“Park Model RVs” originated decades before the recent Tiny Home craze.  Legally, any RV is required to be below 400 square feet.  This does not include loft area or outside porch decks.  So, Park Model RVs are almost always 399 square feet in order to be classified as an RV instead of a traditional (HUD) home.  Park Model RVs can only be moved by a professional with a transport permit.

“Tiny Homes on Wheels” (THOWs) are the new craze driving much of the recent tiny home movement.  Also classified as an RV, they are usually 150 to 200 square feet of living space and can be towed without a license by an individual with a big enough truck.  

Highland Lakes Tiny Homes exclusively sells Park Model RVs built by Platinum Cottages near Dallas Texas.  Most serious buyers call us having already discovered that Platinum produces the highest quality Park Model in the industry.  Don’t take our word for it…. Do your own research and even consider visiting the Platinum Plant.  

One of Platinum’s design principles is to avoid utilizing manufactured home parts and building techniques.  Most parts on a Platinum can be purchased at a Lowes or Home Depot.  

Financing for tiny homes is extremely limited.  Some buyers have been able to go to a financial institution with whom they have a great relationship and secure a loan with a significant down payment.  Most have needed to find a private individual willing to finance the home.

Two major options exist for locating a tiny home:

• “Lot Lease Communities” such as County Line Cottages

• Your own unrestricted land

Many customers have started out with the hope of buying their own land, adding utilities and then their tiny home.  Once they price the “tapping fees” for the utilities and the potential future taxes, they often return to the idea of the lot lease community.  

Probably not!  Sadly, Park Model RVs fall victim to the HOA and deed restriction rules intended to keep manufactured homes and RVs out of neighborhoods.  We have seen very few situations in which smaller pieces of land with decent utility access in decent neighborhoods are unrestricted enough to allow these units. We have seen bold attempts to defy rules result in costly ejections of homes. 

The following list was developed by one of our partners.  To set up a Park Model RV, you must:

• Set it - Use cinder blocks, anchors and straps to support and strap down the home

• Wire it – Run electrical service to the home

• Plumb It – Run water to the house and run the 3” sewer line from the house

• Skirt It – Close in the bottom of the house with a frame and skirting material, ideally cement fiber hardie panel.

• Step It – Add steps to access the home

Contractors are already performing these steps for manufactured homes in your area.  The process is almost identical.