The one problem I see with your downtown landlord situation is the sheer number of units currently on the market and those about to come onto the market. Most of those cranes you see are working on residential buildings. IMO the downward pressure on rents will continue as supply increases.

I love Downtown but I don’t understand the condo building going on there. Unlike Manhattan, Downtown SD has relatively little to no corporate base and limited job diversity. There will always be those who will want to live in Downtown. There just doesn’t seem to be the critical mass to support the supply there (at least at recent prices). I also believe the premium $/sq. ft. condos are the newer buildings.

In short, scrape up some cash and dump it as soon as you can.