8 Amazing Tiny Homes You Can Buy or Build for Under $20,000

Tiny home building has taken the nation by storm over the past few years. Many people are finding conventional 1500+ sq. ft. homes and 30-year mortgages just do not match up to their personal lifestyle. Others want to leave less of a footprint by opting for a smaller home or save more versus being strapped down by a long-term bank mortgage.

Whatever your reason, we hope that our collection of tiny homes purchased or built for less than $20,000 will inspire you to think about your own desires for life, your home, and your surroundings. Please share this post with anyone who you think would enjoy tiny home living and the ideas presented by the awesome tiny home builders featured in this article.

Let’s get started with some tiny homes, shall we?

1) 8 x 16 Tiny Home Build – About $10,000 to Complete

Cherie, a resident of North Carolina, built her tiny house on wheels for approximately $10,000 and it took her about 10 months. Even more amazing is that she did it without the help of a builder and only had a roofer and electrician come in for the two parts she could not do herself. Cherie’s tiny home comes with its own solar panel, rain gutters for collecting water, and the tiny home she built sits atop an 8×16 trailer so that she can legally tow her small home or move it when needed. Check out the pictures and video below. The video is dark. But it will still give you a good idea of what she’s accomplished.

 

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xDX0Ce431uA

2) Tiny House Listings Pre-built Homes – $10,000 ea.

If you want to purchase a tiny home already pre-built, then you can check out some of the listings over at tinyhouselistings.com. A few of the tiny homes they have listed for sale caught our eye. But two, in particular, stood out.

Cozy Cabin / Tiny House – $9,999

 

1 Year Old Cabin – $10,000

 

 

3) 12 x 30 Tiny Cabin – $7,700 (Shell without Interior)

If you are looking for a tiny cabin without the interior, electrical, fixtures, etc. then there are plenty to choose from. We found many that were less than $10,000. Taking into account a small cabin for around $7,700, it’s quite possible to put another $5,000 to $7,000 into flooring, cabinets, bathroom, bedroom(s), and so on. Remember, when working with smaller square footage, the interior costs go down considerably, i.e. less wiring, less, flooring, etc.

4) Slightly Larger Tiny Home – $13,600 (Shell without Interior)

As mentioned in #3 above, purchasing a “shell” may be the way to go to save time and lots of energy. But please keep in mind that a pre-fabricated tiny house “shell” will cost you more because the company that builds it will be making a profit. However, focusing energy on interior fixtures may be exactly what some people want considering the time saved versus building the entire home from the ground up.

5) 14 x 20 Tiny Home Arched Cabin – from $6,000 to $12,300 (Shell without Interior)

We saw these amazing little arched cabins many months ago and thought they were just awesome! The company Arched Cabins makes these fantastic dwellings and you can order the cabins unassembled for about $6,000 or assemble with some upgrades for about $12,300. It takes a crew about a day to set up one of these little cabins. Arched Cabins has a larger model that runs from around $13,000 to nearly $30,000 (assembled). But the smaller 14 x 20 plan should work for your tiny home needs.

 

 

6) 128 sq. ft. Tiny House – $10,000

This couple took it upon themselves to design and fully build their tiny home that came in at about $10,000. They saved money by doing all of the work themselves. They even used recycled wood, secondhand Craigslist materials, and family-donated items. You can follow their journey at their Living in a tiny house blog. Here’s a few pictures and a video of their cozy little home.

 

7) 198 sq. ft. Micro Home – $11,000 (Plans are Available)

We’ve seen Macy Miller’s tiny house picture floating around other blogs for quite a while. When writing this article we knew we had to include her tiny home in our list. Coming in at around $11,000, Macy designed and built this home with functional aspects and many recycled and reclaimed materials, like counter, cabinets, and other items. To view all pictures of Macy’s micro home, visit TinyHouseTalk.com.

 

 

8) 161 sq. ft. New Zealand Tiny House – $10,200

Most of the tiny homes above can be pulled with the right trailer plates and a truck with enough towing capacity. The New Zealand tiny house pictured below is no exception. Coming in at 161 sq. ft., this home has all the amenities you’d need to live mortgage-free and happy.

 

 

These tiny homes above should give you a great starting point when deciding on your own tiny home, such as space saving ideas, price points of materials, expectations, how to get the small comforts you need, i.e. heating, water, shower, appropriate toilet for your home, and even how to design your kitchen or loft for sleeping.

We’d love to hear some ideas below in the comments regarding what others have experienced as far as pricing for their own tiny homes — even if you’ve only been shopping around for ideas. Thanks for reading!