Mickey Davis is a spry, 87-year-old great-grandmother. Her housemate Charles DuGood, a Pokémon card collector who wants to be a paleontologist, turned 31 in January.
"People call us 'The Odd Couple,'" Davis said.
DuGood chuckles good-naturedly, even though he has never heard of the iconic 1970s TV sitcom.
Davis and DuGood live in her three-bedroom house in Ferrisburgh, Vermont, a little over an hour west of the state capital, Montpelier. They're part of HomeShare Vermont, a program that matches hosts in need of household support with guests struggling to find affordable housing.
There are no age or income restrictions for the program, but most hosts looking to share their homes are aging residents or people with disabilities who want to defray their housing costs while also receiving help, companionship and security.
During the pandemic, apartment rents across the country soared. While those increases have leveled out, rents remain elevated. Meanwhile, record home prices, mortgage rates near 7% and rapidly rising property insurance costs in some coastal areas have shut many young professionals out of homeownership.
'Housing is just impossible'
The share of first-time homebuyers between 2023 and 2024 reached an all-time low of 24%, according to the most recent figures from the National Association of Realtors. The previous year, first-time buyers made up 32% of all sales; before 2008, the figure usually hovered around 40%.
"They're not building enough affordable homes for young people," DuGood said. "They're building plenty of suburbs with homes that are half a million dollars, and Airbnb has taken away so many small rentals. I've got friends living with five people, and that's not comfortable.
"Housing is just impossible, really."
New York, Texas, California and other states offer similar home-sharing programs. It's particularly well-received in the Green Mountain State, where there's a two- to five-year waiting list at the state's limited number of assisted-living facilities, according to HomeShare Vermont's executive director Connor Timmons.
DuGood moved in with Davis last year, shortly before her husband of 63 years, Norton, died. Davis said she hates to cook, while DuGood loves it.
DuGood is about the same age as her grandchildren, and Davis said they team up with DuGood to tease her about the age difference. Aside from the cooking, he helps her figure out how to work her cellphone and computer. In return, she's learning to like his cat, Mazy, and provides an affordable place for DuGood to live and store his impressive Pokémon card collection.
"We're talking thousands," he said.
Financial situation-based rents
The state provided more than $323,000 and nearly $157,000 in matching federal money to HomeShare Vermont last year. During that time, the program helped nearly 275 people.
The maximum monthly rent guests pay is $650 — or $850 if living in a mother-in-law suite on the host's property. The rent depends on a guest's financial situation. The average monthly rent last year was $359. Some guests paid nothing.
In exchange, the guests help with chores such as cooking meals, caring for pets or shoveling snow. Last year, guests provided more than 30,000 hours of services, and hosts received $354,000 in rental income, according to HomeShare Vermont.
The vast majority of hosts say they feel safer, happier and less lonely, program surveys suggest.
Hosts and guests face rigorous screening, each undergoing six background checks and three or four reference checks before they move forward in the program.
"We are a bit choosy," Timmons said in an interview. "We take it seriously. It's important to us that there be no doubts."
Case managers stay in touch
When program officials identify a potential match, they set up a meeting so the prospective guest and host can meet each other. If both sides agree, there's a two-week trial run, and if that goes well, HomeShare Vermont drafts a matching agreement detailing the rent to be paid and services provided. Case managers check in with the housemates regularly.
The matches are essentially month-to-month agreements, and the average match lasts about two years, Timmons said. But one match is 14 years old and another has been in place for 19, communications director Ric Cengeri said in an interview.
Lisa MacKenzie joined the program last year. The native of Underhill, Vermont, who now works at an opioid addiction treatment facility, said she hadn't adequately prepared for housing costs upon returning from a fundraising job in Jordan and was in no position to buy a place.
"Buying a house is not something I'll be able to do for a couple of decades," the 30-year-old said in an interview, only half kidding.
Enter 62-year-old Hope Greer, a retiree who lives in a condo in Winooski, Vermont, about 20 miles north of Davis' house in Ferrisburgh. Greer, who has Parkinson's disease, wanted help with household chores and someone to be there in case of an emergency.
MacKenzie, who plans to attend medical school in fall 2026, was happy to step in on both fronts. In addition, Greer said, she found out that MacKenzie is handy around the house and has plenty of good ideas.
MacKenzie said she can't believe her good fortune. Greer said she essentially had to take a leap of faith when she decided to join the program, but she's thrilled with the arrangement as well.
"I'm a pretty vibey person," Greer said. "I got a vibe about Lisa that she's a good egg."