It doesn’t sound like you’re too fond of any of the options available. Have you thought of looking at other complete alternatives such as moving out of the area/state?
I’m also in my late 20s, have more capital than the average person at our age and have a job that pays well. My wife and I started looking at moving out of Escondido six or so months ago and found that there were simply no good options. The math we were looking at was basically along the lines of selling our current house and adding 150k-300k onto the mortgage to move to an area with better schools/ closer to my work. The thought of doing this was just something we couldn’t stomach so we started looking at other options and ultimately decided to move out of state. I’m fairly lucky in that I can telework most of the time and travel when necessary. My wife and I both like living in Southern California but the sacrifices you have to make to live here outweigh the benefits in our minds. I know this option isn’t one that everyone can take as it does require some upfront capital and some people have family/friends here that they’d never leave or a job/skills that don’t transfer easily but if you aren’t highly tied here I’d recommend looking at other states/areas where you could see yourself. Your 250k will buy a mansion in most of the country or a nice house along with a couple of rentals.
