Sounds like you get her portion of the rent for the next five months and then work with him for the remaining balance each month.

Balancing all that sure sounds like a juggling act!

I think there is a weird balance here, among professionals, where people may not want to bad mouth fellow professionals, particularly from the same areas, which can create a skewed picture. 

Mortgage balances go down and eventually get paid off. 

When we tell them our opening bid is $1.5M they try and negotiate off the $500k because that was the original loan balance but due to other circumstances like modifications etc. the loan balance has increased significantly. 

Ideally, finding a lender who offers a balance of both is key. 

We have a balance of 266K on the mortgage @ 3 percent interest.

The company making the offering must take reasonable steps to verify that an investor is accredited, which may include checking financial statements, tax returns, or receiving confirmation from a broker-dealer, attorney, or certified public accountant.These regulations reflect a balance between making capital more accessible for businesses and protecting investors from risks associated with unregistered securities.

Given your limited cash and high DTI, refinancing after boosting rents might balance risk and reward best.

Locking in a lower interest term loan will also force you to get the principal down as opposed to just making minimum card payments every month that allow the balance to keep growing.