For me, I wouldn't buy a place that I couldn't rent out later and cashflow with the current market rent. I know too many people that have been stuck with a house they couldn't sell and its a boat anchor if they need to leave the area.
I know this restricts me, and it drives my girlfriend nuts, but I need that exit strategy to make me comfortable with such a large purchase.
This is similar to my mindset.
The house we currently live in was bought beating the 1% rule (it's about a 1.3%). It was a "cosmetic fixer-upper" as in everything works fine but nothing had been updated since the 80s. We've updated about half of it and plan on doing the rest this year, giving us some extra "sweat equity."
That gives us three future options:
1. Remain living in the house.
2. Leave and sell at a profit.
3. Leave and rent it out with positive cashflow.
That flexibility is huge for my piece of mind. It's similar to how I bought our first house, which we still have as a rental, and may end up selling this year (at a profit).