🏠
Housing & Property
"Is this the right place to live?"
Simulate every major housing decision — buy vs rent, mortgage math, home improvements, and energy upgrades.
10
simulators
Opp. cost
included in every calculation
Private
data stays in your browser
What questions can you answer?
Housing is likely your largest financial decision
For most people, rent or mortgage is their single biggest monthly expense — and buying a home is the largest single transaction of their lives. Yet most people make these decisions based on gut feel, social pressure, or oversimplified rules of thumb. These tools put the actual numbers in front of you, with every assumption you can adjust and every formula you can inspect.
All 10 simulators
Buy vs Rent + Mortgage
4The primary home decision and the math behind it.
🏠 → 🏦 → 📦 → 🏡 →
Rent vs. Buy
Full financial picture: opportunity cost, appreciation, and long-term wealth.
Mortgage Calculator
Monthly payment, total interest, and amortization breakdown.
Moving Cost
True relocation cost and break-even timeline when moving to a cheaper area.
Home Trade-Up Calculator
Plan your move up: net sale proceeds, new mortgage, cash requirements, and max home price.
Property Investment
3Rental ROI, fix & flip, short-term vs long-term — investment property modeling.
🏘️ → 🔨 → 🏖️ →
Rental Property ROI
Full investment model: NOI, cash-on-cash, IRR, vacancy, and tax impact over your holding period.
Fix & Flip ROI
Model fix-and-flip profit: renovation, loan interest, capital gains tax, and break-even sale price.
Airbnb vs. Long-Term Rental
Compare short-term vs long-term rental profit after platform fees, taxes, and occupancy reality.
Improvements & Energy
3Renovations, solar, energy upgrades — when does the upgrade pay for itself?
Frequently asked questions
Rent vs. buy — which is actually better?
It depends on your time horizon, down payment, local market, and what you'd do with the capital if you rented. Buying builds equity but locks up capital and has large transaction costs (3–6% to sell). Renting lets you invest the difference. Our rent vs. buy calculator runs both scenarios with opportunity cost included.
How much house can I actually afford?
A common rule is that your mortgage payment should be no more than 28% of gross monthly income, and total debt payments under 36%. But these are guidelines, not laws. The mortgage calculator shows your actual monthly payment — then you can cross-check it against your budget tool to see how it fits.
Does solar always pay off?
In most cases yes, but the timeline varies from 5–15 years depending on your electricity rates, sun exposure, local incentives, and installation cost. Our solar ROI calculator shows your payback period, 25-year savings, and IRR. Key inputs: your monthly electricity bill and estimated system cost.
What renovations actually increase home value?
Kitchen and bathroom remodels typically return 60–80% of cost. Adding a bedroom or living space can return 70–80%. Cosmetic upgrades (paint, landscaping) often return more than structural ones. Our renovation ROI tool calculates whether the appreciation covers the cost over your ownership timeline.
When does it make sense to move to a cheaper area?
Moving has large upfront costs (mover fees, deposits, lost work, travel, potential lease break penalties). Our moving cost calculator shows total relocation cost and the monthly savings at the destination — then calculates how many months until you break even on the move.