The Housing Model

What it is

The Housing Model is a rent-versus-buy planner designed for U.S. households that goes beyond simple price comparisons. It accounts for your actual take-home pay, childcare costs, car payments, student loans, and other debts to show which housing option your household can realistically afford month by month over 30 years.

The tool compares four paths: renting and investing, buying now, renting then buying later, or buying a starter home first before upgrading. It runs each scenario side by side on your own figures, accounting for life changes like children entering daycare, cars needing replacement, and loans being paid down on specific dates.

You can start free with a five-minute look using five basic figures, or build a full plan at no cost. The Housing Model Pass, priced at $59 for twelve months, unlocks detailed results including when you'll have enough cash to buy, the maximum home price your figures support, break-even analysis, and a printable report. The tool runs entirely in your browser with no account required.

Questions from the bench

What does the tool tell me and what does it not do?

It shows what your own figures say about each path, including when two paths are too close to separate. It does not calculate your income tax (uses your paystub figures instead), model rental business taxes in detail, or provide personalized professional advice. It can compare keeping a home as a rental or buying a second home at rates you enter.

How long does it take to set up a plan?

About twenty minutes for a rough first pass, and you can stop anywhere with a checklist showing what is still missing. Reading your paystub into it takes another ten minutes.

How do I know the math is correct?

Every assumption is a labeled field you can see and change. Behind that, every change runs an automated suite including hand-computed expectations, frozen results from earlier versions, and browser checks end to end.

Can I plan retirement or early retirement with this tool?

Yes. Enter each person's birth month and the age they stop working (45 or 67 are both valid), and each path runs to age 90, drawing cash then brokerage then retirement accounts. You enter Social Security and health coverage before 65; it does not estimate benefits or model Medicare.

Can I save my results as a PDF?

Yes. The Housing Model Pass includes a printable report. In the full plan choose Print / save PDF, then Save as PDF in your browser's print dialog. It is the same document as the sample report, with your figures, made by your own browser.