<body><div><figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=03zGAb_0yNbX5bG00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=03zGAb_0yNbX5bG00" width="1169" height="659" ></figure><figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=3awRB7_0yNbX5bG00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=3awRB7_0yNbX5bG00" width="878" height="1171" ><figcaption>Josh Paul and Justine Schmidt in September 2022 after putting up the first wall panel on their new home. (Courtesy Paul and Schmidt)</figcaption></figure>While biking near their rented home in Fairbanks, Alaska, Justine Schmidt and her partner, Josh Paul, stumbled upon a plot of land that spoke to them. “It’s at the end of a dead-end road, it goes right up against state land that there’s a bunch of trails on,” Schmidt said. “And we were like, that’s a great spot.”At that point, it had only a roughed-in driveway, but Schmidt and Paul saw it as the perfect location for their future home. “It was pandemic time, so we had a bunch of, you know, pent-up energy and had saved some money. So we were like, ‘Let’s do this.’” Schmidt and Paul, who both work at the University of Fairbanks, purchased the land in May of 2021. Though they both lacked construction experience at the time, they decided to design and build a house themselves. “Josh is a very good researcher,” said Schmidt. “He spent many, many hours on YouTube University, learning how to do all the things.” By sticking to a simple design, they managed to build a livable home in about two and a half years. “We built basically a large box,” said Schmidt. “But it is, like, exactly what we wanted.”Overall, Schmidt said the project cost around $200,000. That’s significantly lower than the median home price in Fairbanks, which is around $290,000, according to Redfin. “It was essentially both of us having part-time jobs — like at least 20 hours a week for two years, on top of our normal jobs, so that definitely cost something,” said Schmidt. “But we definitely could not have gotten this house on the market here in Fairbanks for that much money.”Use the audio player above to hear more of their story.Tell us your real estate or housing story using the form below, and you may be featured on a future edition of “Adventures in Housing.”There’s a lot happening in the world. Through it all, Marketplace is here for you.You rely on Marketplace to break down the world’s events and tell you how it affects you in a fact-based, approachable way. We rely on your financial support to keep making that possible.Your donation today powers the independent journalism that you rely on. For just $5/month, you can help sustain Marketplace so we can keep reporting on the things that matter to you. </div></body>

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While biking near their rented home in Fairbanks, Alaska, Justine Schmidt and her partner, Josh Paul, stumbled upon a plot of land that spoke to them. “It’s at the end of a dead-end road, it goes right up against state land that there’s a bunch of trails on,” Schmidt said. “And we were like, that’s a great spot.”

Building, instead of buying, a home

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While biking near their rented home in Fairbanks, Alaska, Justine Schmidt and her partner, Josh Paul, stumbled upon a plot of land that spoke to them. “It’

Building, instead of buying, a home

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