House Hacking Calculator
Last verified · Methodology
Enter the property, the loan, and the rent the other units or rooms bring in. The calculator counts the costs most quick estimates leave out: vacancy, maintenance, and mortgage insurance.
The property
Multi-unit and landlord policies usually cost more than a standard homeowners policy.
Your net housing cost
$1,932 / mo
Rent covers 52% of the full $4,022 monthly cost. That is $132 a month more than renting a comparable place yourself.
Part of that is principal, which is savings rather than cost. Counting it that way, the real cost of living here is about $1,527 a month.
Cash for the down payment
$15,750
Closing costs and reserves are extra
Equity from principal, year one
$4,854
Paid down on the loan, not spent
Monthly cost against rent collected
How the default example works out
A $450,000 duplex bought with 3.5% down at a 6.5% rate costs about $4,022 a month once property tax, insurance, mortgage insurance, and a 1% maintenance reserve are included. The other unit rents for $2,200; after a 5% vacancy allowance that is $2,090, which covers 52% of the cost.
That leaves a net housing cost of about $1,932 a month, or $132 more than renting a similar place for $1,800. On cash flow alone the house hack loses. But in the first year about $4,854 of your payments go to principal, roughly $404 a month of equity. Counting that as savings rather than cost, living there costs about $1,527 a month, which beats renting.
What decides whether the numbers work
The rent-to-price ratio
The single biggest input is how much rent the property produces relative to its price. Markets where rents are high relative to purchase prices make house hacking easy; expensive coastal markets where rents are low relative to prices make it hard.
The rate
At 6.5%, principal and interest on a $434,000 loan is about $2,745 a month. Each percentage point on the rate moves that payment by roughly $280 to $300, which can be the difference between a house hack that covers itself and one that does not.
Low down payment has a cost
Putting 3.5% down gets you in with $15,750 instead of $90,000, but it adds mortgage insurance and a larger loan. It is usually worth it for a first property, because the alternative is waiting years to save a larger down payment while paying rent.
Checking the rest of the purchase
To see the full payment breakdown on its own, use the mortgage calculator. If you are comparing a house hack against continuing to rent, the rent vs buy calculator runs the long-term comparison. And if you are putting less than 20% down, the PMI removal calculator shows when the mortgage insurance comes off.
House hacking means buying a home, living in part of it, and renting out the rest so that tenants cover some or all of your housing cost. The classic version is a duplex, triplex, or fourplex where you live in one unit. It also works with a single-family home by renting rooms, a basement suite, or an accessory dwelling unit.
Less than for an investment property, because you live there. FHA loans allow 3.5% down on owner-occupied properties of up to four units with a qualifying credit score, and you must move in and live there for at least a year. Conventional loans allow 5% down on owner-occupied two to four unit properties. Eligible veterans can use a VA loan with no down payment on up to four units if they live in one.
Often, but not in full. Lenders commonly count around 75% of the expected rent toward qualifying income to allow for vacancy and expenses. For three and four unit properties, FHA also applies a self-sufficiency test that requires 75% of the combined rent to cover the full mortgage payment.
Vacancy, maintenance, and landlord insurance. A unit that sits empty for a month a year is about an 8% vacancy rate. Older multi-unit buildings often need more than the common 1% of value a year for repairs. A landlord policy usually costs more than a standard homeowners policy. The calculator includes all three.
Look at two numbers. The first is the monthly cash comparison: your net housing cost against the rent you would otherwise pay. The second is the principal you pay down each month, which is equity you keep. A house hack can cost slightly more than renting month to month and still come out ahead once principal is counted as savings.
Mortgage Calculator
Estimate monthly mortgage payments including taxes, insurance, and PMI.
Rent vs Buy Calculator
Find your break-even year. Compare the full cost of owning against renting plus investing the down payment.
Home Affordability Calculator
Find out how much house you can afford based on income, debts, and down payment.