patrick.net

Go with your feelings young one. Condo HOA is a nightmare now IMO.

My opinion is that you should take advantage of the sweet rental deal and keep a close eye on the market. When homes start selling faster at steady or higher prices, it's time to buy. It wouldn't normally be a mistake to buy when it costs about the same as renting, but you have an opportunity to live cheaply so why not do it? Oh, because it feels like you're using the party who's willing to rent it to you for half price. Just pay the rent on time and leave the place in better condition than you found it and that should take care of the karma.

ordertaker says

My opinion is that you should take advantage of the sweet rental deal and keep a close eye on the market. When homes start selling faster at steady or higher prices, it’s time to buy. It wouldn’t normally be a mistake to buy when it costs about the same as renting, but you have an opportunity to live cheaply so why not do it? Oh, because it feels like you’re using the party who’s willing to rent it to you for half price. Just pay the rent on time and leave the place in better condition than you found it and that should take care of the karma.

ditto!

Live cheap, take the sweet deal. But keep an eye out for the "perfect" place, should it come along. My niece just picked up a house in Santa Ana that was everything they wanted and the payment was less than rent (after 20% down). It was the house of a woman who recently died - they knew the family and saved on realwhore fees plus the purchase price was less because they wanted 1) quick sale and 2) a buyer who loved granny's house and would treat it well.

But take the sweet deal.

What city? Is it Ladera Ranch? Take the sweet deal. Accumulate cash. By the time your kid needs to go to school, you'll have many more options.

burritos says

What city? Is it Ladera Ranch? Take the sweet deal. Accumulate cash. By the time your kid needs to go to school, you’ll have many more options.

See my icon.

It looks like there is no debate. I also figure that if the price somehow magically goes up, the money we save in renting vs. paying mortgage and hefty HOA/taxes will cover the price difference any way.

Now just need to get the other adult on the same page...

take the cheap rent. Save up money and buy a house not a condo.

Future Cash Buyer says

Now just need to get the other adult on the same page…

Sometimes it sucks to grow up and face reality...

My personal opinion is, but a place if you really love it and it makes sense financially. Don't settle when you are spending this much money. Houses have been there for thousands of years, these are never going to be a hard to come by commodity.

If you can rent really cheap do it, especially if its rent controlled so it can only go up by a little bit each year (3%?). Will save you tons of money long term until you can get what you really want and not settle on some place you don't necessarily love.

I would advise against HOA, it can become a nightmare. Often times there is fraud and bullying and it's very frustrating. In our parents house (which is HOA) lived through several years of drama because their HOA went up to $312/month and was about to go up again. Than eventually someone uncovered some contracts that were signed to a contractor friends company of a tenant which were very frivolous. Also uncovered that some HOA members spent the community money to do their own remodels and even started taking salary. It happens, and its another thing to worry about.

Like I said it's my personal opinion, avoid HOA's if you can, it is not worth the nightmare it can potentially turn into.

I wish I could understand CA housing. Why would anyone pay 400 -500K for a condo? I dont get it.
I wish I could but you could buy a mansion in many parts of the USA for that kind of money. I guess I dont get it because I have never lived there. The prices for homes in CA are so far out there compared to the rest of the country that it is hard to understand. Do you make that much more money in that bankrupt state to afford that housing?

JohnAlexander says

I wish I could understand CA housing. Why would anyone pay 400 -500K for a condo? I dont get it.

I wish I could but you could buy a mansion in many parts of the USA for that kind of money. I guess I dont get it because I have never lived there. The prices for homes in CA are so far out there compared to the rest of the country that it is hard to understand. Do you make that much more money in that bankrupt state to afford that housing?

CA still has a bubble, state subsidized the bubble for a bit with a temporary tax credit, but it will go down too.
In Ohio where I originally lived, one would have a huge mansion for that price.

JohnAlexander says

I wish I could understand CA housing. Why would anyone pay 400 -500K for a condo? I dont get it.
I wish I could but you could buy a mansion in many parts of the USA for that kind of money. I guess I dont get it because I have never lived there. The prices for homes in CA are so far out there compared to the rest of the country that it is hard to understand. Do you make that much more money in that bankrupt state to afford that housing?

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2010/12/la-heat-wave-sunday-could-produce-record-highs.html

School will not be a important factor in the next 4-5 years.

4-5 years isn't that far in the future! Dropping an anchor in a condo without knowing what the schools are going to be like (and you might have different priorities in what you want in a school 4-5 years from now) doesn't sound like a good idea - I fell into this trap 5 years ago (house not a condo) and it's hanging around my neck like an old dead goose.

ditto Eightball.

4-5 yrs isn't enough time. If you are selling in 4-5 yrs, the 6% commission is $27k on a $450k condo. You will either lose your down payment when you sell or you will also have a dead goose around your neck. Harsh, but I suspect true. Sweet rental - no brainer.

Rent on the cheap! And get the other adult on board with the line "If we rent here for a few years, we'll be able to buy a place with a YARD instead of being stuck in a condo! Imagine little [insert name here] playing in her very own yard!"

Just want to also give you a short story which I have personally witnessed. Our neighbors were a young couple who were making about 200,000 a year. They bought a house (two houses away from us) in Woodland Hills, their payments were pretty high but easily doable as long as both were working.

Than at some point one of them lost a job and they were no longer able to afford the house because it took an entire salary of one of them to make the payments, food, gas, etc... they were negative. I always felt very sad for them, because they were so well to do, and yet just like that went from a well doing family to someone who lost all their downpayment, foreclosed, and in huge credit card debt. I think the moral of that very real story if you buy, make sure you can afford to live in it for a year without anyone working and if one of you two loses a job that you can comfortably live there. Because shit happens, and losing money isn't a big deal, but losing years of your life is something you'll never get back. Hope this helps as well.