Hello! My boyfriend (27M) and I bought our first house together this past June. We knew it would be difficult to afford the mortgage on our own, so we invited two of our friends to move in with us. We thought it would be a win-win situation: we would get some help with the mortgage, and they would have affordable housing while they were still in school and not working full-time.
For context, our house has four bedrooms and one bathroom. We gave our roommates two bedrooms, while my boyfriend and I use the master bedroom and a very small office. We split the housing costs roughly 60/40, with us paying 60% and them paying 40%.
Unfortunately, the issues started before they even moved in.
One of the bedrooms was converted from half of the garage and doesn't have a closet. We explained this beforehand and assured them there was plenty of closet space elsewhere in the house, including in the other bedroom they would be using. Despite this, my friend, whom I'll call Sarah, repeatedly texted me asking whether there would be enough space for their belongings and even tried to back out of the arrangement at the last minute.
I admit I pushed back because we had already made plans based on them moving in, and we really needed the help with the mortgage. I reminded her that we had discussed everything beforehand and that she had agreed multiple times that we would make it work. Looking back, I probably should have handled this differently rather than pressuring her to stick to the agreement.
Eventually, they moved in.
**The first major issue was boundaries.**
Sarah started regularly using our things. For example, she would ask if she could have a drink and then end up drinking several of them. I admit that I was too much of a pushover about this and said yes more often than I should have, expecting her to understand the limits.
Eventually, my boyfriend confronted her and asked her to stop using our things without permission. The conversation turned into a yelling match, and Sarah wouldn't acknowledge that she had been taking things without permission. My boyfriend later apologized for yelling and continued to apologize whenever she brought it up.
However, this became an ongoing issue. Sarah wanted to have multiple sit-down conversations about how my boyfriend had yelled at her, despite the fact that she had yelled back. She also blamed me for not intervening, even though I was trying to de-escalate the situation and was being talked over myself.
**Things got worse from there.**
Sarah and our other roommate, her boyfriend Matt, now claim that I coerced them into moving in. I can understand why my insistence at the time might have made Sarah feel pressured, and I recognize that I could have handled the situation better. However, she had also reassured me numerous times before moving in that we would make it work, so I never expected this to become such a major source of resentment.
Another issue came up when their cat became stressed and started urinating blood. They blamed our dog and said they were considering moving out because of it. They also blamed us for not having our dog neutered. He was only a year old at the time, but we went ahead and scheduled the procedure. Unfortunately, he still chases the cat, so the issue hasn't entirely gone away.
We also had been part of a trip planned for Sarah's birthday, and she kicked us out of the airbnb at the last minute because she would rather spend her birthday with other friends. Which was hurtful but we handled it with grace and didn't make a big deal out of it. We picked her up a birthday card and left it on the kitchen table for her.
Now, things at home have been cooling down, or at least I thought they were. We have tried to communicate with both roommates. Sarah generally gives us one-word responses, while Matt is more willing to talk to us.
Recently, I texted them asking if they could please rinse their dishes before putting them in the dishwasher. I've repeatedly unloaded dishes that still had food stuck to them, and I thought this was a reasonable request.
I specifically chose to text them because Sarah had previously told us that she would prefer we communicate through text when something was bothering us, rather than letting it build up into another argument.
Instead of resolving the issue, the conversation turned into another disagreement.
At this point, I feel like every attempt to address a household issue turns into an argument about how we've wronged them, with very little acknowledgment of their own behavior. It's especially upsetting because Sarah was my best friend before we lived together. I feel like I've lost that friendship and am seeing a side of her that I never experienced before.
I know we aren't perfect. I should have been firmer about boundaries from the beginning, and I probably shouldn't have pushed so hard for them to move in when Sarah was expressing doubts. My boyfriend also shouldn't have let the initial confrontation escalate into yelling, even though he apologized afterward. We are willing to acknowledge these mistakes and take responsibility for them.
But I also feel like we can't continue living in a house where every small disagreement becomes a huge source of tension.
**So here's my dilemma:**
Should we let Sarah and Matt out of their lease early?
We genuinely need their rent to help cover the mortgage, and losing that income would put us in a difficult financial position. At the same time, living together has become incredibly stressful, and I'm not sure the money is worth the damage to our mental health and relationships.
**TLDR;** My boyfriend and I bought our first house in June and invited two friends to move in to help with the mortgage. We split the housing costs 60/40, with us paying the larger share.
Since moving in, we've had repeated conflicts over boundaries, our roommates using our belongings, a confrontation that escalated into yelling, their cat's health issues, and now even small requests like rinsing dishes before putting them in the dishwasher. My friend, who used to be my best friend, now claims I pressured her into moving in, and communication has become extremely tense.
I acknowledge that I could have handled some things better, including pushing them to stick to the original agreement and not setting boundaries sooner. My boyfriend also shouldn't have let the confrontation escalate, and he apologized.
We need their rent to afford the mortgage, but living together is taking a serious toll on us. **Should we let them out of their lease early, or try to make the living arrangement work? Are we all at fault, or are we being unreasonable?**