Which one makes more sense: renting or buying a house? This can be a tough question to answer, as there are many variables and everyone's situation is different. Use our rent vs buy calculator to find out what makes more sense for you.
This calculator is very easy to use and consists of 3 pages: buy details, rent details, and conclusion. On the first page, enter the details for the home you're considering buying and other costs that will come with a loan. None of the fields are required, but we recommend adding as much detail as possible to get a better estimate. Banks typically want to see a 15-20% of down payment. If you want to go with a lower ratio, you might also have to get a private mortgage insurance (PMI).
When you're done with the buying option, press Next to go to the second page where you can enter renting numbers. If you're not seeing anything, try scrolling up! Now, simply enter your monthly rent amount, and your estimate for how much it goes up every year. Also enter the current 10 year Cash Deposit (CD) amount to compare how much your money would grow over the next 10 years, if you were to invest the up-front costs in a CD, instead of a house down payment. Click Next when you're ready.
The final page of the rent vs buy calculator will give you a breakdown of your Year 1 Costs for the two options. Underneath this table, you will find a chart of your wealth accumulation over the course of the next 10 years. The example below indicates that buying is more profitable for this case in the long term.
Click the Start Over button to run a different scenario. The system will keep the values you've entered, and you can easily modify the numbers for another comparison.
