Santa Clara and San Mateo works too, but the prices are way too high for us.

Have you looked in the Wilmington /San Pedro area?

(Or a multifamily) we are wondering about trying to make our offer standout in the San Francisco bay area by including two tickets to Italy in the offer( the sellers are super artsy)...Is this a crazy idea?

At this stage I'm looking at:http://www.trulia.com/property/3095616090-5842-Fort-Stanwix-St-San-Antonio-TX-78233Current rents are going for 950-1025 in the area, which after mortgage would leave me with about 300.I guess my ask is: Can you provide guidance?

.) ;-)I agree with everything you're saying, and it could be my pet peeve too, but I gave up trying to argue with other people about where the "center line" is relative to San Francisco and Sacramento.And finally, you're talking to a guy in south Orange County -- do you really think I want northern California to be part of southern California!!??

The current location is probably one of the best chances I will get at buying my first house since it is a fairly cheap market compared to most other places I will get stationed (Such as San Diego where if I buy my first home there it will be 2-3x the cost and if it goes vacant there I will be in deep sh** while if this one goes vacant I can still keep my self afloat)Sorry for the long post but its the only way I could paint the full picture so that I can get the most relevent advice on my current predicament.

But I don't know prices in San Fran either.

@Seth Williams  I am looking into buying a single family home for rehab and hold purposes in San Antonio, TX. 

Feel free to PM if you'd like his contact -- he's based in San Dimas.

", research the San Antonio market.