I've been playing oblivion for years and have pulled this trick on all of my toons. you can do it right after you leave the sewers too, so you do not have to wait. Also, I apologize if this is already been posted.

Kill Glarthir and take his key. Its that simple. Just do his paranoid quest in Skingrad (i think) and keep doing it until it gives you the option to kill him. Kill him, loot him, a voila you got a free house. Truthfully you can do this to anyone, if u kill them in their own house unnoticed, but this is by far the easiest way to do it. This way you dont have to spend a ridiculous amount of money on a house, and you will have plenty of space to store your extra weapons. I know when i go as a theif i can never carry enough. Just a simple tip =)

p.s. i forget if killing him triggers the dark brotherhood quests, but i do not think so. I havent started a new game in a while.

I don't see the point in obtaining any house that way. Because you can't sleep in the bed.

I wouldn't trust containers in houses "acquired" that way, either.

That too... :thumbsup:

Containers and beds are why I never did that,or even really thought about that.
I like to roleplay and even for a Thief or an Assassin,stealing a house by killing the owner doesn't make much scence.

The quest has you kill Glarthir anyway. I usually only use the house for when i steal the mage and fighters guild (before i join, of course) blind and store everything there until i take it all to a fence. I never really saw the point in spending time and money on a house anyway (is 10 gold for an inn really that bad? If you can probably find that much in the keeper's pockets <- exaggeration, but still).

Why don't you acquire the manor in Anvil? It's so fun that it's worth your money. When leaving the sewers, I cross the river and fight the bandits outside Vilverin. Here, outside, I can drop all my stuff on floor safely. Even after the bandits respawn, they don't touch anything. I have beds and lots of room to train my skills with summoned creatures. I don't spend time with Glarthir. When he asks me to meet him at midnight I just do not reply and after that I don't see him anymore. Get rid of him :biggrin:

"Yeah, right. I'm gonna meet you in a dark place at midnight, alone." :rolleyes:

It reminds me Hlaalu Councilor Curio haha. But at least we can forgive Glarthir behaviour as he is really crazy. He scares me at each new game when he jumps on me with: Pssst, Pssst "over heeeere". Crazy he is,,,

If you avoid letting him get close to you, he will follow you for quite some distance, even out the gate. I tried to lure him out to the bandits at Fat Ramp Camp recently, to see what would happen, but he gave up and went back to Skingrad before we quite got there. Or maybe he's not as crazy as we thought... :wink_smile:

The pirate ship in the Imperial city Waterfront makes a good free home too. All you have to do is run on deck and off it again, and the pirates will attack you. You can then safely dispose of them without getting a bounty. As a matter of fact, if there are guards nearby they will actually kill the pirates for you as soon as they start attacking.
Inside the ship is a captain's chest that is safe to use once you've unlocked it.

I like Shetcombe Farm even though it’s very dark inside and the containers are not safe. There are two slaughterfish in nearby Miscarcand, it’s easy to carry them over and sling them across the tilted cart for storage.

Right now I’m looking for an isolated house to take over in the Chorrol area. I have another character who would not pay for a house or live inside city walls.

http://elderscrolls.wikia.com/wiki/Lorkmir%27s_House in the Elven Gardens is free once we pick its locks, has a bed we can sleep in, and has a couple open-top sacks to store stuff. We can snag this house whether or not the associated quest is started. It's a little messy, and there's a dead body in the basemant, though. :whistling:

Dead body, eh? Sounds like a good place to hide valuables, doesn't it? :wink_smile:

I am surprised that no one mentioned the pirate ship in the IC Waterfront. Once you get rid of the original tenants, you can move right in. The Imperial Watch will even help you. Just step on the ship when they are around, let the pirates attack you, and the legion will take out the trash. The captain's chest is safe, but most of the other containers respawn. If you are doing the DB questline you might want to wait until after you have done a certain mission however.

Use Arnora's body in Bruma, once you finish her quest.

Be sure to help her though... :spotted owl:

But RAVEN_STARWING has just mentioned it here above! :wink_smile:

I do that all the time. Don't go too far ahead of him, keep a walking pace and if your character's walking pace is faster than Glarthirs, stop and wait a couple of seconds and then commence walking again. May be a bit tedious, but it can work. When you get to the camp, don't draw your weapon until the bandits finish him off for you.

The White Stallion is always my free housing. Two easy missions and you're set to a house you can fast travel to the door of.

The captain's cabin is quite luxurious too, it's pretty nice in there.

Kate's favorite loot hideaway. :yuck: :cold:

Yea I did this too. It was a cool quest. The house has personality with its little basemant "room". It didn't cost much either and its a sweet pad for the money. I like to collect stuff so not having a house wasn't an option. :foodndrink:

Telina's only just reached the Imperial City's Arcane University, and has always considered buying a home or getting a free one. However, it is just too expensive for this fledging mage (Who never has more then 2,000 septimes on her (Anvil's Manor costs a lot more with OOO I believe)) so she just uses the free beds in the Mages Guilds to rest, or buys a room in an Inn.

Speak of Inns, I disliked how there wasn't safe storage in your room to plonk your stuff for the night.

There's also the quest in Aleswell that gets you a free bed in the inn. Admittedly, no door there and the inn keeper tends to wander around so a little creepy if you're playing a female character :wink_smile: .

For vampire lair consideration: Muck Valley Cavern. A little campfire, table for stuff, and a bedroll. No safe containers, but otherwise nice and rustic. I’m guessing that the critters respawn, keeping your character’s reflexes sharp on their way home.


ETA: A quick test showed that the two crates do not appear to respawn, but the sacks do. The Cheap Wine re-appears on the table, so intricate displays may suffer. The potion, scroll, and pickaxe I left on the table were still there, though. The corpse of the cave’s former human resident is not a safe place for your valuables. I think Sorendil found a new home.