San Diego, CA - Buy or Rent?

[Ron Trinh]

Hi BP Community,

From a financial perspective, should my fiancee and I plan to buy a home after our wedding or keep renting? I have been tinkering with this dilemma for some time now and understand it depends on a multitude of variables. Would love to get your thoughts.

Some background about me:

-Real Estate Tax CPA (combined income around $125k)

-Soon to be married (have $30K wedding to pay off that will deplete our savings and thinking about saving to purchase a SFH after wedding paid off)

-Currently paying $1,200 in total rent between fiancee and I in Vista, CA (Working in La Jolla) - We live with one roommate who takes on about 1/3 of the rent.

-Listened to all BP podcasts, read Brandon's books, etc. and they all seem to point to purchasing (for debt pay down, appreciation, etc.), however in San Diego, rent seems to be a lot less than a mortgage+expenses. Most 400K-500K condos/SFH in this area will require mortgage payments of $1,800+.

-Fiancee is tired of living with roommates so house-hacking is out of the question. 

Would really like to start investing sometime next year and my original plan was to buy a SFH that could potentially be a great rental in San Marcos, CA (near CSUSM).

Thanks and look forward to your thoughts!