If you don ' t want to travel to Solstheim and complete a quest , there ' s another option . Now , I may be speaking on old info , because it may have been patched , but if you scrounge up enough money to actually buy a house , go wait until night , and then talk to the steward while they ' re in their bed , ask them about buying the house , give them the money , and right after you press the button , press the exit conversation button , and immediately move your cursor over a container , like an end table next to his bed or something , open the container , and drop your gold inside , and exit . He ' ll give you the key , and you ' ll get a free house . You still have to pay for the furnishing , sadly , but hey , it ' s worth it . Somewhat .