An honest comparison, including the costs of owning that renting doesn’t have. If renting is better for your situation, this will say so.
What you pay, and what your down payment earns instead.
Everything owning costs, less the equity you keep.
It depends mostly on how long you will stay. Buying carries large one-off costs at both ends, so over a short horizon renting usually wins; the longer you stay, the more the balance tips toward buying as you build equity instead of paying rent.
Often around five years, but it varies with the price, the rate, how fast rents are rising locally and what you would otherwise earn on the down payment. This calculator shows the year the two paths cross rather than assuming a rule of thumb.
Yes. Property tax, homeowner's insurance, maintenance and HOA dues are all included on the buying side, along with closing costs at purchase and an allowance for selling costs at the end. Leaving those out is what makes most rent-versus-buy comparisons misleading.
A model, not a prediction. It assumes steady appreciation, rent increases and investment returns, none of which behave that way in reality, and it excludes tax deductions, which depend on your circumstances. Use it to understand the shape of the decision, not to forecast it. Not a quote or a commitment to lend.
We’ll tell you what you can realistically afford and what the payment would actually be — no cost, no credit pull to start.