Rent or Buy, With My Actual Numbers
By maya42 · Published · Updated
Compares renting and buying a home over your expected stay using your real numbers, with assumptions listed and the two conditions that would flip the answer.
Prompt template
## Rent vs buy I keep hearing both "rent is throwing money away" and "buying is overrated". Run the comparison with my real numbers instead of slogans. - Where I live: [text: City or area] - Monthly rent for the kind of place I would want: [text: Rent amount] - Price of a similar place to buy: [text: Purchase price] - Deposit I have saved: [text: Deposit amount] - How long I expect to stay: [dropdown: under 3 years, 3 to 5 years, 5 to 10 years, 10+ years] - My income is: [dropdown: very stable, mostly stable, variable] - I want the maintenance responsibility: [toggle: Yes, No] Compare the total cost over my expected stay, including the costs renters forget (buying fees, maintenance, selling costs) and the ones buyers forget (what the deposit could earn if invested instead). State your assumptions as a short list so I can challenge them: mortgage rate, price growth, rent increases, maintenance percentage, and investment return. Give a lean toward one option and the two conditions that would flip your answer. Mention that short stays and unstable income both favour renting.