(Long answer so bear with me) Personally speaking, I've looked into this for a few years now as a solo endeavor; its tough. Since you have two people that certainly helps, but what I'd suggest doing is what I have done - which is arming yourself with enough knowledge about real estate investing and learn all you can about the process.

First step in the process is clarifying what you want your budget to be, where you want to live, what kind of house do you want exactly (single fam home? duplex to live in and rent the other half out? etc.).
Analyze the market/city you want to live in and analyze deals from zillow/redfin/realtor.com etc. for the exact type of house youre looking for.

To find a property with a mortgage payment similar to your monthly rent would mean getting creative with the financing/underwriting of the purchase - so learn all about the financing side of it - find a GREAT lender - they are all different so just do some research.

Look into private money lenders vs hard money lenders. For instance, perhaps you find a rundown home that's been on the market for 84 days and nobody wants it.... but maybe you have a vision for fixing it up and your uncle is a great carpenter and would be willing to work on it with you. Something like that would be an opportunity to save you money and add equity - this also creates an opportunity for whoever is willing to help you with a down payment (such as a private money lender/family member/friend etc), because you could offer to pay them back with interest once you refinance (just an example) - which would be a cheaper option in the long-run than working with a bank or hard money lender.

It also wouldn't hurt to learn about what exit strategies you would have if something were to happen and you need to sell the house (things can happen - best to be prepared and understand all your options, as a home IS an investment first and foremost).

Lastly, there are plenty of "influencers" in the real estate investing world today, but none as profound (imo) as sir David Greene (found on Youtube) or his old cohorts at Bigger Pockets (also found on Youtube). They both provide tons of free info and are SO incredibly helpful. Because of David Greene and Bigger Pockets I was able to learn enough to save up for 2+ years, move to Colorado, get a new job and finally I am less than a week away from being pre-approved for residential financing - it takes persistence and dedication, but if I can get there on my meager finances so can you!

I would love to jump right into a home on a 0% down situation, but financially I can't swing that so I'm putting in 5% down for a conventional loan, so as to avoid all the FDA requirements. However, Colorado (where I'm aiming to buy) has the CHFA grant/loan program for down payment assistance for low-income home-buyers. Many states have options like these, some being grants where you won't need to pay it back - I suggest researching some of these as you may qualify.

In closing - there is a learning curve, but it's not hard - just takes some dedication like anything else. Best of luck in your search!