Tiny cottage community

[Josh Barnett]

Hey everyone, my names Josh and live in the Tampa Bay Area. I am a firefighter/paramedic interested in building a tiny cottage community. I am new to real estate investing and would love to hear everyone’s thoughts and opinions.

I’ve always entertained the idea of building a tiny cottage community. My strategy would be to acquire a piece of property, zone it accordingly, and build ONE 400-600 sqft cottage and rent it out. As I gain more experience I would continue to build more. I believe the tiny houses would attract younger adults or I could Airbnb them. I have a lot of connections and resources. My father is a contractor but is currently starting his own building inspection company. My best friend is a realtor and I have another good friend who buys and flips. Another friend of mine actual just built his own tiny home. What are your thoughts about my idea and where should I start ?

[Jeff Copeland]

I actually manage two "cottage communities" in St Pete (though we've never referred to them as such).

We didn't build either one...Interestingly they both date from 1930, so clearly not a new idea.

(One is at 1853 29th Ave N, the other at 3900 Burlington Ave N...feel free to drive by if you're curious, but do not disturb our tenants).

We only do long term rentals, and my experience has been great. I have found both properties very easy to keep rented at relatively high rents and very low vacancy. And I find that tenants prefer having their own detached cottage to the alternative of living in a cramped apartment community.

Many of the comments in this thread refer to tiny houses (which are built on a trailer and are thus more akin to RVs or mobile homes). That is not the case for us...these are all permanent structures...more like "really small detached houses". They would require multifamily zoning, but otherwise nothing special.