A 32-year-old woman opened a property-tax bill for the house she shares with her fiance and saw another woman's name on the property. It was his ex-girlfriend, who had bought the house with him before they broke up. The relationship ended, the ownership did not. She had been paying him $1,500 a month in rent, believing she was settling into the home she would eventually share with her husband. When she confronted him, he said he hadn't lied because he didn't think it was something she needed to know. The math makes it harder to shrug off. If the couple bought at $400,000 and the house is now worth $475,000 with $350,000 left on the mortgage, that is about $125,000 in gross equity. Split equally, the ex could hold roughly $62,500 without living there or contributing anything. Two years of the fiancee's rent would total $36,000. Unless she has an ownership interest or an enforceable agreement, paying rent generally does not make her a co-owner. Federal Reserve data shows median net worth of $396,200 for homeowners versus $10,400 for renters and other non-homeowners, roughly 38 times higher. She had considered buying a home herself but held back over her credit score. HUD says FHA-insured mortgages generally allow a 3.5% minimum investment with credit scores of 580 or higher, which is $10,500 on a $300,000 home. Income, debt and other underwriting factors still apply.