When I first saw a website that told me we could build our own “free house” the “free” part is what interested me. You don't know me, but if you did, you'd know that I'm all for as free as it can be. Having raised 9 children of our own, I have had to scrimp and save every-which-way possible.

Now, with an “empty nest,”

someone is saying we can build a “free house”; now he's got my interest. So I say to myself, "..sure, I'll believe it when I see it".

I click, I read, and I see that it is basically free (no out of pocket money – that works for me) because of a Construction Loan that we get, until the home is completed, and we get the mortgage in our name. Even the interest during the build time is calculated into the Construction Loan so we don't have to pay it out of pocket.. This is great so far.

A "fixer-upper" or "build new?"

We have been aware that buying older homes and fixing them up and then selling them, could net us a home fully paid for after 4 or 5 homes. But, we reasoned, “this takes money” and it took all our money just to raise those kids.

What were we to think? So we didn't do anything but buy and live in several homes for 40 some-odd years, never getting a ahead on earning our retirement-house-plan. Whatever equity we did get, got taken out in a home equity loan to pay a doctor bill somewhere.

We never even investigated building a home because we figured that the bank wasn't going to loan money for building-our free home when we already had a mortgage.

With this Free House idea, the object is deciding to build our retirement-house-plan, and live in it for 2 years. Then build another house, and then another, for a total of 3 homes. We would come out owning our home in 5 years,

I could see that it was possible, if I could convince RL..

Retirement years are upon us

Now, you can do the math, with 9 children, some 2-4 years apart, just how old we are by now, with the last birdie “having flown from the nest”? You got it! Very nearly retired. Well RL was going to turn 65 in July of '06. This was the end of November 2005. RL is pretty set in his ways about some things. Well, he's earned that right I guess, after raising nine children. Naturally, it took some persuading (something I've done quite a lot of in our 44 years of marriage).

I purchased a book about this subject about Deciding to Build our own free house, and I tried to get RL to read it. He resisted, and then dug his heals in, but after about a month and a half, he finally agreed to read my new found “treasure”. Then he said “I think we can do ths. I'll have to work for a few more years, but we can build to own our own home."

No more encouragement was needed for me, and I dived into researching subs, pricing, and home plans. We were launched into our new retirement-house-plan, and by March of 2007 we were in our new home. It was not without challenges, and we could not see the eventual outcome of the downturn to the economy. Would we do it again? Yes we would.

SEE

• Build your free house step by step
  
  
• Build to own in 3 housebuilds
  
  
• Ideas on finding houseplans
  
  
• City fees for permit to build
  
  
• Inspections while building
  
  
• Finding sub-contractors

Building your home as owner/builder