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Add the recession, rising health care and housing costs, and longer lives to the reasons for shared housing's popularity. "My hunch is that money will be the incentive to get over

the fear of 'Me? Live with a stranger? Never!' " says Annamarie Pluhar, a shared-housing consultant and author of _Sharing Housing: A Guidebook for Finding and Keeping Good

Housemates._ "But it's also having someone say, 'How is your day?' and having a social connection that feeds the soul." Few could deny that there are emotional and

physical benefits from friendship and social engagement — and research supports this. In a home share, the residents can also split household chores, feel safer with more people around, and

grow older at home without feeling isolated. THE LOGISTICS OF LIVING TOGETHER After conferring with attorneys, accountants and financial planners, McQuillin, Machinist and Bush took out a

three-way mortgage on a brick, five-bedroom, $395,000 colonial in Mount Lebanon, Pa., a suburb of Pittsburgh. McQuillin has the third-floor bedroom, bathroom and office; Bush, a second-floor

bedroom and private bath that adjoins her office; and Machinist has the master suite. Every month, the women deposit the same amount into their joint checking account to pay for utilities,

property taxes and repairs. They each contribute a $100 gift card, with which they buy and share groceries — if someone entertains family or friends, she pays separately — and they

occasionally eat together. They have house rules, including no overnight guests for more than seven consecutive nights, with built-in flexibility. HOME SHARING DO'S AND DON'TS *

Before moving in or accepting a housemate: * Make sure everyone in the house meets the prospective housemate before giving the go-ahead. Meet on Skype if long distances are involved. Good

chemistry is key! * Decide how common rooms will be used and cleaned, what possessions are shared or off-limits, and how chores will get done. * In writing, spell out rules on smoking,

overnight/day guests, how and when to pay bills, and what happens if the home share fails. All should sign. * Before house keys are distributed, make sure all money is paid (for example,

first month and last month, security deposit). * Don't pay, or accept, a security deposit in installments. * Any pet peeves? Discuss! * Share a meal after a week to see how the

arrangement is working. * Have an exit strategy — just in case. "It's like living with two wonderful sisters," says Bush, 65. The three have coauthored a book titled _My

House, Our House: Living Far Better for Far Less in a Cooperative Household_. Another home sharer, Marianne Kilkenny, 63, not only owns a house-sharing coaching business in Asheville, N.C.,

and gives workshops (one is called "Women Living in Community: From Dreaming to Doing"), but lives with three other women ages 48 to 69; two are divorced, another never married.

Each has her own bedroom and bathroom, but Kilkenny pays the most, $900 monthly, including utilities, because she has the in-law apartment with a separate kitchen. The other rents range from

$550 to $650. They share living areas, including a screened-in back porch where they eat in good weather. The women have a meal together at least once a week as well as a weekly meeting.

There are rules, such as hours when they can't do laundry or must be quiet in the halls. Everyone must be notified before guests, such as boyfriends or children, visit. Lorraine

Chambers, 69, is one of Kilkenny's housemates. Chambers' son, Jason, is a college dean and father to young children, and he lives more than two hours away. "It's

comforting to know Mom is in a safe neighborhood with people who genuinely care about one another," he says. "And it's the leveraging of each other's financial resources

that makes it possible for her to share such a nice place."