I’m mortgage-free at 22 after building a house in the Caribbean for £3k to escape the UK – I spend all day at the beach
A MAN has built a house in the Caribbean for £3,000 to live mortgage-free and escape the UK.
Alex Cassidy, 22, built the one-bed home on land in Tobago owned by his stepdad Derek Sandy.
After collecting materials he spent three months building with the help of local tradespeople.
The musician now lives mortgage-free and only spends £130 on electricity, water and wi-fi every three months.
He spends six months a year in Tobago to escape the rainy and cold winters in the UK.
Alex, from the Isle of Wight, said: “I’ve got my own privacy. I bought my freedom.
“It’s such a price difference to the UK. I spent £3,000 to build a whole house and never pay rent.”
Alex grew up spending time between the Isle of Wight and Tobago – where Derek, also a musician, is from.
Now Alex spends half of the year in each country so decided to build a house on the land Derek, 61, owns in Tobago.
He started collecting materials in January 2023 but began properly building the home with the help of local labourers in January 2024.
Alex finished the one-bed home in March this year and spent just £3,000 on the whole build.
He said: “It was heavy labour. My house is on a hill. But it was rewarding.
“It’s a really open plan space with a bed, living room, kitchen and bathroom. It’s very simple.”
Alex said the plumbing cost him £120 and the electricity £150 to set up.
He said: “In England it was £3,000 to £4,000 just to put electric in a one-bed flat.
“Some of the material prices were very similar to the UK but labour is a lot cheaper and I did a lot myself.”
I’d rather live here than a £300,000 house I have to pay for 35 years on a mortgage.
Alex Cassidy
Alex said he loved watching his dream become a reality but it didn’t hit him until he was putting the final touches to the house.
He said: “The realisation hit me. I have a home. This is mine.”
Alex lives mortgage-free and spends £100 on electricity and water every three months and £30 to £40 every three for wi-fi.
He said: “It’s quite sad. A lot of my friends have got good jobs and most of their money goes on bills and rent.
“It’s impossible to get a deposit.”
Alex spends the summer back in the Isle of Wight gigging with Derek but lives in Tobago throughout the winter.
He said: “It’s a great life. The UK in summer is a great place. Winter is very boring.
“It makes sense for me to go out. It’s cheaper. I earn a below average wage. But I don’t spend much money.”
Despite strangers online saying the house is a “tin shed” Alex loves his home.
HOUSE THAT
STANDING in the corner of a room, covered in mud and dust and looking at the holes in floor and roof, Rob Davies struggles to hold back tears.
He is hard at work in a house he bought for £3,000 on eBay before even setting eyes on it – because it is in Bulgaria, more than 2,000 miles away from his home in Ayrshire, Scotland.
“I didn’t realise how hard this was going to be,” he says on Channel 4‘s Help! We Bought A Village.
Rob had been trying to clear the mud floor in the property when he made contact with the ceiling and the insulation fell through.
But, despite the long road ahead, the delivery driver, 35, is positive about what is to come and is pleased to have finally invested in brick and mortar as he was always told to.
He had been left unable to invest in the UK property market thanks to skyrocketing prices, but the three up, three down house in Golyamo Krushevo cost less than a typical deposit.
And he’s even splashed out on more properties in the same area since – hoping it will follow the price-hike in resorts like the Costa del Sol.
He said: “I’d rather live here than a £300,000 house I have to pay for 35 years on a mortgage.
“I own this. I never have to pay anyone a cent.
“I don’t have to work for 35 years to live in a cold, boring miserable country.”
Alex loves the six months he spends in Tobago.
He said: “The night life is brilliant. I’m always meeting new people. I’m never lonely.
“In the day I relax at the beach. The people are really interesting. I wanted to show the natural beauty of Tobago.”