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Would you pay less than your rent today?

Pick a setup, enter a real listing and a loan quote, and see what living there would cost you each month after the rent from the other units. Then see what it looks like when you move out.

Every number here starts as an estimate. Property tax, insurance, HOA dues, Mello-Roos and other special assessments vary a lot from one property to the next. Research every property before you buy: the actual tax bill, a real insurance quote, the HOA documents, and the assessment disclosures. Nothing here is a loan quote or a prediction.

00 The property (optional)

Property address or project name Notes Shows on your PDF report. It's also saved in your share link, so leave out anything private.

01 The setup

2–4 unitsLive in one, rent the rest House + ADULive in one, rent the other Rent roomsLive in the home, rent bedrooms

Units in the building Purchase price $

What your own unit would rent for $/mo Used for the move-out view and the FHA self-sufficiency screen.

02 The loan

FHA3.5% down Conventional5% down OtherSet your own

Down payment % Interest rate % National average. Your quote will differ, and FHA and conventional rates differ. Loan term yrs

Mortgage insurance %/yr

Source: Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey, 30-year fixed average, week of Sept. 17, 2026
Source: HUD Mortgagee Letter 2023-05, FHA annual and upfront MIP (effective March 20, 2023)

03 Ownership costs (estimates)

Property tax % of price Baseline estimate. Check the actual tax bill for the property. Mello-Roos / special assessments $/mo Common in newer areas. Check the tax bill and disclosures. Homeowners insurance $/yr Priced for a single-family home with $300,000 of coverage. A 2–4 unit building, a bigger home, or a fire-risk area costs more. Get a quote. HOA dues $/mo Most 2–4 unit buildings have none. Condos and some newer homes do. Utilities you pay as owner $/mo Example. Older buildings often share one water or garbage bill. Closing costs % of price Lender and title fees only. Prepaid taxes, insurance and escrow deposits are extra.

Source: Insurify, Sacramento average for $300,000 dwelling coverage, $1,000 deductible (2026)
Source: Bankrate, citing Lodestar 2025 closing-cost data: California average 0.74% of price

04 Set-asides (your assumptions)

Percent of the rent you collect. Money you set aside every month, even when nothing is broken.

Vacancy % Repairs % Big replacements % Roof, water heater, sewer line

05 You

What you pay in rent today $/mo Cash you have for the purchase $

The purchase price, rents, utilities, rent today and savings above are example inputs. Replace every one with a real listing and a real quote.

Your first-year cost to live there

—/mo

—

What if… A unit sits empty for 2 months Rents come in 10% lower A repair in year one of $

Month-one breakdown

Cash to close

When you move out (year 2)

After your first year living there (the owner-occupancy requirement), you move out and rent your unit too. These are year-2 numbers: every unit rented, minus set-asides and a property-management cost.

Property management % of rent

Over time

Your cost to live there vs. your rent, over 10 years

The mortgage payment stays the same on a fixed-rate loan. Rent, taxes and insurance usually don't. These start at James's conservative long-term assumptions. They aren't a forecast, so change them to your own.

Rents rise each year % Applies to your rent today and the units you rent out. U.S. rents have risen about 3.5% a year on average since 2000. Property tax rises each year % Prop 13 limits increases in assessed value to 2% a year until the property sells or has new construction. Insurance, utilities, HOA and assessments rise % James's assumption. Property value changes %/yr James's conservative assumption, not a forecast. Sacramento-area prices rose about 4.6% a year on average from early 1995 to mid-2026.

Source: iPropertyManagement, from the CPI for rent of primary residence (U.S. average since 2000: 3.51%/yr)
Source: California State Board of Equalization, Publication 29 (Proposition 13)
Source: FHFA All-Transactions House Price Index, Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom MSA, 1995 Q1 to 2026 Q2 (via FRED)

Your monthly cost to live thereYour rent, if you keep renting

Year

Equity

What you'd own after 10 years

Each bar is the property's value in that year, split into what you still owe the lender and the equity that's yours. Equity grows two ways: the tenants' rent helps pay down the loan, and the value changes at the rate you set above.

Year 10 equity—

Your equity (value minus loan balance)Loan balance

Year

Save or share this report

Download a 2-page PDF with every number above, or get a link that reopens this exact scenario for your partner, lender or agent.

How this calculator works

Your cost to live there is the full payment (principal, interest, mortgage insurance, property tax, insurance, HOA and assessments), plus the utilities you pay and your repair and replacement set-asides, minus the rent you collect after the vacancy cushion.
FHA mortgage insurance is 1.75% up front, added to the loan here, plus an annual premium set by the loan size and down payment. With less than 10% down it stays for the life of the loan. Source: HUD Mortgagee Letter 2023-05, FHA annual and upfront MIP (effective March 20, 2023)
Conventional mortgage insurance usually runs 0.46% to 1.50% of the loan per year depending on credit and down payment. It's removed automatically when the balance is scheduled to reach 78% of the original value. Source: Urban Institute range, cited by Experian (May 7, 2026)
After you move out, refinancing is one way to drop mortgage insurance, for example into a DSCR loan, which qualifies on the property's rent instead of your income. Rates and terms are different, so run it with a lender.
The over-time view is not a prediction. It starts at James's long-term assumptions (rents up 3.5% a year, property tax up 2%, other costs up 4%, value up 4.5%), and the past doesn't guarantee the future. Change any of them. Set value change to 0% to see the numbers without any appreciation.

Want me to walk you through it live?

Want to run a real listing together?

About an hour on Zoom, with a local loan officer answering the qualifying questions live.

How to qualify for a 2–4 unit home with 3.5% or 5% down, and how lenders count rent from the other units
My own triplex: what I paid, what the units rented for, what went wrong, and what I'd do differently
Renovation loans that roll the repair budget into the mortgage, and a beginner's version of BRRRR
Who this is wrong for, stated plainly

See the Next Class Date →

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