Need Help with strategy for family owned Vacation home in MI

[Joseph O'Connor]

This may be more of a question for an accountant or an attorney, but this community is great, so I am hoping somebody has some wisdom to pass on.

My mother owns a vacation home in Michigan that myself and 3 siblings will eventually inherit.  The house is small, but has character and close proximity to a lake, making it a property we do not wish to part with.  However, it is in dire need of expansion and upgrades to accommodate our growing families.

The house can be used 12 months out of the year, but our family is probably only there for about 35% of weekends in the summer, and not at all in the winter.  My business mind tells me to utilize the remaining time as a vacation rental to try and help fund the upgrades/repairs we need to make.

But before I can do that, I am looking for advice on how to manage this clunky ownership structure.

1. Since there are 5 of us with different ideas and ranging financial resources, we always hit a stalemate when it comes to making any decisions of consequence.  What tools/strategies might exist to help us make decisions?

2. Also looking for advice on how or if its fair to divide up ownership based on contributions.  Is it fair to tell one sibling without the money to contribute that her ownership share is diminishing because other siblings are contributing more?  Someone told me the house should be in a trust...thoughts?

Thanks!