<prompt> Human: So heres the setup: I have lived in my current city for almost three years now, and plan to stay for the foreseeable future. I have some interest in buying a home here at some point-- at some point being at least four years from now, when assuming nothing goes wrong Ill have paid off all of the 74k in debt I owe between student loans and my vehicle.This plan has now been altered by a relatives interest in purchasing a home in my city. Said relative lives in another state, so the plan is that I would move into the house as a landlord and take on a renter to help cover all the costs of owning the home. Initially, the idea was that we would co-sign on a mortgage, Id pitch in for initial updatesrepairs, and wed continued to renovate the property as needed over time. Now, though, my relative has suggested that the most advantageous plan would be for me to apply for the mortgage on my own, as I would stand to get a far better rate and subsidies due to being a first time home buyer; my relative, by contrast, already owns property and makes a significant amount of money, which means having their name on the mortgage would probably make it more expensive for us both.Its a great plan in theory, but theres one problem: I cant afford to own a home.Right now I earn 3655month after taxes in a long term contract position, of which 933 goes straight to debt. A further 995 goes to bills doesnt include utilities; those are rolled up in my rent, which is 600month, which leaves me with 1700 for everything else. The average mortgage rate around here starts at 800, so already thats a huge bite out of my remaining funds. And the mortgage doesnt include costs like utilities, HOA, home repair, taxes, etc. So Im guessing Id be looking at a monthly cost to own closer to 1500 or 1600, which means in a worst case scenario where I lose a renter and my relatives contribution to the cost of the home, Id be facing financial ruin pretty much instantly. And that doesnt even take into account the possibility of losing my current contract job; its a remote chance, thankfully, as the company has expressed their desire to convert me to full time in the next year or so, but its a risk nonetheless.Second, while I do have savings, they were not built with a home purchase in mind. I have enough to cover about four months of expenses, and sure I could wipe that out to cover some costs of the house, but then Id be in an even more precarious financial situation with nothing to save me if something goes wrong. This whole scenario is making me more and more anxious by the day. The idea is that wed have the home purchased by summer, as thats when my lease at my current apartment runs out, but it all feels like too much, too soon. I know why my relative wants to take the plunge-- home prices in my area are shooting up by the month, the feds are about to raise interest rates on loans, if we dont buy now well be priced out of the area entirely within a year-- but I feel like I cant commit to getting a mortgage right now. Im managing my finances pretty well as things stand, but I just feel in my heart that signing my name on that dotted line will be signing myself up for disaster.So: my question to you is, whats the best way to approach this scenario? Is getting this house pretty much impossible under the circumstances, or is there some middle ground option we should be considering?I should add that I know basically nothing about homebuying, as when we first discussed this plan we did so with the idea that my relative would be handling the financialpaperwork portion and Id just be contributing money where needed. I should also add that this is a relative I trust implicitly, and who has always conducted their business transactions honestly and faithfully, so Im not concerned about them trying to screw me over.  <response>: Home buying is a mistake for many people, and they often compound that mistake by mislabeling their personal housing as an investment when it clearly is not.Youve already thought through the process here: Owning a mortgage doesnt fit with your goals and financial picture right now. Why even consider it?The biggest red flag here is that you are planning on leaning on the adviceactions of other people to handle a massive debt that would be legally tied to you. Their decisions, your debt is not a good combination. 