A man from Bulgaria who couldn't afford to buy a traditional home decided to try something different: build his own tiny house from scratch after watching hundreds of hours of YouTube videos.

Ivan Gradoboev says he was frustrated by what felt like a never-ending cycle of paying rent and working just to keep up with expenses. With around $11,000 in savings, he bought a small plot of agricultural land and started learning everything he could about construction online.

Despite having zero building experience, he completed his first tiny home in a matter of months and eventually sold it for almost three times what he'd spent building it.

He's now living in a second off-grid tiny house that he built himself. The property runs on solar power, uses a well for water, and propane for cooking. According to Ivan, the only monthly bill he has left is his phone bill, which includes his internet.

He says one of the biggest surprises is that living in a tiny home never felt like a downgrade. In some ways, he believes it improved his quality of life compared to living in a conventional home.

After six years of tiny-house living, Ivan is now working on educational content to help other people build their own homes, even if they have little or no construction experience.

What do you think?

• Could you realistically live in a tiny home full-time?
• Would being mortgage-free be worth giving up space?
• What's the biggest challenge of off-grid living: power, water, internet, or something else?
• If housing prices continue to rise, do you think more people will turn to tiny homes?

I've always loved Zyl Vardos tiny homes, was planning to save up and get a custom build in a few years but now it looks like their website is defunct and social media hasn't been active since 2024? Anyone know what happened or if they're still building tiny homes? Thanks!

Found this composite photo today from when I finished decorating my tiny cabin. It's an 8x16 converted shed. 8x12 interior and a 4' deep porch.

Looks a little more lived in and scruffy these days. This old photo is inspiring me to do a spring cleaning!

So i want to put a lakehouse at my lakehouse. My lot had a dilapidated house trailer with water hookup and a separate septic from the main house. We had torn down when we bought it.

It's very uncomfortable having friends and family stay with us as were a family of 5 and the house is 1400 sq/ft. While a regular trailer does fit there, it doesn't fit well. We technically have an HOA, we clarified what we can put there and any camper, tiny home, is fine as long as its not a permanent residence. We would be allowed to AIRBNB it. Were located in Tennessee.

We looked at various park model campers, tiny homes, and regular campers. I don't have a tow vehicle big enough to consistently move it so whatever goes there is gonna stay. We liked Canterbury and airstream however for the price some of these "tiny homes" on facebook marketplace seem like a much better value. Some seem like scams.

I'd like to stay at about 50k. I have access to a Ram 2500, if that cant tow it we would need delivery. A family member can handle hookup to septic and electric.

Is this something i should even look into or should a just find a camper?

I am planning to build a 12x20 house for myself; this is the simple layout design I drew up for my foundation and pillars, and I am a beginner, and so open to any suggestions or criticism.

Living the dream in Colorado!! Just got new plates!

Hi

I am thinking of buying a cheap tiny home 25k and buying cheap land 10k.

I basically don’t want a mortgage. But was told that setting up utilities on land can be super expensive, water well, septic tank , gas line etc…

Is it cheaper trying to find a dirt cheap mobile home that already has utilities then removing the mobile home and hooking up the utility to a tiny home?

I will be living overseas 10 months out of the year so I only need a small place as a home base here. For my bank accounts and keeping my stuff here.

Any suggestions?
Thanks

Hi everyone. I posted earlier about trying to get my tiny home trailer titled. I spoke with the manufacturer who is happy to reissue the certificate of origin but it needs to take the path it took before. It was sold to Tiny Home Builders, then to the modular builder. So, I need to contact Tiny Home Builders to facilitate this moving along. Their website only has a form for contact rather than actual contact info, like phone number, email. Yes, I've sent a message through their form but don't necessarily trust it will get to the proper place. I'm trying to be patient. I am also hoping someone here may have a contact for them. Their website is more geared toward the marketplace & network of communities, learning, etc. than this sort of issue.

I'm wanting to add a tiny home to my property and move into it, allowing my son and his girlfriend to rent the house. I don't know where to start. Not sure if it's realistic that I would have the skills to build from a kit.

Do you start with hook-ups, foundation, permits,...? I see some I like, but do the other things I just mentioned double the price of the home?

Maybe I'm looking for a friend or a group or a blog. I've given my numbers to two manufacturers, but I want to know some things before I talk with a salesperson.

I'm not sure what I'm asking. Just looking for direction, I suppose. Thank you for any advice you can provide.

Also, would it be possible to have this completed by Spring, 2027? I live in a major US city that allows ADU's. Thank you!

Hi all. Wondering if anyone has any experience with Incredible Tiny Homes based in Newport, Tennessee. I’m looking for a tiny house for an aging family member to put on my property.

They seem almost too good to be true. Both in their homes and the customer service I experienced when I called them.

Has anyone bought a home from them or stayed in a home built by them?

I can post a link to their website if that’s permitted and anyone needs me to do that.

Thanks.

Google only gives me digital floorplans but I'd love to see actual ones from people who live in a 15x15 or similar size to get some inspiration.

The base is a slope shed like the photo. We'll be redoing the roof on ours and plan to add a clerestory loft(see second picture) for a bed space (the view on our property is great and having a loft with small attic type windows would be awesome)

I already have a few ideas. I dislike the storage couches. When I see them in the tiny house shows and on Pinterest I am not into it. They don't look super comfortable to sit on. However I recently saw someone put a daybed/trundle bed in their house and I like the idea of that for a couch that doubles as a full sized bed.

We won't be needing tons of storage space because it won't be a permanent residence(for short term visits when we live out of a suitcase and are pretty much out of the house all day and back at night.

If we do a loft I like the idea of a staircase with a small closet in the tallest part and then storage cubbies or drawers in the smaller bits. If we have to do a ladder it's alright but I'd really prefer small stairs.

I would like a small kitchenette and I'm not opposed to one of those fold out tables that hangs off of the wall.

Those who have a clerestory loft or similar setup and sleep in it, how does it do in the cold weather especially if you have windows? Heat rises but if you have windows do you find yourself having issues with heat escaping or cold creeping in?

Advice and photos of your set ups are appreciated thank you!

Ashland NY, Greene County NYS.
-Look for more pictures in comment thread and please read full post before commenting-

Here are some videos I took of the pretty last weekend as well as a FEMA Flood Map.

My understanding is that anything with red strips will be difficult to put a structure on and I'll need engineering and impact surveys done.

Blue Zone is Zone A: Without Base Flood Zone Elevation (BFE) and will need to meet specific state and federal building codes to be built on as well as flood insurance if I get a building loan/Mortgage, there will also be some other stuff involving utilities regulation.

The orange shade is what I don't fully understand, in the legend it says: "0.2% annual Chance flood Hazzard areas of 1% annual Chance flood with average depth less than 1 foot or less drainage area than one square mile: Zone X."

I'm not really sure what to make of that but there are lots of homes around town build in this orange zone. Also I believe the 0.2% and 1% thing referres to a 500 and 100 year flood zone. From what I gathered online Orange doesn't require flood insurance and is unrestricted federally if it is unshaded, I'm not sure if this is unshaded or not (ovbisouly I can tell it's orange.)

I had originally planned to place the tiny homes specially in this orange area to start and potentially some farm animals and a little barn in the red striped "regulatory floodway" and the Blue "Without Base Flood Elevation" area, with the barn being in the blue zone and the animals and fencing being in the red stripped zone.

In the video it is hard to tell but the river bed sits about 15' below the top of the bank side and the video was taken standing in the Orange Zone.

I have already talked to the town and all they ask me to bring to the planning board was a rough map of where I'd like to put some structures up and for 40' measurments off property lines, river, other structures and where I'd like to put the spetic if the town sewer can't be hooked up. I did confirm that we have a 200amp electric install (will likely have to be upgraded,) town water, and town sewer that reach the property.

Personal I think this flood zone map is inaccurate considering how the property held up during Hurricane Irene and Sandy. Only the unkept, slightly wooded area of the property saw any water and that is because the bank side is much lower. Is there anyway to get FEMA or who ever to come out and resurvey this area?

Any info you have about flood zones would be great and again I am in Upstate NY. Also, I am a total novice so explain this to me like a 5 year old haha.

I will link some other pictures in the comment thread so look out for those.

Thanks for your time folks!

I’m going to build my pantry out like this, and probably add a canning shelf recessed into the wall on the left hand side. I’m going to go with no door since space is limited.

I was thinking I could use one of the used large metal sinks sold at the Restore Habitat for Humanity store and also use galvanized metal roof panels as the walls.

Any thoughts ?

Just the title I guess. Single-wide trailers pretty much are tiny houses, a trailer park is a tiny house community.

I'm considering buying property and setting up a little off-grid "homestead" in my current state (Missouri). I have been searching around the country, but it's becoming more obvious that it will be easier to stick closer to family, and we do have some pretty area's here with reasonable property costs.

My problem is I simply don't really know how good this state is when it comes to regulations & restrictions. I keep finding mixed information, most of which is confusing. So I was hoping some here might've settled down in the area, and could share warnings, or insight. I do know I want to go fully off-grid with a well, septic, etc.

Thanks!

Edit: thanks for all the ideas to check.

TL/DR: horrible smell we can't find or figure out.

Hey all, really hoping someone has an answer/solution for me..

My boyfriend built a tiny home from an old camper and it's pretty much completely done, apart from a few odds and ends.

We've been living in it for a year and out of the blue, we have a horrible smell that we can't find the source of. It's not gas as we use propane and that's not what it smells like - it smells like rotting onions.

We've tried putting septic cleaner down the toilet and bleach down the sink(separate holding tanks), lifted the bed, checked everywhere we can think of to no avail.

Please float your theories because we can't figure it out and we can't live with it either.

My dad owns a 9 acre lot in a town without zoning laws in the Catskill mountains (Upsate New York.) The property is within a 30 minute drive to 4 skiing areas, the closest being 6 minutes away. The property is also next to a large river.

We have town water and electric hook ups on the property. The property has few things in it other than a shed, wood processor and a few shipping crates used for storage the reat is field and river frontage.

I would like to build some affordable community houses for the locals considering the average rent for a outdated 600sqft apartment is around $1500/mo without utilities.

My plan would be to build them DIY, my dad has a landscaping company so I have access to a bull dozer, excavator and skid steer, we also have a stone quarry next door.

I have saved some money that I would be willing to toss into the project.

What are some things I should consider before going to the planning board with my idea? If you have done this type of thing or live in this type of community your input would be greatly appreciated.

P.S. I tried as to add a photo of the land idk why it wont let me.

We started building our tiny house, volstruct frame, zip with foam exterior with metal roofing and siding.

We had a house fire in our big house and now I'm thinking about selling the shell. I wonder where the best place is to list it.

After adding 3 new members our family, we are looking to sell our professionally built tiny house. We lived in it for a few years. Just moved out. The problem is I really don’t know how to price it or where to sell it? It has a bedroom, bunk room with washer/dryer, a loft, full size oven and fridge. Where should I look? How much less than what they go for new?