Is the Dream Dead?

[Kevin Koenig]

I scrimped and saved since college with a low/middle income job and I finally got into a condo in 2020 at a 3.25% rate in Southern California. Fully remodeled it myself for about, I think, all in 12k. I got rid of the PMI last month and the assessment came back with 400k in equity with an initial investment of 50k. I've always aimed to use real estate as a vehicle to build some wealth since my career choice will never provide that. I'm also a recent Father and this 700SF place with no parking and shared laundry is just not doable anymore and I can't seem to figure out next moves to keep moving forward and not backwards on my real estate investing journey.

In March, I could have rented the place out for 5.5k a month but since then rents have fallen to 3.1k a month while my HOA+property taxes and mortgage total at 3.6k/mo. I can only assume this is a result of the tech scourge being recalled to their homeland in the Bay with full time work from home being increasingly rare. Regardless BRRR is out along with renting out the condo while renting a home in a less desirable area. Home rents have not fallen even in the undesirable locations of the city and have actually increased about 20% since March.

Additionally, selling the place and trying to house hack and taking advantage of the State's huge push for ADU's and JADU's does not pencil out. Rates are just too high and home prices here are ludicrous. The grant money the state was offering is also all gone.

Anything I’m missing or angles I can pursue? This place is small for a family and I don’t want to just throw out years of careful finances in the rush to just buy something, anything but I can’t seem to figure out how to make something more out of this equity.