Two homes that look the same, financed like different planets
Put a modular cottage and a tiny home on wheels side by side and most people can't tell them apart. Your bank can. One is real property — mortgage territory. The other is chattel — personal property, financed like a vehicle.
Choosing between them without understanding this difference is the most expensive mistake in tiny home buying.
Tiny home on wheels: chattel
A THOW sits on a trailer. Legally it's a movable good, like an RV, no matter how beautiful the cedar siding is.
What that means for money:
- No mortgage. Financing is RV-style or chattel lending: shorter terms, higher rates than mortgages.
- Certification is everything. A THOW built under the CSA Z240 RV pathway is a recognized, insurable unit; an uncertified build is a liability most lenders and insurers simply decline.
- Insurance follows the same logic — certified units get real policies.
A THOW is the right choice when mobility, placement flexibility, or a lower entry price is the point. Our flagship Aurora Compact is built exactly for this — certified, documented, and financeable through the channels that actually serve THOWs.
Modular on a foundation: real property
A CSA A277 modular home is factory-built to your provincial building code with third-party inspection, then permanently set on a foundation. Once it's affixed and titled with the land, it's real estate.
What that means for money:
- Conventional and CMHC-insured mortgage financing — mortgage rates, mortgage amortizations.
- Eligibility for CMHC-supported refinancing when built as a garden or laneway suite.
- Appraisable, resellable value attached to the land.
The decision in one question
Will this home stay put? If yes — especially if it's going in your backyard as a suite — build modular and finance it like the real estate it is. If the point is to move it, build a certified THOW and finance it honestly as chattel.
What to avoid entirely
The uncertified build. No CSA pathway means no recognized standard, which means lenders decline, insurers decline, and municipalities have nothing to point to when you ask to place it. Whatever you save up front, you pay back in doors that won't open.
Every KYRAX model is built under a named CSA pathway — see how each one finances, or talk to us about your situation.