Moving advice from San Jose to San Diego CA

[Dominique Le]

Hi all!  My husband and I live in San Jose, CA but our long time goal is to move to San Diego, and I think it may happen hopefully in the beginning of next year (Jan/Feb?).  My husband is working from home until the end of July 2021 and works at a reputable tech company.  We want to take advantage of this opportunity to move to SD.  Unfortunately permanent work from home might not be an option after July 2021, so there is a chance my husband has to look for another job in San Diego if that's the case.  I have to quit and find a new job in SD, and unsure of how quick I can get one.  We will rely on my husbands income when we move, although, I will start looking for jobs a month or two before we actually move.

Given our situation, would it be more beneficial to find a short term rental (6 months or month to month lease vs. 1  yr) when we make the move from San Jose to SD?  I don't want to lockdown a rental too long, as we are on the lookout for purchasing our first investment (we want to purchase a multi-family and start house hacking).  Also, how does it work to get pre-approved for a home given that our job situation isn't secure?  And is it best to find a realtor with some investment experience to help find us a multi-family when we start looking?

One last thing... any advice on breaking leases early?  Our lease doesn't end until April 2021, but we want to move sooner.. how would we best approach this with our property manager?  We are very good tenants with stable jobs, pay on time, rarely call to have them fix issues, and keep our rental very clean.  I imagine if we want to break our lease early, we would still have to pay rent until our lease is over, but we want to avoid that if possible and see if we can work something out.

Appreciate any advice!