Honest rent-vs-buy math with NPV: down payment, closing, taxes, insurance, maintenance, selling costs, rent + home appreciation. 5/7/10-year hold horizon with breakeven year.
Rent vs buy calculator — 7-year NPV
Short holds (≤3 years) usually favor renting because the round-trip transaction costs (roughly 10% of price combined) don't have time to amortize. Mid-horizon (5-7 yrs) hinges on rent vs home appreciation. Long holds (10+ yrs) usually favor buying because mortgage leverage amplifies appreciation. This calculator runs the full year-by-year math with NPV.
What the model captures
Down payment treated as upfront cash, recovered as equity at sale (net of 7% selling costs: 6% agent + 1% transfer tax).
Annual mortgage amortization with separate interest (sunk) and principal (forced savings) tracking.
Property tax 1.1% blended national, insurance 0.35%, maintenance 1% (NAHB rule), HOA $0 by default.
Rent escalation and home appreciation as user-adjustable percentages.
5% NPV discount rate on both cash streams (treasury + premium).