Compare the projected cost and net worth impact of renting versus buying.
This tool models a mortgage amortization schedule, taxes (simplified), home appreciation, maintenance,
and invests the upfront cash + monthly differences to estimate a “rent alternative” portfolio.
Inputs stay in your browser.
Mortgage + taxes (simplified)
Net worth chart + breakeven
Year-by-year table
Mode: Planning estimate
1) Scenario
All amounts in USD
Annual %, used on upfront cash + monthly differences.
Mortgage interest + property taxes vs standard deduction
Tax settingsOptional
How this tool estimates tax benefit:
• Itemized = mortgage interest + property taxes (optionally SALT-capped) + other itemized (you enter)
• Incremental deduction = max(0, itemized − standard deduction)
• Tax benefit ≈ incremental deduction × (federal + state marginal rate)
This is simplified and will not match edge cases (AMT, phaseouts, NIIT, etc.).
2) Renting
Local rent dynamics
3) Buying
Mortgage + ownership costs
Annual %
Annual % of home value
% of home value / year
% / year
% of sale price
PMI settingsOptional
PMI is applied if down payment is below the threshold (default 20%). This is a simplified approximation.
% of loan balance / year
Common: 78% (automatic termination)
Tip: If you want this to feel “local,” you can prefill defaults by ZIP/city later (similar to your tax tool).
Results
—
Breakeven:— • Recommendation:—
Year 1 monthly cost (Buy)
$—
All-in (PITI + maint + HOA + PMI − tax benefit)
Year 1 monthly cost (Rent)
$—
Rent + renter’s insurance
End net worth (Buy)
$—
Home equity − selling costs (at end)
End net worth (Rent)
$—
Invested upfront cash + monthly differences
Net worth difference
$—
Buy − Rent at end of horizon
Total cash paid
$—
All payments over the horizon (nominal)
Year
Buy: Annual cost
Rent: Annual cost
Tax benefit
Home value
Mortgage bal
Buy net worth*
Rent net worth
Diff (Buy−Rent)
Run a calculation to see the table.
Important: This is a planning model for education only—not tax, legal, or financial advice.
Taxes are simplified and may differ materially from your actual situation. Consider confirming results with a CPA and/or a mortgage professional.
*Buy net worth is shown as: (home value − mortgage balance − selling costs at that year).
