Here is some very basic information about building houses, what a writ is and what a deed is.  For full details please search the Wiki as the subject is far more complicated than is described here. However, this will get you going.

Building a House

On Golden Vally you can only build wooden houses as stone houses require a masonry skill above 30. A wooden house is made by taking a mallet or hammer, and right clicking on mostly flat tile and select Plan Building. That will display a wooden framework on that tile. You can then extend the framework by right clicking on adjacent tiles. You will be limited on size by your carpentry skill. Calculate your maximum build size by adding up the walls and the floor tiles - so for instance, a 1 X 1 shed takes a skill of 5.

Once you have Finalized your building plan, create the walls, windows and doors by holding planks in your inventory, activating your mallet and right clicking on one of the frames on the tile border. The quality of the building will depend on your carpentry skill and the QL of the materials.

Writs

When you finalize a plan a writ for that building will appear in your inventory. This will allow you to change the name of the building, destroy the building and manage who has access to it from your friends list (though you must have added door locks to your doors first!)

Where should I build?

Wurm is not like Second Life where you have to purchase land, you can actually build where you like! However, if you are in a crowded area it is seen as polite to talk to the existing population first about suitable locations!

Deeds

A deed is bought from the Traders at the two start towns on Golden Valley. There are a very large range of deeds available from small homesteads to massive towns. More details can be found here.

A Homestead is a small deed for one player only. A village deed allows several players to be citizens. Houses decay more slowly on deeds, as do walls, and they also have guards that will guard against predators.

There are restrictions about how close deeds can be placed together - more details on the Wiki.

Deeds also have manageable perimeters where the guards do not patrol but you can restrict other players building fences of destroying roads in that area.

Moving to the Main Servers

One you move to the main servers, you will leave your writs behind - remember there is no return! Please destroy your buildings and disband your deeds - it will make things less messy for the players that follow you.