That is the way to go at it, people in the last decade were buying short term assuming it would go up forever. That said, you have to look at more than mortgage to compare to renting, especially if you’re buying a place with high taxes after a turnover (perhaps I’m misunderstanding CA prop 13 taxes).
It’s funny, I own rental property, and the deductibility of nearly anything makes the numbers work better than homeowning. It would take nerve, but making a pact with someone else to rent each other’s homes seems like it would have a great upside. All your taxes, interest payments, home improvements and maintenance would be either deductible or depreciable. The only thing I can’t deduct is loan capital payments and summonses.
