We want to buy a bigger house (with parking) but we need to sell our house first in order to afford the downpayment on the next house.

Yeah they have a financial drag, but nothing we can't afford.

Plus, I'm just not thrilled about forking out 20% when I would rather put that money to work for me elsewhere and opt for a 5-10 percent down payment.So in the simplest terms, if one uses math and logic, we clearly have the means to afford the house, but with traditional financing, the 20 percent will be a bit of a stretch for us.  

We offer financing for all credit types, affordable down payments, and will work hard to find a way to make this house your new home.If you want a quiet, peaceful living experience for your family, This is definitely the place you want to be.

Starting out I would buy the nicest 4 family that I could afford in an area that I wanted to live in.

It's absolutely frustrating, but common.

Disclaimer -- I'm paying debt off right now deferring an emergency fund and relying on a contract job that could go away tomorrow; however, my wife makes enough that we can afford our three properties if I'm not working.  

I do understand that the interest rate is typically lower for a 15 year mortgage, but if you can afford the note on the 15 year mortgage, you will actually pay the debt off faster by financing it on a 30 year amortization schedule because each payment would be an overpayment due to the lower monthly payment requirement for a 30 year mortgage.  

I am in process of buying a condo to help my kid who is unable to afford rent about 2000 per month and she would need for 4 years .

San Diego is an amazing place to live.That being said, it's a pretty terrible place to invest in buy and hold single family if you're looking for cashflow.The people who do buy and hold SFRs in San Diego fall under a few categories in my book:- People who bought back long ago or during the crisis and are able to maintain good rental cashflow- People who are speculating on appreciation and can afford to eat the risk and negative cashflow- People who can't do math