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Mayukh Saha
Mayukh Saha
April 12, 2024 ·  3 min read

Man Builds Gorgeous 4,000 Sq Ft Home By Hand So He Can Live Debt-Free

With the way the rent prices are increasing daily, there are people who have started looking out for sustainable ways of living. However, this isn’t easy, for the cost of housing is exorbitantly high. Mortgages, for those who can afford it, also create a major dent in their finances. So, what choices does an average individual have? Some individuals would go for tiny homes or trailer vans.

Now, downsizing and living within one’s finances implies that things won’t be as costly, and this could readily cut down on our expenses, which include our bills. Some have also chosen to live completely off the radar, so they wouldn’t have to pay for electricity and water. Yet, for this particular individual from Oklahoma, that didn’t interest him. Rather, he decided to create a household for himself, and so built an entire house on his own, so that he could live debt-free.

Rob Brian, the individual who built his debt-free home.
Image Credits: KFOR Oklahoma News 4 | YouTube

Oklahoma Man Creates Debt-Free House All By Himself

The individual, Rob Brian, had toiled hard for 25 years and had decided that it was finally time to retire. While he was employed in Alaska in the oil industry, the pay was amazing- but he also had to spend a lot of years working. But the good thing was- he owned a farm on his own and had saved some money. He also had the skills to build a house.

And that is what he did. Rob had 330-acre land that was furnished with natural resources, so he used what he had to build his own debt-free house. After that, he purchased a couple of horse barns, around 50 feet and 30 feet, on a hill. For close to nine years, this was his dream project, and he worked on it day and night. 

Read: Woman Downsizes to Live in a Legal Tiny House in the City

Rob's completed sprawling home.
Image Credits: KFOR Oklahoma News 4 | YouTube

Soon, the debt-free house began to take shape, and then Rob connected both the barns and created his lovely house. Rob also had to make sure that his household would be able to deal with the turbulent Oklahoma weather. For this purpose, he used straw bales, sturdy wood, and stucco- that would make the house resistant to rain, heat, and the tornadoes that often take place in the state. The engineering was so on point, that a lot of people find it quite difficult to believe that a single individual created it.

A House With Character For Someone That Deserves It

The house, interestingly, has a lot of character- as one can see frequent touches of Rob’s creativity with the little accents and designs that pepper the house. He carved into his baseboards and used wine bottles as glass windows- just a touch of his own brand of architecture. In fact, he managed to get a swimming pool inside his property as well- so not really a bad place to end up retiring! But as it turns out with most geniuses, no one wanted to believe in his vision initially and thought that he wouldn’t be able to do it. 

Speaking to KFOR, the creator of the debt-free household mentioned, “They just thought I was nuts, thought I was crazy. It wasn’t until the very last year when everything came together, had windows in, had doors in, that they go, ‘Oh wow, that’s pretty cool.’” Rob’s own design has given him the wisdom to inspire the younger generation to go debt-free and pick up a hammer. No one had to build a house on the first attempt, but they could always start with the little things- which would allow them to learn their way up. Also, one could always start saving up to purchase a piece of land, tools, and some materials, and hone their skills which would help them build their own vision in the future.

Keep Reading: Tiny Home On Wheels: 51-year-old woman pays $725 a month to live in someone’s backyard