It's a lazy weekend and you're plunked down on the couch channel surfing. Before you know it, you've gotten caught up in a "Tiny House Hunters" marathon on HGTV. Several hours later, you're seriously considering downsizing your entire life to fit into 400 square feet or less, because you're now an expert on tiny home living, right? Not so fast. Those reality TV shows only provide a heavily edited snapshot of what it's like to house hunt for and live in such a small abode.

We talked with several seasoned tiny homeowners and industry experts to find some of the little-known things novice buyers don't realize until after they've signed on the dotted line. Here's what they had to say about the realities of tiny home living.

A Tiny Home Costs More Than You Think

Getty Images

Don't believe the hype the next time you read a glossy home magazine or see a reality TV show featuring a tiny home buyer who purchased their dwelling for under $10,000. That too-good-to-be-true price tag usually never includes the cost of labor, says Randy Woodman, a sales manager for Tiny Innovations, a Portland, Ore.-based tiny home builder.

What's also not mentioned is that "[those homes] are almost always constructed with donated or found materials," he says. The true cost -- including all labor and materials -- for a professionally