Mortgages are unaffordable to many millions of people who would love to have their own home. Here’s one low cost option that may prove helpful. Farmers often need extra help, and so you may be able to find a trustworthy farmer who is willing to trade your labor for a free place to build your dirt cheap home. The key word here is trust. Ideally, you’d be a long term member of the community and know who’s reliable and needs help.
What makes this plan feasible is building something small out of local inexpensive materials. It doesn’t make sense to spend a lot of time and money on something you would never own. But it does seem reasonable investing some time building rent or mortgage-free shelter if the job seems stable.
For building materials, use whatever is ultra low cost or free. Find out what materials are available. Maybe the farmer has used grain bags, old barbed wire from a fence he tore out, extra straw bales, extra wood fence posts and so on. Every case will be different. Be adaptable and go with the flow and you may find a very good situation with an organic farmer who’s eager for help. The right situation could provide rent-free housing, food and a job. If you’re unsure how permanent the job would be, you could start out living in a camper, van, tipi or yurt.
i know all about almost no money, living on land and buildng. been there, done that, can’t recommend it.
While far from ideal (as cautioned in the article) this is a way up in life for those who have nothing.
the term “mortgage” means “death pledge”.
i’m in mild disagreement with the premise of building on “some farmer’s” land. it’s almost re-inventing serfdom. why no look for an “off the real estate grid” site?
This idea is for those who have almost no money.