Do It Yourself: Build a Home

We wrap up our five-day "Do It Yourself" series of reports with the real life stories of working couples who built their dream homes on their own, with the help of Owner Built Custom Homes.

According to its website, "OBCH walks you through the process of building your custom home: from site preparation through completion. We provide free custom house plans with an accompanying detailed budget, a list of pre-screened, qualified contractors, fantastic financing and free building classes.  You can build your own home and save substantial money utilizing our extensive network of vendors, contractors and banks."

Evelyn Sorenson built her home without much help (with the exception of money, of course) from her husband.  Its a 15,000 square foot home, complete with a swimming pool that features 'dancing water' and rocks that shoot out flames.  While, the house hasn't had an official appraisal, her OBCH guide estimates it's worth 2 million dollars.  Sorenson built it for $1.1 million.

Then there's Corey and Cindy Heilig.  The airline pilot and his wife are currently building a 5000 square foot home.  The Heiligs plan to sell the home in two years for about $800,000.  They are building it for $550,000.
 

• More Info: Owner Built Custom Homes