No, they weren’t in a relationship — they were just friends pooling their resources to break into the property market.

“We were both looking separately for a long time … and we both wanted to stay in the city, and in the end we realised it was really expensive,” Ms Dixon said.

“We just thought we should buy together, so we were able to buy a house in Red Hill.

“If I did that by myself I wouldn’t be in Red Hill.”

The idea of buying a house with a friend, rather than family or a partner, is one that is gradually becoming more popular.

But as Australians take more innovative steps to break into the property market, banks and regulation are struggling to keep up.

Queensland’s Property Law Act 1974 is so outdated a recent review commissioned by the state government recommended the legislation - much of which relied on 18th- and 19th-century property practice - be repealed and replaced.

That recommendation is currently open for public comment, but in the meantime first-home buyers, investors and families are seeking different ways to share the burden of a mortgage.

Australia’s capital city rental markets are notoriously expensive, with Brisbane’s annual median house price reaching $670,000 in the March 2018 quarter and about $400,000 for an apartment.

Bond University associate professor in property law Kate Galloway said there was a need for a serious discussion about how regulation manages property co-ownership as more people turn to sharing a mortgage as a way to break into the market.

The Commonwealth Bank is one of the few banks providing a co-ownership mortgage tailored to friends or family purchasing together, while the NAB is also investigating.

The regulation around a co-ownership purchase could be maze-like and difficult to navigate, Dr Galloway said, and wasn’t contemporary enough to keep up with Australia’s rapidly changing social landscape.

“Housing affordability is almost impossible for the ordinary person, and in addition, there are quite diverse living arrangements,” Dr Galloway said.

“I’m aware, for example, of circumstances where you have a couple of single mothers who might pool their resources and go into a house together, and they support each other by looking after the kids and supporting each other in work.”

The concept of friends, families or complete strangers pooling their resources to secure a mortgage and buy a property could be a highly practical one, Dr Galloway said, but it needs greater understanding and awareness of the potential for conflict.

Some Queensland residents are turning to social media and sales websites such as Gumtree to find like-minded people to purchase a property together, although Dr Galloway warned the risks and complexities in such a situation were higher.

“We’re not just talking nuclear family units,” she said.

“I think we’re going to see more and more circumstances where people are going to share property in circumstances that aren’t always harmonious.”

Ms Dixon said the most important thing about her purchase with Ms Washington was they had trust in each other, and had known each other for more than 15 years.

“We had to have trust in each other, so she knows what’s in my bank account and vice versa,” she said.

“We were very open with it and we had a really good broker who helped us through each of those steps.”

There are two legal types of co-ownership: joint tenancy, which traditionally was the kind of agreement made when a married or de facto couple purchased a house together, and tenants in common.

A joint tenancy means that if one member of the couple dies, the other retains full ownership over the property.

A tenants-in-common agreement, however, is more complicated, as each person’s name goes onto the title of the property and if one owner dies, their share of the property is settled according to their will.

Hazards in such circumstances include the impact on the overall value of the property, the chances of being able to sell a share in a property, and any disagreements between co-owners.

Proponents for a tenants-in-common agreement say it’s a way to share the burden of a full mortgage, as each person is responsible only for their repayments.

Such an agreement could also improve quality of living, as two or three people together could potentially purchase in a better neighbourhood than one person attempting to buy alone - just as Ms Dixon and Ms Washington did.

But Dr Galloway said there were plenty of complexities that needed to be thoroughly clarified before any paperwork was signed.

Case studies such as the communal living arrangements of hippie communes in the 1960s and '70s that clearly defined expectations and roles could be examined to find better ways to share property, she said.

Dr Galloway said anyone looking at sharing a property needed to understand the legislation involved — including how mortgages would be repaid, and the rights and responsibilities of each owner.

She said the idea of sharing property was “really sensible” but people approaching a tenants-in-common agreement needed to fully understand what they were signing.

“What if I built a very extensive, palatial house, and you built a ramshackle shed, and then we sell the property — who is entitled to the profits and how are they divvied up?” she said.

“Theoretically, you could provide for that with an agreement, but that’s a fairly complex agreement.

“For ordinary people who aren’t used to dealing with commercial arrangements there’s a lot to think through and a lot to imagine into the future.”

People considering a tenants-in-common agreement needed to have full planning for what would happen if one partner decided to sell, or defaulted on their mortgage, or if personal disputes and disagreements arose.

The other question, Dr Galloway said, was whether there was a market for shares in property if someone decided to sell their interest in a property.

For Ms Dixon and Ms Washington, they found the Commonwealth Bank was the only bank offering a mortgage that suited them, with each of them taking on an individual mortgage on the same property.

“It was good for us because that means one of us could pay it off a lot quicker than the other and it doesn’t affect each other’s mortgage payments,” Ms Dixon said.

As well as the mortgage establishment, she said the two friends have a contract between them that lays out contingency plans if one of them wishes to sell or if something else changes.

Ms Dixon said anyone thinking of buying property with friends should strongly consider it, but to always communicate and be open.

“It’s really hard to get into the market and especially if you want to stay in the city, I think 100 per cent it’s … such a good way to get your foot in the door and into the market,” she said.