Rooofread tools · What If I Keep Renting?
Buying doesn’t have to be the next chapter.
Explore two possible paths, with the assumptions that make each one work.
What the rent-or-buy comparison calculates
Renting and buying can lead to different balances of cash, investments and home equity. What If I Keep Renting? models both paths from the same starting assets, so you can see how your choices and assumptions affect the years ahead.
What it includes
Rent, mortgage principal and interest, ownership costs, closing costs, investments, ongoing household spending and separate investment contributions for each path. Editable assumptions cover rent increases, investment returns after tax and fees, home appreciation, a renewal mortgage rate and optional landlord or homeowner shocks. Enter selling fees to see an additional sale-adjusted result.
How to read your result
Compare liquid cash and investments as well as net worth. Home equity is not cash available to pay next month’s bills. A higher modeled net worth depends on the growth, costs and contributions you entered. If cash falls below zero, the path has an unfunded shortfall: the tool does not assume a loan or automatically sell investments to cover it.
How the calculation works
Both paths begin with identical cash and investments. Buying deducts the down payment and closing costs, then tracks the mortgage balance month by month. Renting retains those starting funds. Planned investment contributions earn the entered return; remaining cash flow accumulates in cash at zero return. Home value follows your appreciation assumption. Results are nominal, and existing non-mortgage debt is held constant rather than paid down on an inferred schedule.
Read the full methodology, coverage and dated sources →
Questions this tool can help answer
- What if I rent and invest for another five years?
- How sensitive is the outcome to home-price growth or investment returns?
- Could either path leave me short of cash even while net worth grows?