is it wise to buy a condo for a single person with no kids?

[SD-2023]

^^^ Very nice ROI. Well done!

[GuyInSD]

Originally Posted by SD-2023

^^^ Very nice ROI. Well done!

Thank you; all I've done, though, is what many others have done (and many others can still do).
(note to OP - yes, I think San Diego real estate is a good idea)

Long term, San Diego real estate (in decent areas - this is a VERY important point - don't buy in crap parts of town) goes up around 4% a year. BUT - a standard down payment is 20% (25% for rentals), so that 4% becomes a 16%-20% ROI. Doing a quick guesstimate on mine, it looks like it works out to somewhere around 15%-16% - right in line with what I'd expect.

Of course, having a boatload of equity in your own residence is kinda useless (from a spend it/make use of it viewpoint) - that's where the rentals come in. Rent covers everything, and with the tax benefits, there's thousands of annual income (which can be invested elsewhere).

Eventually, a rental property can be sold, turning the equity into a big chunk of $, or if you like steady cashflow, just keep collecting rent (which generally keeps going up at around the rate of inflation). With a locked-in mortgage cost, the monthly cashflow keeps growing as well. For that matter, down the road you could refinance the property (to take a chunk of cash out), and still have rent cover everything (but with a reduced cashflow). I'm still trying to decide which route to take myself - big chunk of $, or steady monthly cashflow. There's probably no single answer - every person's situation is different. Either way, though, owning San Diego real estate = $$ long term...

[barryg]

I'm single and no kids. Won't be having any either. Have owned my condo in Carmel Valley since 2006. Yes if you can afford it, buy a condo. Rents near the coast are a lot and complexes like to raise you $100+/mo when you renew your lease.

Get a condo. Mine has gone up. If you can afford the down payment and the monthly.