I'm currently paying $1,000 in "rent." The rent money has been saved by father for a down payment. I've been able to survive just fine like that for a year.
That said, I'd like to stay around that if possible. It seems doable in my town.
The first house was absolute garbage. It needed new everything....
Second house, it has no A/C but, it has hot water heat and an blower upstairs that vents out the roof. I fired it up and it makes a huge difference, crack a window down stairs and most days I think it'll be good enough, for the few days it won't be, a window unit will work well, or a mitsubishi mini split.
The second house had a couple issues with water coming in through the windows in the basement. The home has no gutters and the ground may need to be reworked around the windows, it should be fixable. However, the the shitter is upstairs and there's one in the basement that I I'm not sure works. Main floor is shitter-less. I like the second house a whole bunch but, my Mortage would be $900.