How to Maximize Your Teacup’s Resale Value

If your life goals involve living out your retirement dreams in a Teacup built for two, we can help you make that happen! But if your future is uncertain or a tiny home is just a stop along the way, you’ll want to build some flexibility into your plans. One way to do that is to begin your tiny journey with resale value in mind. But which factors can maximize resale value? Let’s dive in.

Certifications.

As the tiny living movement gains momentum, more requirements are put in place- and that’s a good thing! Requirements mean that legalization is spreading. But while we’re excited to see that happen, the powers that be will need standards to determine the requirements, and that’s where certifications come into play.

Certifications speak to the fact that a tiny house is well-built and follows a safety standard. They also give financiers, insurance companies, and local municipalities something to base their endorsement on. You may not need a certification to get insurance or obtain financing today, but if you plan to resell your Teacup, this requirement will likely exist. Either way, certifications give buyers more confidence, so buying a tiny cottage with one is one of the best things you can do to keep the resale value high!

Climate Considerations.

So you plan to park your Teacup in California! That’s great (and we love your style!), but if you suspect the future may involve passing your tiny house onto someone else, let us gently remind you that the new owner may live in a totally different climate!

Tiny home RV's are movable, so your buyer pool could be huge if you think ahead and plan a build that will do well in various climates. A larger buying pool will increase your resale value, thanks to competition, and buyers will likely pay more for a house with options! 

So is your water heater up for harsh winters? Is your ventilation system prepared for humidity? Don’t worry if you don’t know all the answers now; we’ll talk through it all when you book a Discovery Call!

Toilets.

Ah, toilets. If you are just beginning your tiny journey, you should know that toilets play a huge role in determining your tiny home's parking spot! This is because different toilets require different hookups.

Traditional toilets are great, but they require that you dispose of blackwater (poo water). Disposing of blackwater requires that your parking space have a traditional sewer or septic system, and while either is nice, the options may not be available. This is where a composting toilet can come in handy!

Composting toilets take blackwater out of the equation and thereby simplify the hookup requirements while increasing your parking options. At Teacup, we use the Separett Villa composting toilet in our builds, and our clients love them!

There is no wrong choice when it comes to toilets, but if resale value is on your mind, you’ll want to give buyers options. Some buyers will want the simplicity and flexibility of a composting toilet, while others will want a toilet they’re used to. It’s also worth noting that some municipalities require a tiny cottage to be hooked up to a traditional sewer to be considered legal.

So what’s a tiny cottage owner to do? Well, if it’s in the budget, we’d recommend double-plumbing. Double-plumbing means that we will build your Teacup to accommodate a traditional flush and composting toilet, so you can swap them out depending on what will serve you- and any new owners- best.

Keep all of your paperwork.

When your Teacup arrives, you will get a whole stack of warranties, appliance manuals, documentation slips, and more. Be sure to put these things somewhere safe because keeping track of them now will mean more money in your pocket later on. 

Having official documentation makes you look like an organized seller, which attracts confident buyers. So make sure you register those appliances and keep any repair or maintenance documentation you collect along the way. Your future self will thank you!

Save photos/videos of the build process.

When you build a Teacup tiny cottage with us, we send you pictures and videos of your build all along the way. And while these moments are a cute way to keep you in the loop, they also serve an important purpose when it comes to resale!  

Pictures and videos show potential buyers what’s behind the walls and where! This information can calm their fears, show inspectors what’s going on, and serve as a guide for any contractors they may hire to do work in the future.

Our recommendation? Save those pictures and videos on a zip drive, and keep it with the rest of your tiny cottage paperwork. Tiny living is about keeping things simple, after all!

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Resale is not everything!

Resale value is important, but please don’t let concerns about the future take center stage. Remember that your Teacup is for you. So include resale upgrades as your budget allows, but don’t lose sleep over them. We only provide these suggestions to help you make your own best decisions when going tiny!

And speaking of going tiny, let us know how we can support you in your journey! If you’re just getting the lay of the land, we have a pretty awesome Instagram account, and we’d love for you to join us. And if you found this post helpful, you can subscribe to the blog here to get a complete tiny cottage education right in your inbox!

Our team at Teacup works hard to support you at every stage, so whether you need help with financing, the 4-1-1 on getting into a better position to borrow, or need to know what your Teacup will cost, we can help!

Do you know which Teacup you’d choose and have financing in place but keep going around in circles because it feels like such a big decision? 

Yup! We know that one! And we totally get it. If it’s you, though, please just book a Discover Call already! :-) We promise we are a laid-back team who just wants to answer your questions and get excited about your build.

That’s all for now, but we’ll see you next week on the blog, tomorrow on Insta, and hopefully soon on that Discovery Call! ;)

Until then,

-Jen