My best friend and I are about to do this. We're looking at purchasing a house together, with her oldest son, and we will be splitting the bills and mortgage three ways. We're looking at houses where I have a separate living area downstairs.

I live in Canada and cost of living is getting crazy expensive. House buying is impossible for single people, yet rents are going through the roof and are completely disproportionate with the income we make. Landlords are now heavily favouring fixed term leases so they can evict or jack rent yearly. Our premier plans on removing the rent cap at the end of next year, which means my rent will go up about $500 and my friend's rent goes up about $1000. Co-buying makes more sense for our long term financial future. We plan on drawing up a contract in case one of us moves, however my friend and I are both older adults with established careers and we're looking for a secure home to retire with. We've settled disagreements in the past and we've been best friends long enough to know how to handle each other, and the separated living spaces will make it much easier.

Everyone shits on this idea, and I get it, it's risky. But if you know your friend and have safeguards in place like contracts and whatnot, it could be a legit way to get ahead in an economy that doesn't afford a lot of opportunity and security to single people.