Rent or buy?
Change anything below and every number updates. No submit button, so the answer is never stale.
Renting
$
%
Buying
$
%
%
yrs
Monthly cost
Renting
$3,000
Rent$3,000
Buying
$5,417
Mortgage$3,792
Tax, insurance, upkeep$1,625
After 7 years
$230,195
better off renting
Assumes the down payment is invested if you rent.
Break-even
Not within 7 years
On these assumptions renting stays ahead for the whole period. Stretch the horizon, or lower the price, and the lines cross.
Renting
Total rent paid
-$275,849
Σ rent × 12, grown each year
Investment account
$225,545
$150,000 × (1 + 6%)^7
Net position
-$50,304
investments − rent paid
Buying
Total cash out
-$605,062
down + interest + principal + tax + insurance + upkeep
Recovered at sale
$324,564
sale price − loan balance − selling costs
Net position
-$280,499
recovered − cash out
Where the money went
- Interest $261,060
- Taxes $63,000
- Insurance $21,000
- Maintenance $52,500
- Selling costs $55,344
- Principal $57,503
- Appreciation $172,405
Net position over time
Years heldNet position, US dollars
Buying Renting
Now put a real building behind the numbers
This model runs on defaults. Yours runs on an actual price, the actual tax bill for that address, and the rent the unit next door is getting. We bring those to the first call.
The maths is real; the assumptions are defaults you can change, and it ignores tax treatment, which can move the answer a long way. Not financial advice.