If I were you, I would skip the “work less” plan for a year or two and hunker down.
Believe me, nobody likes to “work less” more than me, but earning and saving cash over the next couple of years is just the right thing to do.
Your cash is safe as deflation seems to be taking charge for a while. Some day (1 year? 2 years? 5 years?) inflation will take over and putting the capital into a house will make more sense.
If you LOVE it there, why are you even looking in SV ? Makes no sense. Look where you want to live.
If I were you, I would focus almost 100% on the difference between the total cost of living in a rented place vs. purchased place. Compare the same place, too, not your $700 hobbit hole to a 2BR condo. If you want to buy a 1 BR condo – check out rents in that exact complex. Compare it to an actual mortgage that you would pay. Consider property tax, income tax deduction, monthly cash flow, depreciation/appreciation, the cost of adding furniture and upgrades. Everything. How does the loss of flexibility in owning compare to the intangible comfort of owning ?
When researching condos, inquire aggressively into the status of the HOA group. Are people skipping their HOA payment? It’s a sign of trouble and an insolvent HOA (one with not enough cash) is really something you want to avoid.
Also, I’ll give you my best advice: Put the difference between your rent and your monthly house payment into the bank every month. I can’t say enough good things about this strategy. It teaches you the discipline to make a big payment every month and it builds a down payment. When you have enough of a down payment and feel you can make those payments for 30 years, and prices come down a bit, it’s time to buy.
