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Digital download · 13 chapters + 4 printable worksheets

The Tiny Home Buyer's Playbook

About to buy a tiny home or cabin kit on Amazon? The kit price is only about a third of what you'll actually spend — and the listing page won't tell you that.

📕 ~30 print pages ⚡ Instant PDF download
$39
one-time payment · yours forever · instant download
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Every guide on this site helps you research a tiny home. The Playbook is what makes sure you don't buy it in the wrong order — land before kit, permits before delivery, budget before everything. It walks the whole project chapter by chapter, in the sequence things actually happen, so the expensive surprises arrive on paper instead of on your property.

The honest pitch

Buy it before you buy the kit. One avoided mistake — a foundation poured for the wrong footprint, a delivery truck that can't reach your site, a permit filed in the wrong category — pays for this guide many times over. You're protecting an $18,000–$45,000 project; $39 is the cheapest insurance on it.

What's inside

Chapter 1
The real math: what a tiny home actually costs
The 2.5× rule — why the kit is the beginning of the budget, not the budget.
Chapter 2
Choosing your kit
Cabin kits vs. expandable prefabs vs. container homes — matched to how you'll actually live.
Chapter 3
Land first: settle the dirt before the kit
The land checklist chapter — what to verify about a parcel before a dollar moves.
Chapter 4
Legal & permits, in plain English
The questions to ask your local office, with a phone script you can read word for word.
Chapter 5
Foundation & site prep
Piers, slabs, skids — and the site work that has to happen before the truck.
Chapter 6
Delivery day: how kits actually arrive
Access, cranes, and staging — the part the listing photos never show.
Chapter 7
Utilities: power, water, and waste
Grid tie-in vs. off-grid, wells, septic, and what each really costs.
Chapter 8
Finishing the interior
The right finishing order so you don't pay for the same work twice.
Chapter 9
Money: financing & insurance
How these purchases are actually funded and insured — the realistic version.
Chapter 10
Your 90-day timeline
A week-by-week plan from decision to move-in day.
Chapter 11
Two worked budgets, start to finish
A complete $18k guest cabin budget and a $46k full-time home budget, line by line.
Chapter 12
The nine most expensive mistakes
Real beginner errors and what each one costs to fix. Read twice.
Chapter 13
Living in it: the year-round chapter
Heating, cooling, moisture, and making 300 square feet work in every season.

The 4 printable worksheets

Worksheet A
Total Cost Worksheet
Your real all-in number, filled in as you go.
Worksheet B
Kit Comparison Scorecard
Score competing kits on the same criteria.
Worksheet C
Land Checklist
Everything to verify about a parcel before buying.
Worksheet D
10 Questions to Ask Any Seller
The questions that separate honest sellers from the rest.

Who it's for — and who should skip it

This is for you if…

  • You're comparing Amazon cabin kits, expandables, or container homes
  • You haven't bought land yet (best time to read it)
  • You want the real total cost before the listing page tempts you
  • You'd rather learn the expensive mistakes from someone else's list

Skip it if…

  • You've already built multiple tiny homes start to finish
  • Your project is fully permitted, delivered, and under roof
  • You just want inspiration photos — the site's guides cover that free

Questions

How do I receive the playbook after buying?

It's delivered as an instant PDF download — print it, or read it on any device. The worksheets are designed to print cleanly so you can fill them in by hand at the kitchen table.

What's actually inside?

13 chapters that walk your project in order — real all-in cost math, choosing between cabin kits, expandable prefabs, and container homes, land and permits before you order, foundations, delivery day, utilities, finishing, financing, insurance, a 90-day timeline, two fully worked budgets, the nine most expensive beginner mistakes, and a year-round living chapter — plus the 4 printable worksheets.

Is it written for my state?

The playbook is written nationally — nothing in it is state-specific. Zoning and permit rules vary by city and county everywhere, so the permits chapter gives you the exact questions to ask and a phone script for your local office, and reminds you to verify your exact address rather than trusting a state's reputation.

I already ordered my kit — is it too late?

Not necessarily. If the kit hasn't been delivered, the land, permits, foundation, delivery-day, and utilities chapters can still save you real money. The nine-mistakes chapter alone has paid for itself many times over for buyers who ordered first and read second.

Why $39 for a guide?

Because you're protecting an $18,000–$45,000 project, not buying trivia. One avoided mistake — a foundation ordered for the wrong kit, a delivery truck that can't reach your site, a permit applied for in the wrong category — costs far more than the playbook. Buyers price against the mistake, not the page count.

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