About Cabin Funders

Company: Cabin Funders (JFK Capital Limited), New Zealand

What we do: Consumer cabin loans for New Zealand buyers, covering cabins, sleepouts, granny flats, minor dwellings, transportable homes, tiny homes (on wheels or fixed), DIY kitsets, and off-grid lifestyle cabins.

Why we exist: Cabins, sleepouts and tiny homes sit outside mainstream mortgage lending because they aren't permanent dwellings on owned land. Cabin Funders is a specialist consumer lender purpose-built for the segment, securing the loan against the cabin itself via the PPSR.

Key facts:

  • NZ-owned and operated, lending nationwide
  • Regulated under the Credit Contracts and Consumer Finance Act (CCCFA)
  • Financial Service Provider registration: FSP1010017
  • Decision typically within one business day
  • Direct payment to your cabin supplier on request, with staged drawdowns where appropriate
  • PPSR security taken against the cabin where required by law

Contact: Phone: 0800 333 729, Email: info@cabinfunders.co.nz

What we finance: Transportable cabins, sleepouts and studios, granny flats and minor dwellings, tiny homes (on wheels or on foundations), DIY-built kitsets, off-grid and lifestyle-block cabins.

Where we lend: All of New Zealand, including Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch, Hamilton, Tauranga, Dunedin, Napier-Hastings, Palmerston North, Nelson, Queenstown, and rural and lifestyle blocks nationwide.

Can I get a loan for a Tiny homes in NZ?

Yes. Cabin Funders specialises in loans for Tiny homes in New Zealand. We assess affordability under the CCCFA and work with most NZ cabin suppliers and builders.

What deposit do I need for a Tiny homes loan?

Deposit depends on the build cost and the cabin type. Many Tiny homes applicants qualify with a low or zero deposit, particularly when the cabin secures the loan. Speak to us about your situation.

A modern New Zealand cabin in a green rural setting

Tiny home loans, on wheels or on foundations.

Loans for cabins, sleepouts, granny flats, transportables and tiny homes. $5,000 to $150,000. Decision back in a business day.

NZ owned and operated
FSPR-registered

Get a real cabin loan quote.

Takes a minute. No credit check at this step.

Indicative quote only. Your final rate depends on a CCCFA affordability check.

Cabin Funders is a specialist New Zealand consumer lender that finances tiny homes from $5,000 to $150,000. The tiny home itself is the security, registered on the Personal Property Securities Register (PPSR), so the loan structure works for tiny homes on wheels or on foundations. Funds are released to your builder direct, in lump sum or in staged drawdowns matched to the build milestones. Decision in one business day.

$5k–$150k
Cabin loan range
Paid direct
Funds to your supplier
1 day
Decision in 1 business day
11.95%
Indicative rate from

What cabin buyers struggle with for this type of build

A plain look at how tiny homes actually get financed (and don't) in New Zealand.

Tiny homes are one of the fastest-growing segments of the NZ cabin market. The home is built on a trailer chassis or a low-loader frame so it can be relocated, which is what makes the lifestyle work. That same feature means it needs a finance product designed around the cabin as the security, not the land underneath it.

Most tiny home builds in New Zealand run $80,000 to $150,000 for a fully-fitted unit, with $30,000 to $60,000 deposits required by the builder. The natural fit is a secured cabin loan that covers the deposit and the staged build payments, with the tiny home registered on the PPSR and the builder paid direct on each milestone. That's the product Cabin Funders writes.

Three things that block this kind of cabin purchase

The pain points we hear from tiny homes buyers, almost word for word, every week.

The tiny home sits outside mainstream lending

The home is built on a trailer chassis or low-loader frame so it can be relocated, which is what makes the lifestyle work. The lending product needs to be designed around that, not retrofitted from a generic personal loan.

Supplier liquidation risk

Several NZ tiny home builders have collapsed in the last three years, leaving customers losing deposits and progress payments. Borrowers want a lender who pays the supplier in stages, not all at once into a builder trust account.

Generic personal loans cap below tiny home budgets

Most NZ personal loan providers cap at $75,000 to $100,000 unsecured at rates up to 25%. Fully-fitted tiny home builds usually run $80,000 to $150,000, which doesn't fit cleanly into either the personal loan market or the bank mortgage market.

With a Cabin Funders loan vs paying outright

Cabin Funders writes a secured cabin loan against the tiny home itself, registered on the PPSR. We lend up to $150,000, which covers most fully-fitted NZ tiny home builds with delivery and setup. Staged drawdowns protect you from supplier collapse. You don't need to own land. Loans run on terms up to seven years. Decision in a business day, and your builder is paid on the schedule your contract requires.

Entry-level tiny home on wheels

$55,000 loan

Repay $954 per month over 7 years

7-metre tiny home, basic fit-out, road-legal trailer. Loan covers $15,000 deposit on order and $40,000 balance on delivery.

Mid-range tiny home

$95,000 loan

Repay $1,648 per month over 7 years

8.5-metre fully-fitted tiny home with full kitchen and bathroom. Staged drawdowns to the builder over a 4-month build.

Top-spec tiny home on foundations

$145,000 loan

Repay $2,516 per month over 7 years

12-metre tiny home on a permanent foundation. Loan covers tiny home plus foundation, services connection and decking.

What we cover

Cabin Funders finances the full picture for tiny homes in New Zealand, not just the cabin price from the yard.

Tiny homes on wheels (THOW)
Tiny homes on foundations
Custom builds from NZ tiny home builders
Off-the-plan tiny home purchases
Used / second-hand tiny home purchases
Tiny home plus delivery, setup and connection costs

Buy from any NZ supplier

We can fund a tiny homes from any reputable New Zealand supplier or builder. There's no approved-supplier list to squeeze into.

We pay your supplier directly, so your deposit is never at risk between order and delivery. Just tell us who you're buying from when you apply.

Why borrowers choose Cabin Funders

What makes a Cabin Funders loan different for tiny homes.

Built for the tiny home market

Tiny homes on wheels are exactly what we exist for. Chassis-mounted, transportable, road-legal, all of it. The build method doesn't change our answer.

Loan amounts up to $150,000

Right-sized for fully-fitted tiny home builds, not just entry-level kitsets. Bigger than the $75,000 to $100,000 caps that most unsecured personal loan providers run.

Staged drawdowns to the builder

We can pay your tiny home builder in stages. Deposit at order, progress payment at body completion, final payment on delivery. Protects you from supplier collapse.

PPSR security on the home

Registered on the PPSR the same way a vehicle would be. The tiny home secures the loan, which keeps the rate lower than an unsecured personal loan.

You don't need to own land

Most tiny home buyers don't. Family land, lease arrangements, lifestyle blocks, rural parents' place. The loan secures the home, not the land.

Decision in a business day

Online application, CCCFA affordability assessment, signed agreement. Most decisions inside 24 hours.

How a Tiny homes loan works

From application to your supplier being paid, in three steps.

1

Apply online

Five-minute application. Tell us about the cabin, the supplier, your income and your deposit. We'll run a CCCFA affordability check and come back with a yes, a no, or a question, usually inside one business day.

2

Sign the loan agreement

Plain-English loan documents arrive by email. Read them, ask any questions, then e-sign. We register a PPSR security interest on the cabin once it's in your possession.

3

We pay your supplier

Loan funds settle direct to your cabin supplier, either in a single payment or in staged drawdowns on the contract milestones. Your repayments start the following month.

With a Cabin Funders loan vs paying outright

What changes when you stop trying to save for the whole cabin in cash.

Paying outright (or trying to)

  • Save for years while rent eats every spare dollar
  • Bank says no on policy grounds (transportable, no foundation, no land)
  • Personal loan caps below build cost at 14 to 22% unsecured
  • Drain emergency savings to pay the supplier deposit
  • Builder waitlists keep moving while you scrape funds together

With a Cabin Funders loan

  • Cabin on your section this season, not three winters from now
  • Yes to transportable, on-wheels, off-grid and no-foundation cabins
  • Secured rate via PPSR, lower than unsecured personal loan
  • Supplier paid direct, no money sitting in your account
  • Repay early without penalty when your situation changes

Common questions

What tiny homes buyers ask us most often.

Do I need to own the land my tiny home sits on?
No. This is one of the things our loan structure is designed to handle. The loan is secured against the tiny home itself via a PPSR registration, not against the land. Family land, lease arrangements, a partner's lifestyle block, parents' section. As long as you have permission to keep the tiny home where it sits, we can lend on it.
Will the tiny home be the security on the loan?
Yes. We register a security interest against the tiny home itself on the Personal Property Securities Register (PPSR). This is the same register that secures vehicle loans. The home being on a trailer or chassis is what makes PPSR security the right legal mechanism. You don't need to own the land the home sits on, and the security travels with the home if you move it.
How much deposit do I need for a tiny home loan?
Most tiny home loans are written with a 15 to 20% deposit, reflecting the larger loan amounts in this segment. For applicants with strong income servicing and a tiny home build at the lower end of the price range, lower deposits are possible. Some buyers fund the deposit from KiwiSaver-eligible land purchase costs, then finance the tiny home build itself through us, which is a common pattern.
How does a Cabin Funders loan work?
Cabin Funders is built specifically for cabin finance. Because most cabins can be moved or relocated, the cabin itself is registered on the PPSR as the loan security, which is the right legal mechanism for a transportable asset. Bring us your build quote and income evidence. We will run our affordability assessment under the CCCFA, give you a decision in a business day, and pay your supplier direct in staged drawdowns.
What's the maximum loan term?
Cabin Funders writes loans on terms up to 7 years. The right term depends on the loan amount, your income servicing and your repayment preference. A longer term means lower monthly payments and more total interest, a shorter term means the opposite. We'll show you both options before you commit.
Start your application

Ready to finance your tiny homes?

Five-minute online application. Decision in a business day. No early-repayment fee.

Start your application