Just use this calculator: https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2014/upshot/buy-rent-calculator.html https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2014/upshot/buy-rent-cal

Just use this calculator: https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2014/upshot/buy-rent-calculator.html https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2014/upshot/buy-rent-cal... In most Bay Area markets, it makes more sense to rent than buy from a purely financial perspective. It's only if you value the ability to modify the home or have a sense of permanence that it starts to flip.