Should I make a down payment for a house instead of going into renting next year?

[AbuHossam]

Hello everybody!! I want to see if somebody has something to give in this dilemma I have going on right now. As background, I’m 20 years old and making around $3,500 monthly (I work as a server so it fluctuates). I live by myself and pay for all my stuff (my family is in/from Colombia). I’m also trying to find a better paying job at the moment, but hasn’t yet happened. I have a personal loan of $4,500 and a car loan of around $20,000. For this year I’m living rent-free at a friend’s house until December for sure with a chance of a little more time, and will be starting school in the middle of this year, hoping to find lots of scholarships but still counting on having to pay around $3-4k per semester. However, whenever I get out of the house at the end of the year I need to figure out what to do about housing.

My girlfriend and I have been together for around two years, and have come to an agreement of handling our finances together until we can settle down, finish our career and then get married (not because of not wanting to, but because of the costs and family approval). Her income is around $1,400 , bringing it down to combined $4,900. However, she’s also looking for a better job since she already has a College degree.

My actual concern is, counting on paying the personal loan in the next two or three months, paying school cash if necessary, paying a good amount on my car (with around $12,000 left to pay), and saving some money (around $1,200 at the moment) for whatever we have to figure out with housing, should I make a down payment for a house instead of going into renting next year? I understand we should technically pay off my car first according to Baby Steps, but we would rather paying off our own house instead of paying rent that doesn’t take us anywhere on the long run.

Thank you so much for the advice in advance.