My mortgage is literally one half of one week's net income.

STOP...RENTING...

I feel like I'm taking crazy pills. It's easy to get out of this cycle. Most states will have First Time Homebuyers programs, and even if you've had a home before, not having a home for 3+ years can cause you to re-qualify again.

Live in a shithole for a while if you have to. OWNING a home is like paying yourself. It's so much cheaper than renting, yes you have to fix things when they break, but you should want to learn those skills anyhow. Toilets, water pumps, hot water heaters, all that shit is pretty easy to fix yourself. Every penny you put into a house is like a savings account that doesn't actually count against you. You get done with that loan, and the worth of that house is yours. You're not paying $2k/month to someone else, with nothing to show for it. You're literally paying $2k a month to YOURSELF. Want to move? Sell the house. Anything you've put into it, you'll get back and then some.

Just whatever you do, get a FIXED rate mortgage. Or go for owner-financed. There's lots of options and renters just make excuse after excuse after excuse why they won't buy a house.