General Discussion

neither of us would have been able to afford a house.

Couldn't now, post divorce--but she kept her faculty retirement account, unscathed, and I "kept" the amount paid for the house and what was left on the mortgage, after making payments from 150% to 200% of the principle due each month. So I have a house and she has an apt. Her retirement will have more money than mine, but she'll also have rent while I'll have house insurance and upkeep. And when I am forced to sell, I'll have the sales price of the house to tide me over to the grave.

Don't combine finances, it makes things tougher. When we moved into the neighborhood a lot of couples, because of financial stress, divorced or separated--and less than a year later maybe 25% of the houses had been told. At a discount. (Which is how we got ours.) And too often to a REI. Note that most of the REIs in the area own fewer than 5 properties, so it's not like it's megacorporate America. (Still, the renters are usually obnoxious and don't care.)