Project cumulative buy-vs-rent cost over N years
homes_estimate_rent_vs_buyCompare the total cost of buying a home versus renting over N years, factoring in PITI, maintenance, appreciation, and opportunity cost to find the break-even year.
Instructions
Project the cumulative cost of buying a home versus renting a comparable place over N years. Accounts for down payment, closing costs, monthly PITI, maintenance (~1%/yr default), appreciation (~3%/yr default), rent growth (~3%/yr default), and the opportunity cost of the down payment + closing costs (renter invests it at investment_return_rate, default 6%/yr). P&I stops once the loan term ends. Each year is the buyer's net position if they sold that year (cash out minus equity) versus the renter's net cost, so break-even year is independent of the horizon. Returns year-by-year cumulative net costs, break-even year, and the net difference at horizon (default horizon 7y). No network — pure local math. Same math contract as zillow_estimate_rent_vs_buy. NOTE: caller must supply monthly_rent — homes.com does not publish rental estimates anywhere on its consumer site (no rent_zestimate analogue, no comparable-rentals endpoint). For a rent estimate to plug in here, use zillow_get_property (its rent_zestimate field) or redfin_get_comparable_rentals.
Input Schema
| Name | Required | Description | Default |
|---|---|---|---|
| home_price | Yes | ||
| hoa_monthly | No | ||
| down_payment | Yes | ||
| monthly_rent | Yes | ||
| horizon_years | No | ||
| interest_rate | Yes | ||
| loan_term_years | No | ||
| insurance_annual | No | ||
| maintenance_rate | No | ||
| rent_growth_rate | No | ||
| appreciation_rate | No | ||
| closing_cost_rate | No | ||
| property_tax_rate | No | ||
| selling_cost_rate | No | ||
| investment_return_rate | No |