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“When we bought the trailer we really thought that it would be our forever home,” Allison Brown tells PEOPLE
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- Allison Brown and her husband spent more than six years living in a trailer, using the lower housing costs to save money while raising their family
- In 2025, when their children outgrew the location and construction costs stabilized, they decided to self-build a 3,600-square-foot home for about $410,000
- Today, the couple rents out their trailer as an Airbnb, creating an additional source of income while enjoying the new home they built themselves
In 2019, Allison Brown and her husband bought a 1,500-square-foot trailer in a small South Dakota town, believing it would be their “forever home.”
Over the next six years, they kept their housing costs low and saved wherever they could while raising their growing family. Looking back, the 29-year-old tells PEOPLE exclusively that, at the time, buying the trailer was “the best option financially” and “the best ‘bang for your buck’ situation.”
However, in April 2025, the couple decided it was finally time to find a home that better fit their family’s needs. Fast forward one year, and they moved into their self-built, 3,600-square-foot house, which cost roughly $410,000 to complete — saving “hundreds of thousands” of dollars in the process.
Although the trailer was never intended to be a stepping stone, life gradually shifted their plans.
As Brown’s children became involved in sports and other activities in a larger city about 25 to 30 minutes away, the long drive began to take its toll. So, around 2022, Brown and her husband came across an affordable lot in a golf course community and decided to buy it.
“We felt like it was too good of a deal to pass up, so we bought it and our planning began,” Brown recalls, noting that one of the biggest reasons they were able to make that purchase was because their monthly housing costs had remained so manageable over the years, thanks to living in their trailer.
With low property taxes, favorable interest rates and affordable prices before the pandemic, the trailer allowed them to live comfortably while setting money aside for the future.
“Our payment for everything was around $600 [a month], which was very affordable in comparison to the average rent/mortgage payment at the time, being around double that,” Brown explains.
Looking back on that advantage, she says, “If we had a traditional mortgage or rent payment that was double that, we never would have been able to save like we did.”
Still, even after buying the land, the couple didn’t rush into construction. Like many families, they watched building costs fluctuate after the pandemic and worried they could be priced out before getting started.
“I remember being so scared because there was always the possibility that construction pricing would skyrocket again, so that fear was always lingering in the back of our minds,” Brown admits.
But once construction prices leveled off toward the end of 2024 and into 2025, they decided it was now or never and broke ground in April 2025.
When it finally came time to build, the couple chose to manage the project themselves rather than hire a general contractor, especially given that both Brown’s husband and father-in-law had years of hands-on construction experience.
“Although he never pursued a business in that area as an adult, he still knows everything there is to know about building a home, so he was a huge factor in why we were able to make this happen,” Brown says of her husband.
And while three different contractors quoted them between $650,000 and $800,000 for the project, the family completed their 3,600-square-foot home for about $410,000, saving an estimated $200,000 to $350,000.
Brown notes that they “price-matched absolutely everything” to keep costs low and did nearly all the work themselves, from “digging to rock hauling, siding, insulation, flooring and masonry.”
“That’s also a major reason why we decided to self-build is because we knew we’d be saving hundreds of thousands by doing it ourselves, and if we had the resources to do that, why not?” she says.
According to Brown, their new home also reflects everything they wished they had while living in the trailer.
The couple made sure the design included a basement where the kids could spend time, better insulation to handle South Dakota’s harsh weather and plenty of storage — all features their previous home lacked.
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Nevertheless, the couple found an innovative way to continue benefiting from the trailer financially. Instead of selling it, they turned it into an Airbnb in their tourist-friendly hometown, creating another source of income.
“Frankly, I make more money [managing the Airbnb] than if I got a regular 9-5 job,” Brown reveals. “It has been a major blessing, and we are very fortunate for sure.”
Today, the couple is enjoying the home they built themselves while continuing to benefit from the financial decisions that helped make it possible. Looking back on the journey — from years spent living in the trailer to completing the custom home — they feel the gamble they took was well worth it.
“It feels so good knowing how much money we saved and how we’ve already put ourselves in a great position financially just because we were willing to take a huge risk and do all of this,” Brown tells PEOPLE.
Read the original article on People
