But I guess that happens when you start tearing into something and it unravels.

It's a yarn that can catch easily on vacuums and once it does it unravels all across a room. 

Better to have the legal framework in place by a knowledgeable professional with zero skin in the game, than to have an ambiguous setup that costs several thousands to unravel.

If things are unraveling for them, I would call their emergency contact and get their support system involved. 

How do you unravel this property ownership if either of you wants to leave the situation. 

I'm still unraveling some bad partnerships years later. 

I have had instances were I got the trustee's deed and it was recorded only to have the Trustee contact me and say hey we F d up and need to unravel this..

See how things can unravel?  

I think, unfortunately, your friend made some very critical mistakes that are going to cost him time and money.Here's what I see as the steps to unraveling these egregious errors:(1) Hire an attorney whom specializes in landlord/tenant law(2) Wait for the eviction moratorium in NYS to end (patience will be required here, as we're at 16 months and counting)(3) Under your attorney's advice, carry out an action against this freeloading occupant as a "licensee"  (I think it's called section 425?

It is a manifestation of the government getting involved and making things so complicated you need a computer to unravel the mess.