- Environmental consciousness, minimalist living, and saving money are all reasons why people are becoming interested in living in a tiny house
- The media has helped fuel the growing fad of tiny house living
- Vermont remains a top location for those wishing to live the tiny home lifestyle
- Acquiring the right insurance must be a high priority of anyone living in a tiny home
The minimalist lifestyle seems to be growing expansively across the United States.
Vermont, in particular, is the desired location for many people choosing to go with cost-effective tiny homes.
Living in a tiny home, a property comprised of only 100 to 400 square feet can be an inexpensive and amazing experience. Responsibilities do come with owning a tiny home. The right insurance needs to be in place.
If you’re looking to live in a tiny home in Vermont and need better and affordable insurance, compare at least three to four policies today by entering your ZIP code above!
The New Fad of Tiny Homes
What caused all this newfound popularity in tiny homes? How did owning a tiny home become a movement?
Media exposure, not too surprisingly, played a significant role in turning people onto the concept of living in a tiny house. Tiny homes seem to be all over cable television these days.
Tiny House Nation on FYI definitely presents these small-scale homes in a good light. Tiny House Nation even spawned a spinoff called Tiny House Hunting.
HGTV airs three programs featuring tiny homes and their dwellers. Tiny House, Big Living, Tiny House Builders, and Tiny House Hunters all feature fun, drama, and even a bit of lifestyle education.
The DIY Network also airs a program titled Tiny Houses: Living Large in a Small Space.
All these shows on television mean one thing: a sizable audience is interested in learning more about these homes and, possibly, moving into one.
Tiny Homes: The Newest American Dream
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tTTwzwKLZak
Those learning about the tiny home phenomenon might be wondering why so many people are attracted to this type of living. Several different factors influence people towards purchasing this kind of home.
The Burlington Free Press points out a host of reasons why people are gravitating towards tiny houses.
“Simple living” is mentioned as one reason. The other, to no one’s real surprise, is cost.
A full-sized home can be enormously expensive and far outside the budget of someone who would never be able to procure a $350,000 mortgage. A tiny house comes with far less cost which, in turn, makes the home both more affordable and accessible.
Environmental consciousness seems to play a role as well. People are really into conservation these days. A smaller home requires less energy to heat and cool. After all, there is less of it.
While a tiny house may not be the perfect green abode, such a dwelling is greener than larger structures.
Energy-efficient costs alone might be enough to influence more than a few people to hop aboard the tiny house bandwagon.
Insuring Tiny Homes in Vermont
Before insuring a tiny home in Vermont, the home may need to be built from the ground up. The limited amount of available tiny homes requires most people interested in living in a tiny home must contact a builder capable of creating such a unique home.
– Two Top Contractors
There are two well-known contractors in Vermont that specialize in building tiny homes:
- Tiny House Crafters, LLC in Southern Vermont
- Jamaica Cottage Shop in South Londonderry, VT
Making the decision to live in a tiny home requires more than contacting a home builder and agreeing to a proposal. The would-be tiny homeowner needs a place to put the abode.
Where on earth, Vermont specifically, can a tiny home be parked? Generally, the tiny home would need to be built on top of someone else’s land since purchasing an ultra-small lot of land may not be feasible or even possible.
– The Private Land Option
Putting the tiny home on land in a person’s backyard or somewhere on private property definitely is possible. Granted, the landowner will retain a large number of rights.
The home rests on top of someone else’s property, which may bring forth trouble in the future.
– Mobile Tiny Homes
The house does not even need to be a permanent structure on the land. The tiny home could even be built on wheels for potential mobility. Putting the tiny home on wheels allows it to be moved to an entirely new location with ease.
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The tiny home could even possibly be moved to a storage location until a better location is available. Storing your tiny home depends on whether a storage facility would accept it.
Interestingly, once wheels are added to a tiny home, the home is no longer considered a home.
In Vermont, the “home” might be deemed a “trailer.”
Check with local rules and regulations to determine what happens to the status of a home once it is placed on wheels. Make no assumptions since issues such as insurance need to be addressed when this happens.
– RV Parks and Unique Communities
Maybe moving the tiny home to an RV park would be a viable option.
Research what particular RV parks in Vermont would accept a tiny home on wheels. Maybe the management of the park would be more willing to accept such homes-on-wheels than initially believed.
Would it be possible to move into a community that dedicates itself to tiny house living? Doing so is definitely possible.
Such places exist, and Vermont is home to them.
Looking closely at the various communities would assist with making a decision regarding which one to live in if at all.
Auto Insurance for Tiny Houses on Wheels in Vermont
Once that tiny home is placed on wheels, questions and concerns about insurance need to be addressed.
Choosing to place the house in an RV camp and delineating the home as an RV means purchasing RV insurance is unavoidable. Otherwise, the owner of the newly-crowned RV would be personally liable for losses and damages.
Basic coverage for an RV focuses on a decent amount of liability coverage.
Additional coverage available includes:
- Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist Coverage
- Collision Coverage
- Comprehensive Coverage
Yes, this would be no different than the case with seeking traditional auto insurance. Total loss coverage may be worth investing in since the goal of the home is to live in it. A total loss from, say, a fire or natural disaster means a loss of a habituated dwelling.
– Check Out Manufactured Home Insurance
Another option exists and comes in the form of insurance for manufactured homes. Insurance for manufactured homes is a bit different from insurance for modular or mobile homes.
The construction standards for manufactured homes may be very high and can be permanently installed on the location in which they are placed.
– Tiny Home Specialty Insurance
Purchasing tiny homeowner’s insurance is also available for those particular homes that qualify. Since the home is so small and possibly mobile, the possibility of someone stealing it exists. Although, these policies may exclude the actual theft of the home.
Otherwise, the policy is similar in many ways to traditional homeowner’s insurance.
In fact, tiny home insurance can be bundled with other types of policies. Bundling the policy with one for auto insurance is surely a possibility.
Have the Right Coverage
Just be sure all purchased insurance policies reflect the appropriate amount of coverage. Also, look for ways to save money on the acquired coverage.
– Compare Multiple Policies
Just looking over one insurance policy won’t be adequate. To get the best type of coverage, it is important to examine a few policies and check out the different benefits they offer.
– Review Every Six Months
Becoming too complacent with a particular insurance policy simply is not good business. In the event of suffering a loss, the insured relies heavily on the provider for a settlement.
Making sure the current coverage in place lives up to expectations puts requirements on the insured to constantly look for the best coverage.
– Consider the Financial Health of the Provider
Review ratings of various providers. An insurance company on weak financial footing might not be the best one to procure insurance from.
A financially struggling insurance company may be in a bad position to make settlements.
– Consider Additional Coverage Options
The customer must re-examine coverage limits to determine if they are enough. Being underinsured for losses and liabilities would not be a good thing at all.
Tally up current assets to figure out if the present level of insurance coverage really is adequate.
A bit of thought and planning must be performed before choosing to make the move to a tiny home. Thinking things over makes sense. After all, the would-be tiny house resident must be pleased with the eventual decision.
If you need your tiny home insured, enter your ZIP code below and start comparison shopping for better insurance today!