Keep in mind:
1. Lots of people want no part of owning a house. My son is one of them.
2. There are many places where it’s easy to afford a home. I live in one of them.
3. Lots of mom and pop landlords don’t squeeze people at all. They charge enough to cover expenses and a bit of margin so they can fix a sudden problem, like a broken furnace. I had to start renting the small house I used to live in, because nobody would buy it, not even via rent to own. Tenants mostly sucked. My adult son lives there now: win-win, bcz he gets to live in one of his childhood homes and never worries about repairs, and I always get the rent in time to make the mortgage payment on time. The house is perfect for a single person or small family, but it was crowded once I remarried, which is why we bought a bigger house. If you can work remote, move to a place like central Illinois, where the houses are affordable.