🏠House Hacking Calculator — Side-by-Side Scenario Analysis
STEP 1Enter your numbers — purchase price, income, and suite rent. Everything else has realistic defaults. Open the config panel below.
STEP 2Read the table. Each column is a scenario. S1: FHA + Hack vs S6: Keep Renting is the core comparison. Yellow = best in each row.
STEP 3Toggle Rental ON/OFF per column to model having a tenant. Toggle Buydown to see a 2-1 rate reduction. Numbers update instantly.
💡 House hacking: Buying a property with a rentable attached suite (NextGen, ADU, basement) and using tenant rent to offset your mortgage — while qualifying for owner-occupant rates. S1–S5 are buying scenarios. S6 is the baseline: keep renting and invest the down payment instead. Tax math uses actual Schedule E / Schedule A allocation — no dollar deducted twice.
Calculating...
💡 Reading the table: Toggle [Rental ON] in any column header to add a tenant. Toggle [Buydn ON] for a 2-1 rate buydown. Yellow cells = best value in that row. ★ = home equity — real but requires a sale, refi, or HELOC to access.
📊Side-by-Side Scenario Comparison — All Numbers Year 1 Unless Noted
Ready
5 scenarios computed
📈Charts — Monthly Housing Cost & 5-Year Wealth
Effective Monthly Housing Cost
Gross outlay minus rental income minus tax benefit. Lower = better.
5-Year Ending Total Assets
Portfolio + home equity + W-2 savings each year. Year 1: renter may lead. Gap reverses Year 2-3 as appreciation compounds.
💰Charts — Capital Allocation & Cash Flow Bridge
Capital Deployment at Closing
Every dollar in the down payment is a dollar not compounding in the portfolio.
S1 Cash Flow Waterfall (Rental ON)
From gross outlay to effective cost after tenant rent + tax benefits.
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Advanced Analysis — Break-Even · IRR · DTI · ROE Decay · HELOC · Depreciation · Stress Test · ARM · Real Returns — [ click to expand ]
⚖Charts — Break-Even Analysis
S1: Effective Monthly Cost vs. Suite Rent Level
Monthly net cash flow vs. rent. Orange = your rent. Green = break-even rent.
Break-Even Appreciation: S1 & S5 vs. Renting
Min appreciation for each buying scenario to beat renting + investing.
📉Charts — IRR & Debt-to-Income
5-Year Internal Rate of Return (IRR)
All cash flows, tax effects, exit proceeds net of selling costs and depreciation recapture.
Front-End DTI: 5-Year Trend
28% = ideal. 43% = most lenders' ceiling. FHA counts 75% of projected rental income.
🏦Charts — Equity Build-Up, Leverage Decay & HELOC Timeline
Equity Table — 5-Year S1 vs ARM vs Custom
| Year | Home Value | S1/S2 Loan | S1 Equity | S4 ARM Loan | S4 Equity | S5 Custom Loan | S5 Equity | Gain vs Day 0 |
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Return on Equity — Leverage Decay (20 Years, S1)
Year 1 ROE is high due to leverage. As equity builds, ROE decays toward portfolio return — that crossover is the optimal HELOC/refi trigger.
HELOC Availability: When Can You Strike on Property #2?
80% CLTV limit. Appreciation dramatically accelerates the strike window.
🧾Charts — Tax Liability, Stress Test & Consumption Split
Depreciation Recapture: The Growing Phantom Tax Liability
Every year you claim depreciation, a 25% federal tax clock ticks at sale. 1031 defers this permanently.
Stress Test: S1 5-Year Assets Under Adverse Conditions
How much of S1's advantage holds under vacancy shock, zero appreciation, and both simultaneously?
Consumption vs. Investment Split
Consumption = equivalent rent for shelter. Investment premium = extra cost to own vs. renting. Negative = property subsidizes housing.
⚠ARM 5/1 Projection — Worst Case (5/2/5 Caps) vs. Base Case
ARM Monthly P&I Projection (30-Year Timeline)
Worst case: 5% cap at Year 6, then 2%/yr up to lifetime limit. Base: rate flat.
Real vs. Nominal 5-Year Assets
Nominal wealth overstates purchasing-power gains. The gap is the inflation illusion.
📝Methodology & Assumptions