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How to Use the Buy vs Rent Calculator

The Buy vs Rent Calculator helps you compare the long-term financial impact of renting a home with buying one. It estimates your annual housing costs and shows how your wealth could develop under both scenarios.

1. Enter Your Renting Costs

Start by entering your current or expected monthly rent. You can also include:

  • Monthly gas and electricity costs

  • Any rent subsidy you receive

  • Municipal taxes or other renter charges

  • Your investment discipline percentage

The investment discipline percentage represents how much of the potential cost difference between buying and renting you would actually invest. For example, entering 50% means that you assume half of the money saved by renting will be invested.

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2. Enter the Home Purchase Details

Next, enter the details of the property you are considering buying:

  • Property value

  • Mortgage amount

  • Mortgage type: annuity or linear

  • Mortgage term

  • Interest-only percentage

  • HOA or service fees

  • Home insurance

  • Expected annual maintenance costs

  • Gas and electricity costs

  • Municipal taxes

  • Mortgage interest rate

  • Estimated mortgage interest deduction

  • Imputed rent or other property-related tax assumptions

The calculator uses these figures to estimate your mortgage payments, ownership costs, tax benefits and remaining mortgage balance.

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3. Choose Your Long-Term Assumptions

Under Scenario Settings, enter your expectations for:

  • Annual home value growth

  • Annual investment return

  • Inflation

  • The number of years you want to compare

These assumptions can have a major influence on the outcome. Consider testing several scenarios instead of relying on a single prediction. For example, you could compare conservative, average and optimistic estimates.

4. Calculate the Results

Click Calculate Equity after completing the fields. The calculator will display a graph and a year-by-year comparison table.

The results include:

  • Annual renting costs

  • Net annual buying costs

  • The amount invested by the renter

  • Estimated wealth in the renting scenario

  • Estimated home equity in the buying scenario

The renting scenario includes the assumed investment growth and any money invested from the difference in housing costs. The buying scenario includes the estimated property value minus the remaining mortgage balance.

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Understanding the Outcome

A higher final equity figure does not automatically mean that renting or buying is the better personal choice. The result depends heavily on your assumptions about house prices, investment returns, inflation, maintenance costs and how consistently you invest your savings.

Use the calculator as a scenario-planning tool rather than an exact prediction. It can help you understand which assumptions matter most and how the financial difference between renting and buying may change over time.

This calculator provides an estimate for educational purposes and does not constitute financial, mortgage or tax advice.

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