Yes, rent for an apartment like this in Mira Mesa is around $1050 to $1100. I was looking to rent in this area but then decided to pay $200 more to live in Carmel Valley to be closer to the 5 freeway. My sister in law (a part-time realtor) told me to buy an apartment like this instead of renting. She said with 20% down, my mortgage payment would be much lower than my rent and then later I can buy a house and rent the apartment out.
Let say an apartment is selling for $130K, and you put down $26K (20%), then the principal is $104K
with interest rate around 5.7%, monthly payment is $603
$603
$200 HOA
$140 Tax
—-
$943
It makes sense but I thought prices might still come down lower.