$500,000 not enough to afford a house? Poppycock! In Michigan, she should be able to buy adequate housing for $120,000. Buy three more for the same price. Spend 10k to pay off bills and 10k to buy adequatee transportation. This gives her a monthly income of about $2400/month. Certainly sufficient to pay her monthly bills. This gives her the financial freedom to go to school, get a degree and get a job. With a base income of $2400, the world becomes a much more interesting oyster.
As mentioned in another post, she is just poor, and has no idea of how to use her money for her benefit.
You can buy the house, but if your overall income is inadequate to keep the house, you will eventually lose the house. That is what I’m saying.
You’re far better off, if it’s only a million dollars, to forego the house until you have a diploma in something marketable and then buy one, if your new income will support your purchase.
You are almost always better off to keep your lifestyle as low-key as reasonably possible regardless of your actual income.
I should also mention that houses in Canada are also much higher than in many places in the States.
In my local market, an average house is now about 400 grand and a townhouse is about 300 grand. That affects what I think I could do.
But one thing I would do is get something marketable that I could run out of my home and maximize those tax deductions like mad.