I have been a Realtor in California for the past 24 years and I cannot think of another time when it actually was true that it was cheaper to own a home rather than renting. According to North County Times reporter, Eric Wolfe, such a time has occurred in 2 cities in San Diego County. One of those cities was Oceanside and the other one is Poway.

Recently I had a client who fell right into the story of our subject line. This young Marine and his wife decided that it was time for them to buy their first home. Though their budget was very limited, we found a very nice little 2 bedroom 2 bath town home with a nice size patio/yard and a 1 car garage.  The cost was $155,000 and we were even able to get the seller to pay for all of the buyers closing cost. When all was said and done, their monthly payment with principal, interest, taxes, insurance and home owner’s dues totaled $1350.00. If they were to go out and rent that same house, they would be paying $1400.00-$1500.00 per month.

What a great way to get started! If they needed to relocate, there wouldn’t be any problem renting the home and someone else would be making their entire payment for them! Did I mention that he used a VA loan and didn’t have to come out of his pocket with any money?

The good news is that this isn’t an isolated story. There are a number of homes out there where this scenario can be played out. I recently compiled my top 15 list of homes that are extraordinary buys. If you would like me to email you this list, just send me a quick note and I would be happy to do it. I look forward to the possibility of speaking with you soon. Happy month of May!