just got pre approved for 800k - but not much to buy round here besides apartments. thinking long beach because id be able to take the train to LA if i need to go into the office and you can still get a sfh for under 800k, and not a fan of the Valley... plus im single no kids. do i need a house? do it for the investment? do it to stop pating rent? what say the erbb?
edit - If i need to i can put 20 percent down but a freind mentioned getting the FHA loan or whatever - paying a higher mortgage for a year and then refi'ing? im a total noob here so...
I moved from renting a 1br guest house in Mar Vista to buying a 3br home in south LA summer 2020, and don't necessarily regret the decision.
Something you may not be considering: Maintaining a house is expensive. Maintenance + insurance + property tax is more than what I paid in rent.
I look at my mortgage as a set investment that I make monthly, the other sh!t my actual living expenses.
I'd have done a lot better putting my 20% down payment + monthly mortgage payment into the right stocks/crypto, but the home value is up ~15-20% from where I bought and LA property values will almost certainly outperform those other investments on a down turn.
When and if that downturn comes is the question if you're thinking of buying. I think it will be more of a price plateau rather than a dip here, but we shall see. Prices are definitely way up.