<prompt> Human: im 33, live with my partner in the SF Bay Area, and im trying to figure out how we will ever move on from our 500 square foot rental apartment.the primary motivation for wanting to buy is to put down roots and feel more secure than we do as renters our rent is relatively low, but we dont have rent control. secondarily, wed like more space---possibly enough space to start a family but thats a huge question mark.my finances are OK: great credit score, no consumer debt, some federal student loan debt. retirement savings are in good shape, but im behind on cash savings about 10K, essentially an emergency fund. my partner has good credit, zero debt, more savings than me. our combined household income is under 150K, which feels low relative to our peers and the cost of living here.parents could help us with a down payment, but if we want to live in San Francisco or Oakland, were still looking at the biggest loan that our current incomes can support.its kind of bewildering that we could conceivably buy a house with our current incomes and parents help. the idea of possibly doubling our current monthly outlay after insurance, HOAs, taxes, etc. seems completely insane to me. i dont know how that would work unless i put savings including retirement savings completely on hold until our incomes catch up.my options, as i see them:1. buy something in the near future and be house poor until our incomes catch up2. try to be more frugal, save more systematically, wait for our incomes to rise, maybe buy when were 40, and hope that we can remain in our current rental indefinitely3. relocate someplace cheaper i.e., outside of the bay area, and probably california altogetherthe questions im grappling with: if we wait, what are the proscons of taking on a home loan in our forties which seems late to me? if we make a move sooner, how normal is it to push your net income to the breaking point for the sake of homeownership?  <response>: you cannot afford to buy in the bay area. with 10k in savings you are barely safely renting there; home ownership anywhere cant come until you save. 