Property Decision Desk

Rent vs Buy

Break-Even Horizon

Estimate how many years you must stay for buying to beat renting.

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Educational estimate only. Not financial, tax, lending, or real-estate advice. Markets, taxes, and local conditions vary.

How to read this decision

Break-Even Horizon makes which housing path leaves you wealthier concrete instead of a guess. Estimate how many years you must stay for buying to beat renting.

The math runs locally in your browser with no signup, so you can test assumptions freely and compare runs in seconds.

Methodology & next steps

This tool runs entirely in your browser. Change one input at a time, compare scenarios, and export the report before you talk to an agent or lender.

  1. Start with realistic income, price, rate, and cost assumptions for your market.
  2. Use presets or Snapshot as B to stress-test a second path.
  3. Read the verdict, charts, and schedule — then verify taxes, insurance, and comps locally.
  • Copy report or Print / PDF for a shareable decision page.
  • Save scenarios on this device or copy the share link in the address bar.
  • Export CSV/JSON when you want numbers in a spreadsheet.

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About Break-Even Horizon

What is Break-Even Horizon for?

Estimate how many years you must stay for buying to beat renting. It focuses on which housing path leaves you wealthier, so you can compare realistic paths instead of a single optimistic listing photo.

How do I use Break-Even Horizon?

Fill in realistic values for your situation and run it. The output shows the key figures side by side, so rerun with different assumptions to stress-test the result.

Is Break-Even Horizon free?

Yes. Break-Even Horizon is free, needs no account, and runs entirely in your browser — your inputs are never uploaded.

Is this financial or real estate advice?

No. Break-Even Horizon produces educational estimates only. Markets, taxes, lending rules, and local conditions vary, so confirm big decisions with a qualified professional.