I've been trying for ages to purchase the house in Windhelm. The wiki says to complete Stormcloak missions to unlock the ability to do so. I did several, and the Jarl said to speak with his steward to arrange to buy a house. I did this, and the Steward said "There's been some unpleasantness- the house is unavailable". I went back to the Jarl to ask him "Wtf??" and he talked to me about becoming Thane. So I thought, "Ok, I must have to be a Thane to purchase the house." I did the assisting Eastmarch people 5 times, and it listed that objective as complete. I talk to the Jarl about becoming Thane, but there's no new speech option...
I go back to the Steward to see if anything's changed about the house,
"There's been some unpleasantness- the house is unavailable."
Okay....
HOW DO YOU GET THIS HOUSE???!!