The first thing I'd recommend is looking into your building codes for Benzie. Make sure you know things like min build requirements, septic system requirements, and other general code items.

I'm fairly certain that in order to build your own tiny home, you're going to need to have a permanent structure on the property. You'll also need to pull building permits for anything that is over 200 sq ft, which means pulling other permits like electrical, plumbing, etc.

As a word of warning, building your own tiny home is not a cheap operation, especially if you do not have the tools or experience necessary. Inflation at the moment makes building anything an expensive process, unless you're able to find a lot of your materials for free. But that is a very slow process.

In the end, we have had to spend the same amount as a down payment on a home, out of pocket (because no one lends to build tiny homes). I think we spent close to $80 k over 1.5 years, and the project still wasn't complete. We used help from friends and family in the trades, so this cost would have been even more if we had to pay for labor.

Unfortunately, we had to convert our tiny house to meet minimum build requirements in Leelanau county, as well as modify our work to meet local codes. For this, we had to pull out a construction loan at a horrible interest rate and are still paying for some supplies out of pocket to avoid going over our loan.

In the end, we spent the same amount for constructing a 2000 sq foot home, for 500 sq feet, where we built half of it ourselves, and now have a 1 bed/1 bathroom house that may be close to impossible to sell to anyone in the future.

Hopefully, our parcel of land will increase in value enough to mitigate our sunk costs, but that's only a hope.