Think of it this way, you are driving down the street you dream of living on, these are the homes that you wish you could live in, but you can't, or don't want to pay the $350,000 (or whatever) price tag to do so. Being an owner-builder makes this dream street a much closer reality.

How can being an owner-builder make that dream a reality? Well, with being an owner-builder, you can circumvent the cost mark ups that contractors put on materials, and this can make it possible to build that $350,000 home (or any price home) for significantly less, say 18%-42% less. In fact by becoming an owner-builder you can build your dream house for 18%-42% less than it would typically cost you. That is pretty dang significant savings, because even for a $100,000 house , 18% is $18,000, and 42% is $42,000. This math is easy, but build a $350,000 house with those kind of savings and you are looking at saving anywhere from $63,000 to $147,000 on your dream home.

Most people don't try and take advantage of the savings that come along with being an owner-builder because of the fear of trying something they have never done before; the fear that they may run out of money before the project is complete; or the fear of having to do a lot of the work, which they may or may not be qualified to do, themselves.

While these are understandable fears, they are also silly. The truth of the matter is, that being an owner-builder is something thousands of people successfully do each and every year. Owner-builders build over 100,000 homes each year, so as you can see it is possible, and people do it everyday.What does it mean to be an Owner-builder?

So, what it means to be an owner-builder is that you can build a great house, and save a fortune doing so. By being an owner-builder, you act as your own general contractor. Don't worry about the legal issues of owner-building too much. Just so you know, you don't have to have any sort of license to build your own home, so it is very possible to do this. If you were going to try and build homes to sell that would be a different story, and you would have to get a license. But owner-building is not building a house you never live in, and just selling it, it is building your own house.hence the term.

To sum up what being an owner-builder means you could say simply that being an owner builder means taking on the role of general contractor as you oversee, and manage, the construction of your own home. This can be a very rewarding experience, and one that can help you to get into the house of your dreams for a significantly smaller price than it would typically cost you for the same, or an equivalent house.