[kafquaesque]

The home I spent the majority of my childhood in until the age of 15 was built by a combination of friends/family and subcontractors. We were very poor and my parents had a hard time receiving loans to finance the build. The plan was to build a ranch-style 3400 sqft home. Due to the financial constraints, we finished the walk-out basement portion with a “mother-in-law” style suite (fully functioning kitchen etc.) We lived in this portion of the house and sealed the top portion until it was finished. Ultimately the home took 5 years to build IIRC. My father’s cousin was a contractor so my father worked a bit for him to learn the correct steps and the order to perform them in. It was a high-quality build with high-quality material due to the influence from my father’s cousin. Growing up around it was fun in the sense that it was such a unique experience. My parents got lucky as they sold it right before the downturn in the housing market. There will always be naysayers and those that believe things are impossible or are “strange”. This house and the equity accumulated in it allowed my parents just enough of an edge (among other factors) to currently be in a much better financial situation than most/all of our extended family. It’s awesome to see posts like this. Most people will never build their own home.