condo purchase to rent out in 4 years. Is it worth it???

[Edita D.]

Hey guys,
to rent an apartment in my good neighborhood (right next to Balboa park, San Diego), costs:
-1bedrrom: 1000-1300$/month (average 1100)
-2bedroom: 1300-1950$/month (average 1600)
Data taken from www.rentometer.com

My fiance and I were thinking about PURCHASING a condo that we can stay in for 4 years, and then move into a house in a good neighborhood away from the city. (Houses per sq ft are almost 1.5-2 times more expensive in this Balboa neighborhood in comparison with condos). The plan was to RENT out this condo once we buy a house. This way we were trying to build EQUITY instead of building SOMEBODY ELSE'S equity.
But after analyzing the condo market, we figured out that once we move out of the condo and get it rented, our cash-flow will be 350-450$/month NEGATIVE!!!!!!! (Basically, it's 350-450$ more to OWN than to RENT). We looked at lots of different properties and played with numbers, and we STILL come out short, unless we find a condo that charges 35% less per sq ft and HOAs do not exceed 250! It's almost IMPOSSIBLE to find a deal like that.

I definitely do not want to be throwing money away, but doesn't it seem a lot more cost-effective to just RENT for 1-2 years, and then buy a house. In the meantime buy another property (as many as we can afford!) in Vegas, Phoenix or any other cash-flow cities. (we currently own a 4-plex in CA and a 2br house in Vegas). I really want to own, but I have to be LOGICAL. No emotions.
Besides, a 350000 condo will cost us (with the HOA fees) the same amount to spend a month as a 425000 house!!!.

What do you guys think?