Should I Buy This Condo? (Time Sensitive!)

[Abra West]

I'm 29 years old and make $75000 annually. I have an opportunity to buy a nice 1x1 condo for $240000 in an decent area of Santa Ana (which is an OK area of central Orange County [it isn't the safest, but it's very convenient to a number of business/universities with lots of potential renters]).

The condo is 713 sq ft, with community laundry, semi-upgraded (newer/upgraded cabinets in the kitchen, laminate flooring throughout, tile counters), carport + 1 extra parking, large patio, 1st floor, corner unit, lots of light, safe/gated community with good amenities (pool/spa, club house, sauna, small fitness room), location is convenient to shopping, freeways, other cities, etc.

Purchase price would be $240K with 20% down. I'd be borrowing a bit from my mom (interest free) to assist with the down payment and plan to pay her back $200/month. The total mortgage/interest/taxes/HOA is $1516/month (and with paying back my mom, I'd be looking at $1716/month).

My plan would be to get it, move into it for about a year, and then rent it out/keep it as a long term investment. I checked comps in the area, and it looks like they're renting for about $1500.

Is this a smart decision/investment?

My boyfriend isn't a fan of the purchase. He's worried about: my potentially moving out of the area/who would manage the property, doing the family thing/me working less (and not being able to cover the monthly payment should it not be currently rented), my getting into a 30 year commitment for a mortgage, etc.

I'm not as worried about these things (I have 3 years of property management experience and no concerns about whether or not I would be able to rent the property; if I'm not in the area, my mom is a real estate agent and she would rent the property; I feel like wherever I end up I'll be able to make at least $2000/month to cover the cost of it sitting vacant... which I highly doubt that it would as the area/condo is quite good/convenient). But then I wonder if I'm not considering unforeseen costs? I feel like, even if I rent it and only break even (or lose a month or so of rent if it sits vacant), it'll still be OK to invest in as it will hopefully increase in value over the years and, when the mortgage is paid off, it will be passive income just in time for retirement. OR, I could sell it in 5-10 years and use whatever equity has been gained as a down payment for something bigger/better. But I think I would prefer to keep it as a property for future passive income.

One thing to consider is, because I will be paying the down payment back, the monthly cost of ownership would be more like $1716, and with an expected rental income of $1500, I'd be losing around $200 every month.

I do worry that I'm buying when the market is too high, and so when it inevitably dips I'll be losing money almost instantly.

It's always been a goal of mine to buy myself a property. But, I don't want that goal to blind me of a bad purchase.

I just don't want to purchase something that's almost guaranteed to lose me a lot of money over the long term, and I don't want to buy into something that will prevent me from getting more properties or a future home.

Any and all advice/input is appreciated. Thank you!!