Complete novice here looking at buying first property. A well-paying job, excellent credit score, extremely low DTI ratio (only credit card, fully paid off each month), etc. etc. etc.

I've been looking at buying ideally a 2-3 unit multifamily (but would settle for 3br /2ba townhome or house) in Los Angeles (west of the 405, either south bay or westside).

However, when I do the math based on the average rent in the neighborhoods and even considering the hypothetical situation where I rent out all of the rooms after 1 year - I just don't see how the sum total of rent will subsidize the mortgage HOA fees (assuming FHA loan w/ 3.5% down payment). The low end of properties I'm looking at comes out to just under $1M.

Am I missing something? Would renting the rooms out furnished (hence demanding greater rent) yield a better return on investment? Or is West LA just not profitable to buy property in unless you're already well off?