He's Still Paying the Mortgage on His Ex-Girlfriend's $350K House—And Has Zero Legal RightsA viral financial horror story exposes the dangerous pitfalls of buying property with an unmarried partner—and why legal protections matter more than romantic trust.A recent YouTube short from financial content creator Caleb Hammer has sparked widespread discussion about one of the most costly mistakes young couples can make: buying a home together without proper legal protections.The story, which has resonated with thousands of viewers, centers on an unmarried man who contributed to purchasing a $350,000 house with his girlfriend, only to discover he had zero legal ownership when their relationship ended just months later.https://news.yahoo.com/news/finance/news/hes-still-paying-mo...When Reality Hit HardThe relationship deteriorated rapidly after the home purchase, with the couple breaking up after living together for only a couple of months.

You’re getting good advice here:Conventional loans: 25% down on a non-owner multifamily is the norm, mainly because the agencies want to see you have meaningful equity at risk.DSCR loans: You’ll sometimes see 20% down, and in rare cases 15%, but the trade-off is higher rates/fees.

This is just national numbers.This slowdown reflects a meaningful shift in market dynamics: elevated mortgage rates, detached pricing expectations, and diminished buyer urgency are contributing to substantially slower cycles.For real estate professionals, builders, and investors, this could signal opportunities to recalibrate pricing strategies, marketing approaches, and sales timelines to align with evolving buyer behaviors.The best buying behavior to be apart of is the investor network.For the simple reason that they will continue to buy with no emotional escrow.They don't go by trends, just if the numbers work for today.That's what I love about seeing with Featured Agents on BiggerPockets.They get to tap into the network of BiggerPockets clients right when they are ready to buy...or looking for an agent today to help them acquire more.Here we are, it's going to be Autumn soon.

you're not going yo meaningfully reduce your W2 tax burden, so better that you focus your energy on increasing your income.let's hypothetically say you can find $50k/yr losses to offset W2 income. that ultimately becomes $25k/yr net savings, which isn't insignificant, but it's likely not going to be worth the effort. you'll need a fair amount of capital or effort to generate $50k/yr losses, and its better to focus ther effort/capital on somerthing that's aligned with your investment strategy anr interests. 

Over time, this builds a portfolio that generates meaningful passive income.Flipping can be part of your strategy later if you want shorter-term gains, but starting with long-term rentals generally provides more stability while you learn the ropes.If you want, I can suggest some specific turnkey markets and typical cash flow numbers for your first purchase.

I have one renter in the house with me and hope to spark my portfolio off of this house. 

I actually spoke with lender and asked for more details and in the end there's no a meaningful difference when factoring in closing costs.

In this case, everyone pitching in would need to have a legitimate, meaningful job role, clearly detailed in a partnership agreement.

You’d get more bang for your buck, and your first deal has a higher likelihood of producing a meaningful return without over-leveraging.If staying local is important, you could explore:Trenton or Newark - as you mentioned, these might be slightly more accessible, but competition is stiff.Creative structures like small multi-units or partnering with a local investor, though that does complicate things.Otherwise, the safer path is to identify an out-of-state market with strong rental demand, low purchase price, and good turnkey options.

The key is structuring investments so even smaller contributions feel meaningful and manageable for both parties.