Wow, very strong feelings here! Here's a few more details to answer some questions:
More about Brother: had a young girl stalking him. Accuses him of rape and wins. Says to him after sentencing that she hopes they can still be friends. Wtf?? Bro goes to jail for something he didn't do, becomes very bitter and angry.
Gets out after a year, still angry. Can't get a job. Feels bad wife has been single parenting the last year and is still sole earner. Wife leaves him. We find out after that she cheated on him while he was overseas and in jail. Her family all like Bro and think wife made huge mistake. Some of her family even cut ties with her over the affair and regularly invite Bro over for dinner and family events.
Anyway, Bro is awesome person and hardworker whose life has been a series of unfortunate events. His been very angry and bitter and sometimes suicidal in the past, but is doing much better and is happier now.
As for home prices:
We're in a lcol area. In the last two months I've seen 4 homes with mil suites in our target budget range of $200,000. They are in older areas with smaller homes, but not "bad" or unsafe. We figure we can rent out a 2-bedroom unit for $800 based on average rents. Which is why it would increase our expenses if we were to do the renting instead. Brother currently rents his room for $300. Mortgage would seem to bee in the $700-1,000 range.
We have checked into mortgages, and it is a bit tough. Father was willing to cosign and help with downpayment, which is unusual for him. I think he'd like to have an "investment" like a rental unit. Would also like to see his daughter not squatting anymore and would like more security in housing for his son/granddaughter.
Bro is generally dependent on single friends for housing. Landlords aren't fond of renting to felons. First friend he lived with was army buddy who committed suicide. Friend's Ex sold the house but my brother wasn't able to stay there anyway. Moved in with another friend, but that one got married, and you know, three's a crowd. If life situations change with his current roommates his life will be turned upside down again. Bro is very independent and wants to have his own place.
There's also a small fear that someday Ex will try for sole custody of kiddo, and that she may use current housing situation as ammo.
At the time we started looking into qualifying for a mortgage, my monthly verifiable income was $1500 though now its $1600. Bro gets $1500 from disability. Additional $800 from GI Bill, but lenders wouldn't count it. They also wouldn't consider my driving as income. (I looked back at my paystatements and I've averaged $800 per month in the last three months between driving for both companies.) I decided to start saving cash for a downpayment two months ago.
The plan is to try applying again a few months without needing Father at all, but we may still have to. Bro started a part time job while attending school which will increase his verifiable monthly income. He has also listed his clown truck for sale which will reduce his monthly payments by almost $500. I'm saving up as much cash as possible as quickly as possible for a downpayment, mostly from driving. As I said before, I'm also applying for better jobs to increase my verifiable income. Once I get a better paying job, I'll add in another verifiable part time job for even more. And I'll still Uber on weekends.
So that's what we're currently working on. We're not buying a house right this minute but are actively working to make it happen hopefully by summer.