Enter your neighborhood and budget — see exactly what buying would cost vs. staying in your rental. Powered by live Chicago listing data.
LIVE YGL DATA · Updated every 2 minutes
🔍 Look Up a Specific Property — optional
Have a property in mind? Enter the address and we'll pull real Cook County tax data, property type, and ownership — then auto-fill the calculator below.
Include street address, city, and ZIP for best results.
Optional: Deeper Research
🏠 Your Situation
Your Rent Situation
Leave blank to auto-fill from live Chicago listings for this neighborhood + bedroom count.
If You Were to Buy
If you plan to convert this home to a rental property, enter how many years you'll live there first. The calculator will show Phase 2 rental income projections using live YGL rent data.
Renting
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/month
—more to own
Buying
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/month
📈 Wealth Comparison: Buying vs. Investing (30 years)
Both scenarios start with the same budget. The renter invests the difference (buying costs more) in an S&P 500 index fund at 8%/yr. The buyer builds equity through appreciation.
How much equity (home value minus what you still owe) you'd have at each stage of the mortgage.
💡 Key Insights for Your Scenario
💰 Phase 2: Rental Income Projection
How to Use This Calculator
1
Choose your neighborhood and bedroom countThe calculator will automatically look up the median rent for that neighborhood from Crystal's live listing database. Or enter your exact rent if you know it.
2
Enter the price of a home you'd consider buyingLook at current Zillow or Realtor.com listings in your target neighborhood to find a realistic price. Not sure? Crystal can pull comps for you — call 847-687-8305.
3
Select your buyer typeFHA loans require only 3.5% down but add monthly mortgage insurance. Conventional loans with 20%+ down have no PMI. Investment properties require 20% minimum. Not sure which applies? Ask Crystal.
4
Review your resultsThe calculator shows the full monthly cost of owning vs. renting, the break-even year, and whether the numbers make sense for your situation. Then call Crystal to get actual listings in your price range.
What the Numbers Actually Mean
The Front-Loading Problem
In year 1 of a 30-year mortgage, roughly 80% of your monthly payment goes to interest — not equity. On a $280,000 loan at 6.75%, that's about $1,575/mo in interest vs. $241/mo in principal. This inverts over time, but most people sell or refinance within 7 years — before the principal payments catch up.
This is why the break-even chart often shows renting winning in the early years.
Opportunity Cost of Your Down Payment
Every dollar you put into a down payment is a dollar you're not investing elsewhere. The S&P 500 has returned an average of ~8%/yr over 30 years. A $70,000 down payment, if invested instead, would grow to roughly $704,000 over 30 years.
This doesn't mean you shouldn't buy — it means homeownership has to beat that benchmark to be the better financial move.
Mortgage Interest Deduction — Less Valuable Than You Think
You can only deduct mortgage interest if you itemize deductions — and only the amount above the standard deduction ($14,600 single / $29,200 married in 2024). Fewer than 10% of Americans itemize after the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.
Most homeowners take the standard deduction and get zero tax benefit from mortgage interest.
The $250k / $500k Capital Gains Exclusion — The Real Win
If you live in the home as your primary residence for 2 of the last 5 years, you can exclude up to $250,000 in gains (single) or $500,000 (married) from capital gains tax when you sell. This is tax-free profit that stocks can't match.
This is the largest legitimate tax advantage of homeownership — and most calculators don't explain it clearly.
Frequently Asked Questions
No. It depends on three things: (1) how long you plan to stay — buying generally needs 5–7+ years to beat renting; (2) the price-to-rent ratio in your target neighborhood — some Chicago neighborhoods are much more favorable to buyers than others; and (3) what you'd do with the down payment if you didn't buy. Use this calculator to see the numbers for your specific situation.
FHA loans allow 3.5% down with a credit score of 580+. The tradeoff is FHA Mortgage Insurance Premium (MIP) — currently 0.85%/yr of the loan balance — which runs for the full 30-year term if your down payment is under 10%. On a $400k loan, that's about $283/mo added to your payment. This calculator includes FHA MIP automatically when you select FHA.
Probably not. You only benefit from the mortgage interest deduction if your total itemized deductions (interest + state/local taxes + charitable contributions + other) exceed the standard deduction for your filing status ($14,600 single / $29,200 married in 2024). Fewer than 1 in 10 Americans now itemize. The calculator's "Key Insights" section shows whether itemization is likely to help you, based on your loan size and filing status.
PMI (Private Mortgage Insurance) is required on conventional loans when your down payment is below 20%. It typically costs 0.5–1%/yr of the loan balance. By law, lenders must cancel PMI once your loan balance reaches 80% of the original purchase price — typically around year 9–11 depending on your down payment. FHA MIP is different: it runs for the full loan term if your down payment was under 10%.
The rent data pulls from Crystal's live YouGotListings (YGL) feed — a professional-grade MLS for rentals used by Chicago real estate agents. The feed updates approximately every 2 minutes with current available units. It reflects actual asking rents from landlords and property managers, not estimated or historical data. Neighborhood medians are based on all active listings at that bedroom count.
If the numbers show buying might make sense for you, the next step is a free consultation with Crystal Banks. She'll pull actual listings in your price range, review your pre-qualification options, and walk through the full buying process. Crystal has been working with Chicago buyers since 2010 and specializes in first-time buyers. Call 847-687-8305 or email [email protected].
Ready to See What You Can Actually Afford?
Crystal Banks has helped Chicago buyers navigate this decision for 13+ years. Free consultation — no pressure, just numbers.
Lien checks, owner intel, and rent comps are powerful — and they're not free to run. To access them, complete a quick Buyer Profile so Crystal knows who you are.
Takes 2 minutes. Crystal reviews it before your first call.