Homeowner permits are a real thing in most places, and they're narrower than what you were told. Many jurisdictions let an owner-occupant pull a permit for work on their own primary residence without holding a contractor license, often with limits on what trades are included and a rule that you can't do it on a house you're planning to sell right away. Some states restrict owner electrical and plumbing work more tightly than others, and a few require a licensed trade for anything touching the panel or the gas line. Permit rules are set locally, so call your building department and ask what an owner-occupant permit covers there. That call is free and it takes ten minutes.
Tile, cabinets, paint, flooring and trim are usually well inside what you can do yourself. Moving a switch is where the answer changes by jurisdiction.
Insurance is the part people don't think about. A standard homeowners policy is written for a house someone lives in normally, and an insurer may take a different view of a house that's partly torn apart with tools and materials stacked in it. Tell your carrier what you're doing before you start, in writing, and ask what they'll cover during the work. Unpermitted work is the other exposure. If something burns and the inspection record shows a wired circuit that no permit ever covered, the claim conversation gets much harder, and a buyer's inspector may find it years later and turn it into a price reduction at the closing table.
