Hometrino calculators

Rent vs buy

Stress-test a time horizon with rent growth, ownership costs, appreciation, and selling costs.

Horizon

Years to hold / compare

Renting

$
Escalation % per year
%

Buying

$
$
$
%
%
$
$
Rule-of-thumb reserve
%
%
% of sale price (commission + fees)
%

After 7 years (modeled)

$21,032 lower cost to rent

At 7 years, total rent paid is lower than modeled net buy cost (after assumed sale).

Total rent paid

$220,679

Net cost of buying

$241,711

Cash outflows minus modeled net from sale

Est. sale price (end)

$618,117

Est. net from sale

$198,717

Reality check: This model uses steady rates of appreciation and rent growth, ignores tax deductions, opportunity cost of down payment, and transaction timing. Use it to explore sensitivity—not as a definitive answer.

Cumulative out-of-pocket (buy vs rent)

Rent: cumulative rent checks. Buy: down payment, closing, ongoing ownership costs (not net of sale until final summary).

What is included

Renting sums monthly rent with your annual escalation. Buying includes down payment, closing costs, mortgage principal & interest, taxes, insurance, HOA, and a maintenance reserve as a percent of value each year. At the end we apply appreciation to estimate sale price, subtract selling costs and remaining loan balance, and compare net buy cost to total rent paid.