REALTY HAUS
Renter Tools

Renew the lease or look at buying?

Before you automatically sign another lease, compare the renewal against what buying would actually require monthly, upfront and on your timeline.

Start with the lease decision.
Four details. You can leave the dates blank if you do not know them yet.
No email needed. Your calculation stays in this browser unless you choose to email the result.
Now compare a buying scenario.
Use numbers you already know. Leave anything else blank and we will keep it unknown instead of inventing an assumption.
Home + financing

This creates the base mortgage payment. It is a scenario, not a loan quote.

CFPB says buyer closing costs often run roughly 2% to 5% of purchase price, but the actual amount depends on the home, loan, lender and location. Use your Loan Estimate when you have one.
Monthly ownership costs

Principal and interest is only part of the monthly cost. Add what you know.

Leave unknown items blank. A $0 entry means you actually know that item is zero.
Cash + comfort level

This keeps the tool from treating “technically enough to close” as the same thing as “comfortable afterward.”

Optional longer-term scenario assumption-heavy

Only use this if you want a scenario beyond monthly affordability. The result depends heavily on the assumptions you enter.

This scenario does not include tax benefits, opportunity cost of cash, future refinancing, major repairs, changes in taxes/insurance/HOA, or transaction-specific financing. It is not a forecast.
What this tool is actually comparing

Monthly affordability and long-term economics are not the same question.

Monthly

Renewal rent is compared with known ownership costs: principal and interest, taxes, insurance, HOA, mortgage insurance and maintenance reserve.

Upfront

The tool separates cash needed to close from the reserve you want to keep after closing.

Time

Your lease deadline tells you how much time you actually have to compare real homes before making the renewal decision.

Current Austin-area context: Unlock MLS reported an August 2026 MSA median lease price of $2,150, flat year over year, while active MLS lease listings were down 27.9% and months of lease inventory was 1.6. The City of Austin median was $2,200, down 4.3%, with active MLS lease listings down 28.8%. This is MLS-only lease data, not the entire apartment market.
FAQ

Questions renters usually ask before they renew.

Does this tell me whether I should buy?+
No. It compares the numbers you enter and shows where buying fits or does not fit your monthly budget, available cash and reserve goal. Financing, property condition, life plans and the specific home still matter.
Why does the tool ask how much cash I want left after closing?+
Because using nearly all available cash to close is different from buying while keeping a reserve. CFPB recommends setting aside money for initial home expenses in addition to the down payment and closing costs.
Why is the ownership payment sometimes marked partial?+
If taxes, insurance, HOA, mortgage insurance or maintenance are blank, the tool will not silently assume zero. It shows the known cost and identifies what is still missing.
Is the longer-term scenario a break-even calculator?+
Not exactly. It uses your assumptions for home value change, selling costs, rent growth and years in the home, then estimates principal paydown and net sale equity. It excludes several important items and should be treated as a scenario, not a prediction.
Sources + limits
  • Unlock MLS: August 2026 sales and MLS lease-market data for the Austin area. Source.
  • Unlock MLS methodology: monthly reports use MLS-only data. Source.
  • Consumer Financial Protection Bureau: down payment, closing-cost and reserve guidance. Source.
  • CFPB Closing Disclosure explainer: principal and interest are only part of total monthly housing payment; taxes, insurance and mortgage insurance can also matter. Source.

This tool is educational. It does not provide lending, tax, legal or financial advice, and it does not determine loan eligibility or approval.

Want to compare actual homes?

Use the renewal budget on real listings.

If the buying scenario is worth exploring, send us the area and budget. We can compare actual Austin-area homes against the numbers you just used instead of starting from a generic preapproval conversation.

Got it. We’ll keep the conversation tied to the budget and timing you’re actually working with.