This activity requires a lot of character and willpower. It forces you to go beyond your comfort zone on a daily basis. Cultivates patience and endurance.

Built a ton of new skills and experiences

Acquired a new profession of “Owner Builder”, everything related to managing and executing construction: project planning, development, subcontractor management, contracting, carpentry, masonry, land clearing, grading, logging, milling, etc.

Made lifelong friends

Met many good people, who went through similar experiences: they will not let you down – rain or shine. They are high integrity, reliable, selfless and caring.

Equity gain

“Sweat equity” is real. No way we’d be able to buy a similar house (mortgage free) if we didn’t DIY it starting with a raw land. Probably, what we earned on it matches multi-year interest we would pay on $XK mortgage. Note: if you do the math (financially in absolute figures) – it does not necessarily maximize your asset net worth, but it wasn’t the problem I intended to solve.

No deadline pressure

There was no construction loan, so no obligation to complete anything by any deadline. Building permits were easy to extend when needed for an insignificant fee. This allowed me to take all the time needed to plan for stages, take long pauses to rest, DIY some work with great attention to detail vs rushing it.

Financial peace

When you cashflow your build while legally living on a property in a comfortable singlewide, you are not worrying about where to get money to pay mortgages, as there are none. Can afford taking career breaks while living on a low budget. Note: unlimited water and septic are all local (i.e. no paid service). Also, there is a certain feeling of peace when you own a place where you live.

We have given and received a significant amount of help from the community and volunteers during the building process. Overall it saved a lot of time, money and nerve cells. We also communicated with people who are going through similar experiences and got invaluable support and advise. The same true in another direction on a regular basis: we support, help and give advise to those who are going though a similar build journey.