Tiny Estates Blog

UPDATE: Brandi and Jon's Tiny Home Journey We first introduced you to Brandi and Jon in December 2018.  They are on their journey to tiny house ownership, and it’s been about two months and we want to give you an update on where they are in their process. When we last blogged about Brandi and Jon, they were scheduled to have a settlement on their 2000sq ft home on January 25th.  Just prior to this, they were informed that the buyer’s buyer had backed out of their offer on their home they were selling, and the buyers could no longer move forward with settlement on Brandi and Jon’s home.  This was a devastating blow to them both, as they all just took huge steps in this exciting yet scary process.  The family already paired down their large home, giving away almost all of their big furniture and many important items to family and friends, so now what? In the meantime, they took their son, Nate, back to college in New York after winter break, an...

Where can I find tiny house insurance?   Are you overwhelmed with trying to find good quality insurance for your tiny house on wheels?  You’re probably not alone.  Trying to search “tiny home insurance” on Google, is not going to get you very far.  In fact, it will probably frustrate you more than anything.  This is how I began my search for tiny house insurance companies for my future tiny home build. I wanted to know what to expect when insuring my THOW and how to choose a policy and company to fit my needs. I meet people every day who are building, and if I can share my experience and knowledge, it might help make someone else’s frustrating search a little easier. More than anything, I feel like I was misled and given the runaround while trying to reach out to the names and companies I found on the internet.  Between retired names, contacts and agents who were going to send me information or have someone contact me from a local agency, al...

The Houses:  The Urban Loft New Jersey native, Vickie Casey is one of the latest investors to bring a tiny home to TE for the purpose of investing.  This tiny home is unique and urban and nothing like we’ve seen here before. The new Urban Loft is going to wow all our guests.  Vickie and her daughter both designed this home to resemble a New York City urban loft apartment and they succeeded. When you open the front door of the Urban Loft, you will be wowed with the open feel of full height ceilings and large stacked windows, allowing in an ample amount of natural light.  The main living space features a faux red brick wall, which helps give the feel of the natural exposed brick walls you might see in some repurposed buildings turned into NYC apartments.  The couch will also double as a sleeper that could accommodate two and the loft above the kitchen has a twin, so the house will comfortably sleep five people. The kitchen spans the width...

Is tiny the answer? With the bitter cold we’ve been experiencing in the North East, one can’t help but think about the homeless population and how they are making it through this frigid weather.  The National Law Center for Homeless and Poverty reports that nearly 3.5 million people experience homelessness each year.  Some seem to think the use of tiny homes is the answer to getting people off the streets. It very well could be and off the top of your head, it sounds like a great idea, however, the use of tiny homes as homeless shelters have faced many challenges, and unfortunately, in some cases probably fewer successes than anticipated. There is no doubt that providing housing to the homeless is something we would all like to see happen.  However, there are costs associated with this idea, that most don’t realize.  From several tiny home communities across the country, we have seen housing costs anywhere from $10,000 to upwards of $88,000 per hom...