You may have noticed a trend of more and more people buying tiny homes. This may be a fad but it's a trend worth following, especially since large cities have been jumping on the tiny home bandwagon to rejuvenate areas that were in decline.
Another trend to watch for is "skinny" homes or homes that do not fit the image of a traditional rectangular home. Due to small irregular shaped lots in very desirable neighborhoods, some creative landowners are opting for homes that maximize the land space with as little waste as possible. One of the more famous examples of this is the "pie" shaped home that you can learn more about here.
Is there a difference when purchasing or insuring a tiny home or a skinny home? Absolutely.
For one, a tiny home typically will be manufactured off-site, transported to it's final location, and finished once there. Often they will have an axle or metal chassis under the home as a frame. This means it will either need to be built upon piers/posts or sit on it's wheels for support to avoid the axle from touching the ground. For those reasons tiny homes are more similar to mobiles homes or trailers than stick frame built homes.
A skinny home on the other hand may have trusses or minor parts of the home prefabricated off-site but like traditional construction everything else is built on site. Another major difference is that these homes will adhere to state and local building codes, even if they require special approval for irregular shapes and sizes. This makes these homes very similar to traditional construction and should be easy to get financing on and insure. If you are considering a tiny home versus a skinny home make sure you understand the difference in the availability of financing, zoning, and cost of insurance before proceeding.