home improvement loans, this page will help you gather your best options.

If you already have a good relationship with your bank, chances are they can probably help you too.

If you have access to a federal credit union, they usually offer the best rates but we have some lender resources you can consider below too.

Unfortunately, getting approved for a tiny house loan normally requires very good credit.

They’re a bit harder to get approved for than credit cards and car loans because banks consider tiny homes and RVs to be a recreational item, not a primary residence.

Should I get a loan for my tiny home?

Tiny House Loans

Photo courtesy of phanlop88

Why a Tiny House Loan? What if I don’t have good credit?

If you don’t have the funds to build or buy your tiny house upfront or you just don’t want to use your cash, a loan can be nice, right?

Loans can be very useful though because more money sometimes means you can do more.

Another thing – if you’re building a tiny house yourself – you’re going to be spending a lot of money on materials, right?

So even if you plan on paying for everything in cash…

You should seriously consider using credit cards for most of these purchases because you can rack up a lot of reward points that you can convert to cash.

There are also specific big box store cards that might get you even more reward points for shopping with them.

Unfortunately, yes, it’s going to cost more over the long run because of interest but that’s the price you have to pay to loan money, right?

If you have good credit, these loans can be a good option for you.

It’s up to you!

If you do not have good credit, it’s easy to start repairing your credit so that you’ll be able to get approved sooner than later. I’ll show you how below.

Otherwise, if you don’t need the credit building tips just keep scrolling down, please. 🙂

3 Simple But Effective Credit Repair Strategies

Repairing your credit can be simple and easy, but it can take some time.

Fortunately, you can implement just one of these strategies and as time passes, your credit will keep going up.

Then, before you know it, you can get approved for whatever you like, including a tiny house loan.

If you use some of the methods and strategies below, you can drastically increase your credit score in less than a year.

Give it a try!

  1. Get a new credit card, even if you have to pay for it annually, and then be sure to use it and pay it off every single month. This will start building your credit score every month. Just be sure not to ever carry a balance. Pay off any purchases right away. So you’re basically treating your new credit card same as cash. Anything you buy still comes out of your checking account right away. You can actually set up the account to automatically pay off the entire balance every month and then you know everything you buy literally does come out of your checking so you won’t use it carelessly. You can also earn reward points for most of your purchases that can be converted to cash.
  2. Buy a used vehicle with financing. Do you need a new car? If you can find a good deal on a used car and get approved for financing for it, even at a high-interest rate, this will do amazing things for your credit score gradually over the course of a year as long as you make your monthly payments. This is probably the fastest (but more costly) way to increase your credit score. If you already have a car payment, this doesn’t apply to you.
  3. Pay down old credit card debts. Do you have credit card debt? Start paying it down. Carrying high balances on credit cards is horrible for your credit and it’s also very expensive. It’s kind of like the opposite of investing. Your debt is out there accumulating more and more interest expenses and making the banks rich. Find a way out! Make a plan to pay off your debt or see if there are any ways to settle the debt for less. Another option could be to get a loan to pay your cards off. If you’re in this situation, this might be the smartest thing you can do: pay off your credit cards with a loan that’s actually going to save you money versus keeping your credit cards. Then vow to NEVER to carry a balance on your credit cards again.

Prepaid Credit Cards

If you can’t get approved for a credit card on your own, you can try prepaid credit cards that are designed for credit repair to start.

Being Added as a User on Someone Else’s Credit Card

If you have a friend or family member who is willing to add your on their credit card using your name and social security number and then this card is used every month, this can help your credit too.

Used Car Loans May Be Easier To Get Approved For

In some cases, you might be able to get approved for a used car loan easier than a credit card.

Car Loans Can Help You Build Credit Fast

Then after a few months of having car payments, you will be able to get a credit card (if you don’t have one yet).

If this works out for you, this could be a great way to build your credit super fast but it will come at a cost:

But the Interest Rate Could Be Very High

The interest rate on your loan will likely be very high.

The benefit is that it will build your credit faster (as long as you do not have a car loan or mortgage already).

Is it worth it? Well, that choice is yours!

Pay Off Your High-Interest Rate Loan Early

The ideal scenario, if you took a high-interest rate loan, would be that you have the ability to make enough extra payments on it to pay it off early and save money on the interest.

Refinancing your High-Interest Rate Loan Down the Line

Alternatively, if you can just pay the balance down enough over the course of your first year with the loan, you can get approved for a refinance loan with a  lower rate.

Why Credit Cards Aren’t Bad And How They Can Protect Your Money AND Pay You

Lots of people think credit cards are bad, and they can be.

But there are ways to use them that can be very good.

If You Always Pay Your Credit Card Off, You Don’t Pay Interest…

The first way to make sure credit cards aren’t bad for you is to vow to never carry a balance on them.

You have to pay them off every single month so you can’t overspend.

How Credit Cards Shield You From Identity Thieves

Next, credit cards actually protect your money from identity thieves.

Did you know that?

If you’re using your debit card everywhere, you’re giving thieves exposure to the money that’s in your checking account.

That’s why you should NEVER use your debit card for any purchases other than to withdraw cash at your bank/ATM.

Instead, you use credit cards for all of your purchases and then pay off the balance every single month.

At the grocery store, the mechanic, the hardware store, everywhere.

The key is, pay off the balance every month. I actually pay off my card multiple times a month because I use it for everything I buy.

Using this strategy, you are never charged any interest from the credit card.

Your checking account is shielded from identity thieves.

That’s right, if your credit card number is compromised and used, the issue can be fixed very quickly with a phone call.

If this happens with your debit card, the money that’s in your bank account could be affected for several days until the issue is resolved.

With a credit card, none of your actual money is ever at stake. In fact, it’s guarded!

And…

Credit Card Companies Pay You in Reward Points for Using Them Everywhere… You Can Cash These In Every Year!

You’re actually getting paid by the credit card company for all of your purchases in the form of reward points.

Pretty awesome, right?

This is my favorite Credit Card. It’s from American Express. I pretty much use it for everything. You’re protected in a lot of ways with American Express plus you get reward points and other perks you can take advantage of. It’s a great card, and it’s meant to be paid off every single month so you don’t accrue interest charges. You do have to pay an annual fee for the card though but you might find you will receive more benefits than the fee annually if you use the card enough.

Apply for the American Express EveryDay Preferred Credit Card using my referral link and you’ll get 20,000 Bonus Points after making $1,000 in purchases in the first three months and they’ll give me some bonus points too!

So, in summary, here’s how you to heal your credit:

  • Pay off/pay down any credit card balances if you’re carrying any
  • Get a loan to pay off your credit cards if necessary and if it makes financial sense (saves you on interest)
  • Start using your credit cards instead of your debit card for all of your purchases then be sure to pay off your credit cards every single month (you can set it up so it does this automatically but personally I make payments every week or so – this shields my bank account from the world)
  • Low credit card utilization = better credit (low credit card utilization just means not carrying a balance on your card)
  • Paying off your credit cards every single month = better credit
  • If you have a mortgage, always make your payments (missing just one payment can pretty much ruin your credit)
  • If you have a vehicle loan, be sure to never miss any payments
  • If you need to repair your credit, a used car loan can get a great tool to do that with

Tiny House Loan Application

Getting approved for a tiny house loan does require very good credit.

If you have good credit, LightStream will beat any qualifying rate.

When you’re approved, you can get your funding as soon as today.

Loans range from $5,000 to $100,000 with low, fixed interest rates (check link below for the most recent rates) and flexible loan terms.

If that sounds good you can learn more/apply with Lightstream using the link below.

Apply for a LightStream tiny house or park model loan here. (affiliate link – FTC disclosure – this means we receive a commission if you use our link to get your loan from Lightstream)

LightStream is a division of SunTrust Bank and they can also help you with any related projects like solar panels, vehicle loans, RV loans, boat loans, boat repair loans, home improvement loans, etc.

More SunTrust Bank – LightStream Loans That Might Help

(affiliate links FTC disclosure – this means we receive a commission if you use our link to get your loan from Lightstream)

Alternatives to Tiny House Loans

  • Peer-to-Peer Lending platforms like Prosper could be an alternative way to get financing for your tiny house project. These loans work just like bank loans, but instead, they’re financed by everyday people who earn the interest instead of a bank. Pretty cool, right?
  • Go Fund Me, Indie Go Go, and Kickstarter Campaigns. The keys to success here are to offer perks/incentives for people who donate. Things like eBooks, reports, guides, videos, courses, blueprints, experiences, physical products, services, consulting, etc. could be some good ideas.
  • Credit cards with 0% introductory rates. This isn’t the best advice, especially since tiny house projects can be so expensive, I’m not sure it would even be possible to finance an entire tiny house project using credit cards, but this can be a last resort or it can at least help finance any appliances that you need to special order or anything like that. Just be sure to plan your payoff as soon as possible to avoid incurring high-interest rate charges.
  • Cut your costs and work more hours to save more money. The best way to fund your project is to save the money because this way you don’t incur any additional costs to borrow money. This takes the longest but is probably is the smartest and most rewarding way to do it in the long-run.
  • Start a side business or work nights to save money. Is there something you can do on the side to make money? Is there something you’re pretty good at that you can offer to do for others as a service that would save them time and hassle? This can be a great way to start building a fund for your tiny house project.

Apply for a LightStream tiny house or park model loan here. (affiliate link)

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