Years ago I owned a house for a little while. It started out in the 50s as a small two bedroom and then over the years someone finished the attic as a legally conforming bedroom, then finished the basement and put the teeniest bedroom in it. Smallest house with four legal bedrooms I have ever seen.
I rented out the spare bedrooms. I was a landlord. No excuses.
But if I ever found myself in that situation again; How can I ethically share the costs of a house if it has an owner? I couldn't figure it out then. I don't think the situation will ever come up again. But I desperately want some kind of absolution in knowing if I could have done better, and how to implement that if it happens again.
The problem I couldn't figure out was how to give the renters some kind of equity. I didn't have trusted friends I could set up some kind of coop with. Setting up a coop with strangers was very high-risk; I have a severe mental illness and i'm disabled most of the time, so if things went badly I would be in an extremely vulnerable position with few options.
Give me some input. A rich uncle you didn't know you had leaves you a small house with four bedrooms in their will. You can't afford the mortgage without some help. What do you do? How do you work around mortgages and ownership?
Here's what I did. I own a house and have a spare room. I have a friend who needed a place to stay and I didn't put a price on rent. Just pay what you can. Some months he gave me a 100, sometimes 200, sometimes (and often) nothing but he would cook the house dinner and we'd drink and have fun.
Yeah, I know, not apples to apples. But I never felt dirty and it helped him get on his feet.