Hello everyone! Quick question:

Can you get a house without having a housecarl? I know housecarls come with the title of thane, but I don't remember if you can buy a house without becoming thane.

I don't really feel like having Iona -or anybody really- following me around in Honeyside (nothing personal Iona! ).

Thanks!

I think you have to be a Thane in order to buy a house, and the housecarl comes with it.

I think it may vary somewhat among the holds, but typically buying a house is part of the hold's 'Become a Thane' quest. In most holds, I think the Jarl basically says, 'thanks for all the cool banana stuff you've done in my hold. If you buy a house here and report back to me, I'll make you a Thane.' So I expect you can buy the house (and even upgrade it via the hold's steward). Simply avoid reporting your purchase to the Jarl and you will not be made a Thane. Becoming Thane is what gets you the housecarl. This is my understanding of how it works and has been my character's experience in Solitude. I expect Whiterun works differently. And I happily yield to anyone who is more into Sky Real Estate than I.

In all of them there are two parts, being able to buy land or a house, and then becoming "known" to the people of the hold to become a thane. I have houses in solitude, Falkrieth and Whiterun but only lydia as a houscarl, who is steward of the house I build in Falkrieth.