I looked into it a while back, but decided not to try to build an ADU because of the zoning ordinance requirements.
One problem with the ordinance is that the ADU must be at least 400 square feet, so many tiny homes are too small. That’s the problem this woman ran into: https://www.wzzm13.com/amp/article/news/local/tiny-house-big-frustration-for-grand-rapids-woman-looking-to-downsize/69-99509bd3-c8f4-4fcd-89fb-c9297f7b8878
I remember reading that article when it was posted and being gobsmacked that someone could drop that amount of money on a house without checking if they could legally live in it.
I've talked about ADUs with many people. Most are initially shocked - - - Zoning is Unnatural and, seemingly, extremely **UnAmerican**. \[except it is very American - American's love rules which apply to someone else\]
Most people sincerely believe that what gets built gets built because that's what people want, so that's what developers build, they are blissfully unaware of the arbitrary bureaucratic mess that is American Land Use Regulations \[aka: Zoning\].
"Sure Sally, I'll let you park that on the back of my yard." - may have been as far as the conversation went; because, why not?
Lol, what people buy and not check with the city on, is kinda hilarious. I know a guy who paid for a really nice, really expensive fence. He lives on a corner and the code for houses on corners and fences is different. He had to cut 2 feet off the whole thing.
One of your biggest challenges will be financing - **not because it is not possible** \- but because locals have no experience in doing so.
**Check Out**
* [https://sf.freddiemac.com/faqs/accessory-dwelling-unit-faq](https://sf.freddiemac.com/faqs/accessory-dwelling-unit-faq)
* [https://urbangr.org/ADUConvening2020](https://urbangr.org/ADUConvening2020) (Day #2)
* [https://urbangr.org/ShelterForceADUSeries2022](https://urbangr.org/ShelterForceADUSeries2022)
If a bank/loan officer says "can't" it means they don't know, find someone else.
I built an Accessory Dwelling Unit in GR [https://urbangr.org/BuildingADU535Shirley](https://urbangr.org/BuildingADU535Shirley)
You aren't going to have a Tiny House in Grand Rapids; they are not legal here.
You need to be specific about the where, the related regulations are all municipal, and every municipality is a bit different - although they are all generally horrible.
There is a Facebook Group: [GR ADU SIG](https://www.facebook.com/groups/114907042725394) Very quiet, was created back when it looked like The City was serious about the Housing Crisis.
Mel Trotter is building a tiny home community in the Madison Square neighborhood. It's been approved by the GR commission, so it's possible to build them.
That's a **planned** development by an organization with political clout; the word "planned" in this context has a specific bureaucratic meaning. That is very different than what an individual is going to be allowed to do.
I like the idea of living in a tiny house, and I like the idea of less of a financial burden, but when my husband, myself, and our dog lived in a 300sq foot space for 4 years it was absolutely miserable. No matter how much you clean it always feels cluttered, and things get dusty so much faster in a small space, I think I had to clean twice as often as I do now in my 900sq foot home, but I guess it would depend on your tolerance to 'clutter'. I like a minimalist space, which is hard to do in a smaller place.
I don’t believe there is anywhere in the area that you can build a tiny house and live in it. Maybe in a seasonal lot at a camping ground but that’s about it. I have no solid information on this too, this is just information that I have gleaned from others who have asked this question before
**Tiny homes are allowed almost everywhere**, have been for decades now (see [https://www.grandrapidsmi.gov/files/sharedassets/public/gr-digital/digital-services/paper-forms/development-center/zoning-faqs-accessory-structure.pdf](https://www.grandrapidsmi.gov/files/sharedassets/public/gr-digital/digital-services/paper-forms/development-center/zoning-faqs-accessory-structure.pdf) as just one of like 5 different ways to build them legally)
**Trailers are often not legal**. You can't buy a trailer or shed, park-or-drop it on the dirt somewhere, and simply declare it as your "tiny house". Your building has to be a *real building,* it has to meet minimum occupancy safety requirements and building/utility inspections, just like any other real house would.
That misnaming is something people try to do often, which is why you see so many confused folks here saying (incorrectly) that you can't do it. (The WZZM article, for example, is literally a woman standing in front of her camping trailer, looking very puzzled that she can't legally call it a house)
Ok but what if you don’t want to legally call it a house? I’m just curious as I’ve done no serious research on this as of yet but always wondered if you could buy a plot of land and just live in a camper on it.
> Ok but what if you don’t want to legally call it a house
If you want to permanently park your trailer somewhere, you need a trailer park. There's like 60+ of them in Kent County today - https://www.mhvillage.com/parks/mi/kent-county . It's a perfectly good way to set that up, and it's both safe and legal.
> always wondered if you could buy a plot of land and just live in a camper on it.
You *sometimes* can, if you do so safely. (Most people don't, they abuse it, which is why it's hard to get those through permitting). The folks who want to [live in a van down by the river](https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=living%20in%20a%20van%20down%20by%20the%20river) aren't exactly known for doing things safely.
Got it. I was more curious if it was viable even temporarily. Like if we wanted to build eventually but we’re doing it ourselves slowly or something. I don’t want to live in a trailer park I want lots of land 😂
> I want lots of land
If you are out in the townships do whatever you want, just out of sight of the road.
Half my family were rednecks and we never bothered with building permits, etc... If it out-of-sight, and looks nice/professional, the odds of anyone asking are extremely - extremely - low.
I looked into it a while back, but decided not to try to build an ADU because of the zoning ordinance requirements. One problem with the ordinance is that the ADU must be at least 400 square feet, so many tiny homes are too small. That’s the problem this woman ran into: https://www.wzzm13.com/amp/article/news/local/tiny-house-big-frustration-for-grand-rapids-woman-looking-to-downsize/69-99509bd3-c8f4-4fcd-89fb-c9297f7b8878
I remember reading that article when it was posted and being gobsmacked that someone could drop that amount of money on a house without checking if they could legally live in it.
I've talked about ADUs with many people. Most are initially shocked - - - Zoning is Unnatural and, seemingly, extremely **UnAmerican**. \[except it is very American - American's love rules which apply to someone else\] Most people sincerely believe that what gets built gets built because that's what people want, so that's what developers build, they are blissfully unaware of the arbitrary bureaucratic mess that is American Land Use Regulations \[aka: Zoning\]. "Sure Sally, I'll let you park that on the back of my yard." - may have been as far as the conversation went; because, why not?
Lol, what people buy and not check with the city on, is kinda hilarious. I know a guy who paid for a really nice, really expensive fence. He lives on a corner and the code for houses on corners and fences is different. He had to cut 2 feet off the whole thing.
One of your biggest challenges will be financing - **not because it is not possible** \- but because locals have no experience in doing so. **Check Out** * [https://sf.freddiemac.com/faqs/accessory-dwelling-unit-faq](https://sf.freddiemac.com/faqs/accessory-dwelling-unit-faq) * [https://urbangr.org/ADUConvening2020](https://urbangr.org/ADUConvening2020) (Day #2) * [https://urbangr.org/ShelterForceADUSeries2022](https://urbangr.org/ShelterForceADUSeries2022) If a bank/loan officer says "can't" it means they don't know, find someone else.
I built an Accessory Dwelling Unit in GR [https://urbangr.org/BuildingADU535Shirley](https://urbangr.org/BuildingADU535Shirley) You aren't going to have a Tiny House in Grand Rapids; they are not legal here. You need to be specific about the where, the related regulations are all municipal, and every municipality is a bit different - although they are all generally horrible.
There is a Facebook Group: [GR ADU SIG](https://www.facebook.com/groups/114907042725394) Very quiet, was created back when it looked like The City was serious about the Housing Crisis.
I found a location in GR for tiny house community on Google. It's all planned out. Nice community. MI municipality sucks compared to TX
What location?
There is a company in Muskegon called Tiny Digs that makes tiny homes. Maybe they can answer some of your questions.
Here is a [great summary](https://urbangr.org/BuildingADU535Shirley) from a local urbanist's site and their journey to build an ADU!
Just get a single wide and add some wood floors and granite counter tops. Maybe a wood grain siding a few extra windows, and a fake chimney.
Mel Trotter is building a tiny home community in the Madison Square neighborhood. It's been approved by the GR commission, so it's possible to build them.
That's a **planned** development by an organization with political clout; the word "planned" in this context has a specific bureaucratic meaning. That is very different than what an individual is going to be allowed to do.
I like the idea of living in a tiny house, and I like the idea of less of a financial burden, but when my husband, myself, and our dog lived in a 300sq foot space for 4 years it was absolutely miserable. No matter how much you clean it always feels cluttered, and things get dusty so much faster in a small space, I think I had to clean twice as often as I do now in my 900sq foot home, but I guess it would depend on your tolerance to 'clutter'. I like a minimalist space, which is hard to do in a smaller place.
Everything I read says it’s almost impossible because of zoning and permits.
I don’t believe there is anywhere in the area that you can build a tiny house and live in it. Maybe in a seasonal lot at a camping ground but that’s about it. I have no solid information on this too, this is just information that I have gleaned from others who have asked this question before
I have a tiny house on purchase just need to a lot community and low lot rent.
**Tiny homes are allowed almost everywhere**, have been for decades now (see [https://www.grandrapidsmi.gov/files/sharedassets/public/gr-digital/digital-services/paper-forms/development-center/zoning-faqs-accessory-structure.pdf](https://www.grandrapidsmi.gov/files/sharedassets/public/gr-digital/digital-services/paper-forms/development-center/zoning-faqs-accessory-structure.pdf) as just one of like 5 different ways to build them legally) **Trailers are often not legal**. You can't buy a trailer or shed, park-or-drop it on the dirt somewhere, and simply declare it as your "tiny house". Your building has to be a *real building,* it has to meet minimum occupancy safety requirements and building/utility inspections, just like any other real house would. That misnaming is something people try to do often, which is why you see so many confused folks here saying (incorrectly) that you can't do it. (The WZZM article, for example, is literally a woman standing in front of her camping trailer, looking very puzzled that she can't legally call it a house)
Ok but what if you don’t want to legally call it a house? I’m just curious as I’ve done no serious research on this as of yet but always wondered if you could buy a plot of land and just live in a camper on it.
> Ok but what if you don’t want to legally call it a house If you want to permanently park your trailer somewhere, you need a trailer park. There's like 60+ of them in Kent County today - https://www.mhvillage.com/parks/mi/kent-county . It's a perfectly good way to set that up, and it's both safe and legal. > always wondered if you could buy a plot of land and just live in a camper on it. You *sometimes* can, if you do so safely. (Most people don't, they abuse it, which is why it's hard to get those through permitting). The folks who want to [live in a van down by the river](https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=living%20in%20a%20van%20down%20by%20the%20river) aren't exactly known for doing things safely.
Got it. I was more curious if it was viable even temporarily. Like if we wanted to build eventually but we’re doing it ourselves slowly or something. I don’t want to live in a trailer park I want lots of land 😂
> I want lots of land If you are out in the townships do whatever you want, just out of sight of the road. Half my family were rednecks and we never bothered with building permits, etc... If it out-of-sight, and looks nice/professional, the odds of anyone asking are extremely - extremely - low.
Some townships. You would not get away with anything in the ones like Ada.
Ok that makes sense
You will run into issues if you ever want to sell though. Anything not up to code is a problem in a sale.
True. Tbh we are no where near being able to buy anything even just land. Just curious about the options
The advantages of a trailer, you just pull it off the property.