The Ultimate Guide to Building Your Own Tiny House is now available! We'll teach you how to start up your second stream of income in 6 months or less!

Steph Douglass, one of our founders, is a pro when it comes to remodeling. She has taken numerous not-so-cute homes and turned them into adorable properties (like this one here). One thing she hadn’t done before? Built a tiny house. Now she can check that off her list.

Clearly, based on the above photo alone, she did one heck of a job. But was it easy? How much did it cost? Did she have help? How much did she do on her own? What does she plan on doing with it? Well, if you want to know the answers to these questions, just keep on reading!

Interested in purchasing a property and eventually building a tiny home? Let’s schedule a call and talk! We’d love to help you realize the full money making potential of real estate.

How to Build a Tiny House: From Costs to Construction

Steph purchased the property in 2013. A 830 sqft 2/1 in Austin, Texas sitting on .13 acres of land. She saw the potential of this not so cute property early on, and snagged it at $180k for payments of $1,255 PITI (principal, interest, taxes insurance) per month. She has a couple properties around Austin, and she made the smart choice to spend time living in each while she remodeled and rented her other properties.

At the beginning of 2020, Steph moved into the main house and began planning her to build a tiny home in the backyard of the property.

Working with her partner Alan, she decided to place the tiny house in the right corner of the backyard. They also decided that a loft would be a great way to utilize space, so they settled on a 340 sqft tiny home. Because of the loft, the actual footprint is 240 sqft.

Steph also made the GENIUS decision to include her friend Allegra. Allegra was also building a tiny house on her property, and by using the same contractor to build identical homes, they each saved around $5,000!

One of the first (and biggest) decisions that Steph had to make was the type of foundation she wanted for the tiny house. After weighing her options, she decided to go with a pier and beam foundation (pictured below) rather than a slab foundation.

Although pier and beam is more expensive and tends to move a bit, it’s easier to fix if there are major repairs. With pier and beam, you’re able to get under the house to address plumbing issues and move plumbing if necessary. Slab foundation is a concrete slab that is poured over the plumbing, which means the plumbing is set in concrete. This makes it very expensive and difficult to repair in foundation issues and plumbing is inaccessible.

It was essential that this tiny house be fully functional, with AC/heat, plumbing, electricity, etc. They knew they wanted a full bathroom and kitchen, so they could rent this out on Airbnb or to a full time tenant. This decision was key from the get-go because they needed to know the where plumbing would be placed for the bathroom and kitchen.

Here is what the building process looked like:

Next was making interior touches, such as adding tiles, appliances, paint, and other key features. This process took a while, as Steph and Alan decided to tackle a lot of the work themselves, which we’ll break down further along.

After the 3 months of work was said and done, the finished product was pretty stunning.

Here is the exterior:

And the finished interior:

In the end, Steph and Alan did A LOT themselves. Here is what they did:

• layout

• flooring

• kitchen installation

• trim

• decking

• fencing

• landscaping

• furnishing

And here is what they hired out:

• pier and beam foundation

• framing

• siding

• windows

• doors

• roof

• plumbing electrical

• gutters

• mini-split HVAC

This tiny house took a lot of work, and although it could have all been hired out, Steph and Alan saved A LOT of money by doing as much as they could themselves.

Now let’s check out the costs:

• Shell of the house (foundation, framing, windows, doors and roof): $12,000

• Plumbing and electrical: $9,000

• Additional work: $9,000

• Total cost of home: $30,000

This is INSANE! The normal cost of a tiny house this size is between $50-60k, but by doing a lot of the work themselves, Steph and Alan were able to save $20-30k. They could even build a second tiny house with that money!

What’s Their Plan?

Steph and Alan are currently renting out this tiny house on Airbnb. Through short term rentals, they made back their entire investment in 11 months. They are also using a property management company called Pink Bubble Properties to handle the day to day.

Now if you consider the property’s mortgage payments, which are $1,255 PITI as mentioned earlier, and the $3,530 average they currently make per month through rentals, they are MAKING money every month. This isn’t even including the fact that they are able to rent out the main house as well.

TINY HOUSE GUIDE

Steph and Alan show the potential a tiny house can bring to an investment property. Although they had to spend a lot of money in 3 months, they are quickly able to turn this property into a huge money maker.

Do you want to follow in their footsteps? Make sure to learn with our comprehensive tiny house guide! You’ll not only get a step by step by guide but also a community to talk through things with and accountability along the way.

The Tiny Home Guide includes: 

• Detailed instructions from research phase to income production

• The build sequence (with photos!) to efficiently manage your own tiny home project

• Budget and planning spreadsheet template to ensure your project stays within budget

• Comprehensive materials list and order schedule to prevent delays

• Workbook to track your progress, take notes, and keep you on budget 

• Accountability and community from other Open House Tiny Home Builders like yourself

Further Reading