For two years, Wise and her family lived in a less than 600-square-foot home, The Blue Baloo. She lived in a tiny house community and currently runs Far Out Tiny Homes. “They are looking for some baseline as far as how your home was built and who it was built by,” she said in a video about tiny house communities. Some state and local governments may also require homes to meet regular-sized home standards. Such was the case for empty nesters, Karen and Phil Ashford who live in Agape House, their 374-square-foot tiny home. They built their home in Maryland and was featured on Tiny House Nation. When they tried to find parking for their home, they learned that it was too small to meet International Construction Code standards at the time. “Even if we put it on a foundation and removed the wheels, it would be smaller than allowed,” they said. “In addition, there would’ve been a requirement for an environmental impact study costing tens of thousands of dollars.” After unsuccessfully looking for a place to park in Maryland, they moved to Florida, where they could legally park their tiny home at Circle Pond tiny home community. “Do you think you will groove with the people that live there?” She said. “You will want good neighbors surrounding you and a nice space to hang outside.” Some tiny home communities are built around a common lifestyle or interest, such as permaculture or spirituality, and residents are expected to participate. Such was the case for the Wildwoods Permaculture Farm, where residents connected over their passion for permaculture and sustainable living. “Some communities are insular and others are inclusive and involvement in community activities is expected,” the Ashfords said. Decide what makes the most sense for your lifestyle. When it comes to electricity, most communities offer a 30 or 50 AMP service, Wise said. But it’s also good to know if you can simply “plug and play” or if you need to hard wire your home. You’ll also want to know about the plumbing setup and if your existing system is permissible. “These costs add up quickly, and you want to make sure that you understand what it’s going to take to legally hook that tiny home up in the community,” she said. For Wise and her family, they spent a lot of time outdoors, so having a fence in their community was key. If that’s important to you, too, she recommends asking if you’ll be responsible for putting up the fence or the property managers. The Ashfords recommend paying attention to how much “elbow room” you get between houses. Some communities even offer plot options at different price points, like Incredible Tiny Homes in Tennessee. “Treat the tour and time with the property manager as an interview,” Wise said. “Understand how they will take care of issues. Know what will be expected of you within the community. Get to know the rules and ask lots of questions. Make sure you understand how your home can be placed within your lot.”
