I'm currently roleplaying an alchemist and I don't plan ondoing many dungeon diving quests. What annoys me is that most houses are only purchasable once you are thane, but becoming thane means delving in dungeons. I wish their were homes to buy without doing a bunch of quests.

if you do the college you have access to an alchemy lab without having to do more then join them their is also the alchemists shack http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Skyrim:Alchemist%27s_Shack
hope this helps

Problem being that I'm roleplaying an alchemist who works his way to the top and becomes extremely wealthy. The shack and the college don't fit in as well as I would have liked.

Are on PC, aWalt1313? If so, there's a number of very nice house mods to choose from.

are you on xbox or pc? if pc their might be a mod but other then that im not sure for xbox

XBOX. Wish I had a PC for this reason.

I agree completely, you shouldn't have to be given permission to buy something with your own money.

How is the alchemist build going? I plan on making one later.

I cant think of any houses that would fit your character can you give us a short background on your character so I can be of more help

Well, you could just kill the Dragon in Whiterun and use that house. Dragons will show up, but not very often. Especially if you stay inside the walls.

I'm afraid that by being on a console, you are going to be limited to places like the Alch Shack and Anise's Cabin, outside of becoming Thane. Which due to those houses being 100% secure storage. I would consider that as my only option. Being a pure Alchemist will demand secure storage of rare ingredients. As the shacks reset after 30 days if you don't renter the cell. Even then they will still reset sometimes.

Whats the situation with that dark elf's alchemy house outside whiterun towards the mountains? His name escapes me but it starts with a D. If you kill him, he won't respawn (that I am aware) and his house has a LOT of good loot for alchemy. I don't know if storage is secure.

Otherwise if your on the PC, use a nexus mod to apply a house somewhere in skyrim for you. There are some nice ones, and you can RP as you see fit on how you got it.

sorry, see your on xbox.

Breezehome in Whiterun or Honeyside in Riften may be your only shot at getting a home without having to do to many cave diving. The nice thing about honeyside is you get enchant and alchemy tables, lots of storage and book cases, shelves and what not. Its alchemy station is WAY better then Breezehome. And if you do the quest for Maven Black-Briar's daughter, you get access to a very nice supply of alchemy items they give you every couple of days or so.

its drelas or something like that if I remember right

Tell you what good sir. Just because your a buisness man, does not mean you cant be a thane. Hire mercs to go with you, and refrain from combat as best you can. Set the difficulty to Novice, and start with the alchemy shack. Eventually you can purchase a good house to work in (House in Riften is probably best for Alchemy, as you get your own garden)

Drelas' Cottage is not a player home in the vanilla game. His bed is owned and storage isn't safe. There are mods that change it over to a home base, but if you have mods you get access to much nicer starter homes.

Breezehome is a good base for an alchemist. Arcadia is a good supplier and you can get it early. You're going to have to go out and about to collect ingredients, though, anyway, so just pick up a henchman if you want a non-combat-intensive character.