Need help with a decision!

[Andrew Shelton]

Hello BP community! I need some advice on how to move forward with my wife and I's real estate goal which is to attain financial independence and be able to travel the world at our leisure and also be able to go visit my family in Alabama as often as we would like. I am currently working full time as a RN in Los Angeles and I pick up at least two extra shifts/ month. We currently live in an apartment that costs us $1775/ month, but it's getting a little cramped for us as space is running out. All of our current monthly expenses and budgeted expenses cost us somewhere in the neighborhood of $3500/ month. We purchased our first property this year that we are using as a STR out of state. With my work and our rental income we are able to comfortably put away about $5K/month. We have about $50K in the bank. We took a look at a 2B/2BA condo yesterday that is going for $365K in LA but we are considering living in it. This would greatly improve our space issue and allow us to more comfortably have guests, such as out of state relatives (I grew up in Alabama and miss my family often) come visit. BUT, it would cost about $24K with a FHA to get in the door and make some minor repairs AND it would increase our monthly debt burden by approximately $700 / month. So, my question is, knowing my goal of being financially independent and understanding the situation what would you suggest I do? Should we buy the property to improve our living situation and start to build equity? Or hold off for a little while and continue to focus on adding to our portfolio? Thanks in advance!