Should you rent or buy?

Take our test

For some, renting means freedom; and for others, being a homeowner is the best investment. What about you? Take our test and determine if it will be more profitable in the long run to own a house or rent an apartment.

Rent

Indicate the amount of your current or projected monthly rent.

Property Value

Indicate the value of the property you are looking to buy.

Down Payment

Indicate how much you could pay for your down payment. Loans with a down payment of less than 20% of property value will require loan insurance with CMHC, Sagen^TM (formerly known as Genworth) or Canada Guaranty^TM.

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What type of property would interest you?

A house

A condo

Mortgage Details

Imagine a scenario where you are buying a house and indicate the characteristics of your mortgage.

Amortization

years

Mortgage rate

Taxes and Basic Costs

Buying a home comes with some expenses that should be expected.

Amount of annual municipal and school taxes.

Annual heating costs

Monthly Condo Fees

Closing Costs

Closing costs are the initial charge you have to pay when you buy or sell a home.

Costs of buying a home

Costs of selling a home

Maintenance Costs

Reset

When buying a house, you have to think about its maintenance. It’s best to set an amount aside for maintenance related costs.

Maintenance and renovation

Annual homeowner's insurance

Renter's insurance

Rent monthly heating costs

Market Trends

Reset

The value of a property changes over time, following market trends.

Property rate of growth

Rate of return on investment

Your results

Get pre-approved

Monthly payments

Rent Buy

Rent or Mortgage

Property expenses

Monthly savings

Total

Your financial value for a initial investment

After

After 25 years

What does that mean?

This calculator compares the return on investment of an amount of money ready to be invested according to two possible scenarios:

1. You decide to buy

Your initial amount represents your total down payment invested on a mortgage loan.

Your investment amount is the total property value.

2. You decide to rent

You investment is equal to the down payment + every month, the difference between the buying costs and the renting costs go in your pockets. Monthly costs for a property are generally greater than those for a rent.

	Rent	Mortgage
Rent or Mortgage	Rent	Mortgage payment
Property related expenses	Insurance, heating costs	Condo fees, maintenance and heating fees, insurance and taxes
Monthly savings	Purchase monthly expenses –Renting monthly expenses	Non applicable
Your financial value after xx years; when it’s profitable for you to own the place rather than renting it.	Your return on investment = the invested amount + your monthly savings	Refunded amount on your house + down payment + property market value growth
Your financial value after 25 years	Your return on investment = the invested amount + your monthly savings	The mortgage is finally paid! Your property market value.

The data generated by this tool is for informational purposes only. The results depend on the financial information you entered. They do not take into account the particularities of your personal situation. They do not create any legal obligation for the National Bank and its affiliates. You agree to validate the applicability and advantages of these results to your advisor, accountant, tax specialist, or other specialist.