I presume you paid cash for your house. Or, if you don't own a house you expect people to pay cash for their house. Is that correct?
Yep. Sure did. (5,050 Sq ft)My Grandaddy taught me how to do that. That's the way people did it back in the day. Still works today if you are willing to wait, save, and do half the work yourself. Get a framing crew to put it in the dry then finish it up yourself. I did the plumbing, electrical, tile, flooring, painting, countertops, some of the cabinets, some of the sheetrock, trim, etc. Etc.
Its called Delayed Gratification. USA has become an instant gratification society.
Started out in a house trailer, flipped to a 1200 sq ft house, added onto it and made it 3000 sq ft, flipped it and lived in a barn on land I had while it took 9 months to build the house I have now. Had to listen to the wife gripe, but it got done. Kids loved living in the barn. Its the highlight of their childhood.
"A Country Boy can survive."