1
What is the product?
Request the proposed classification, intended use, plans, labels, standards, chassis or foundation details, dimensions, and weight records that actually exist.
Seven common paths
Choose by the work you can responsibly own
No row is automatically cheaper or better. The useful question is whether the scope, proof, and remaining work fit your skills, site, local review path, and tolerance for coordination.
| Path | May fit when | Responsibility you inherit | Get in writing | Still needs a separate answer |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Plans or floor plans | You or your contractor can turn drawings into a complete, locally reviewed build. | Materials, trade sequencing, site details, permits, inspections, and any engineering or revisions not included. | Every sheet included, design criteria, engineering status, revision rights, support, and refund terms. | Whether the set is sufficient and acceptable for your site and review authority. |
| Kit | You can manage assembly and every item outside the package. | Labor, tools, missing components, substitutions, foundation or trailer, systems, finishes, unloading, and corrections unless named. | Bill of materials, excluded components, stamped details if offered, assembly instructions, delivery, unloading, substitutions, and warranty. | Whether the package and completed assembly fit the intended building and placement path. |
| Shell | You have a credible plan and qualified help for everything after the structure closes in. | Plumbing, electrical, heating and cooling, insulation, interiors, fixtures, finish inspections, and site connections unless named. | Exact completion boundary, materials, weather-tight standard, rough-ins, inspection records, delivery, setup, and correction responsibility. | Who will complete and certify each remaining system and inspection. |
| Tiny house on wheels (THOW) or trailer build | Mobility is essential and you can coordinate chassis, weight, road, build, and placement questions separately. | Weight management, loading, braking and towing compatibility, build attachment, utilities, setup, and local-use verification. | Chassis design, manufacturer and VIN records, gross vehicle weight rating, axle and tire ratings, build drawings, actual weight, and inspection records. | Road documentation does not answer where or how the unit may be occupied. |
| Custom tiny-home builder | You want one party to own a clearly defined portion of design and construction. | Anything excluded from design, permitting, site work, delivery, setup, utilities, corrections, and final approval. | Plans, proposed standard, license and insurance where applicable, references, scope, schedule, payment stages, change orders, inspections, warranty, and cancellation terms. | Whether the builder's proposed product and documents fit your property and intended use. |
| Conventional ADU contractor | You are pursuing a site-built accessory dwelling and need local design, permit, and trade coordination. | Any owner-supplied design, surveys, utility work, fees, site conditions, or approvals excluded from the contract. | Jurisdiction experience, design and permit scope, trade responsibility, allowances, site assumptions, inspections, change orders, and closeout documents. | Whether an ADU is available on the property and whether this contractor's scope covers the full local process. |
| Park-model or RV-style product | Your intended use and destination match the product category and the destination will review it in that lane. | Transport, setup, utility connection, site or park approval, occupancy constraints, and items outside the product standard. | Exact product category, standard and label, dimensions and weight, delivery, setup, warranty, destination requirements, and cancellation terms. | A product label or standard does not decide permanent residential use or local placement. |
Before comparing prices
Make both offers describe the same project
A plan, kit, shell, and finished home can all be advertised with one number while covering radically different work. Put these six responsibilities beside every quote.
- Design and engineering Who produces the construction set, site details, structural calculations, and revisions requested during review?
- Structure and enclosure Who supplies and installs the frame, sheathing, weather barrier, roof, windows, doors, and exterior finish?
- Systems and interior Who completes electrical, plumbing, water, wastewater, heating, cooling, ventilation, insulation, fixtures, cabinets, and finishes?
- Trailer, foundation, and setup Who designs, supplies, transports, anchors, blocks, levels, or connects the structure, and which assumptions depend on the site?
- Permits and inspections Who submits, answers corrections, schedules inspections, pays fees, and delivers final records?
- Delivery and site work Who checks access, unloading, crane or tow needs, grading, drainage, utilities, septic or sewer, and damage during transport?
Before a deposit
Get these seven answers in writing
The exact record changes by path, but the question should not disappear because a seller uses a reassuring product label.
2
What exactly is included?
Request the drawing index or bill of materials, labor, equipment, systems, finishes, delivery, unloading, setup, site work, inspections, and every named exclusion.
3
Who checks the local path?
Name who contacts planning, building, health, fire, utility, road, park, HOA, lender, and insurer decision-makers, and who answers review corrections.
4
What assumptions depend on the site?
List access, grade, soil, foundation or anchoring, wind or snow criteria, water, wastewater, power, drainage, fire access, delivery, and setup assumptions.
5
How is progress accepted?
Tie payment stages to visible work, inspections, documents, delivery, and correction milestones rather than calendar dates alone.
6
Who owns changes and corrections?
Define authorization, pricing, schedule impact, substitutions, hidden conditions, rejected work, transport damage, failed inspections, and incomplete records.
7
How can the agreement end?
Request deposit, refund, cancellation, delay, storage, warranty, dispute, lien, and unfinished-work terms before money becomes nonrefundable.
Slow down
Claims that need proof before payment
Product and approval claims
- "Legal anywhere," "no permit needed," or "approved in every state."
- A plan advertised as permit-ready without naming the design criteria or review authority.
- A VIN, trailer registration, standard, inspection, or label presented as proof of residential placement.
- "Kit," "shell," or "turnkey" used without an itemized written scope.
- Certification language borrowed from a different product category.
Contract and payment pressure
- Pressure to pay in full or make a large nonrefundable payment before documents exist.
- No written responsibility for substitutions, change orders, failed inspections, corrections, transport damage, or delays.
- No verifiable business identity, references, or license and insurance records where those apply.
- Delivery or setup promised without a site-access review and named unloading responsibility.
- A price comparison that leaves unknown work out of one side.
Source boundaries
What these records can and cannot establish
These sources help identify documents and standards to ask about. They do not approve a specific product, contractor, property, permit, occupancy, loan, or insurance policy.
International Code Council
The 2021 International Tiny House Provisions collect model-code paths relevant to some tiny-house categories. Local adoption and project acceptance vary.
Open the ICC provisionsHUD manufactured-home program
HUD explains certification labels for manufactured homes. A generic tiny house is not automatically a HUD Code manufactured home.
Open HUD homeowner resourcesNHTSA trailer records
Manufacturer, VIN, certification-label, and weight records can matter to a trailer purchase. They do not establish residential occupancy.
Open NHTSA certification FAQsFederal Trade Commission
FTC contractor guidance supports written estimates and contracts, checking credentials where applicable, and resisting full upfront payment pressure.
Open the FTC guidanceRV industry standards
RVIA identifies RV and park-model standards and describes intended recreational or seasonal use. This is industry guidance, not local approval.
Open the RVIA standards page Read RVIA's product definitionSources last checked: 2026-07-29.