Rent or Buy in Orange County

[Cort Green]

I maybe moving my family to Orange County. If we want to buy, we'll need to spend about $1,000,000 to be in the area and in a house we want. I currently own two homes with about $250,000 in equity combined. I'd sell them both to assist with a down payment, and then have a mortgage of around $4,500. Or I can keep the houses as rentals, or sell them and invest that equity into rentals, and rent a home in OC for about the same as the mortgage payment. It's hard to stomach writing a $4,500 rental check each month, but its also hard to stomach sinking all my equity into a house that won't be providing any cash-flow or passive income. Any thoughts or advice?

Thanks.

[Joshua Massari]

Cort Green

OC is tough to purchase and make investing sense in today's market, even with a distressed property. The prices have gone through the roof the last few years. I bought a 4/2 in Costa Mesa in 2011 as my primary residence with the intention of renting it out after 5 years. I am finishing up renovations this week and putting it on the rental market. I am going to be moving in with my girlfriend and renting for now, but looking at purchasing another property is just not adding up. I have started investing out of state and even looking out in the 29 palms area for investments.