Keep the home.
Or turn the page.
Explore what renting your home could look like alongside selling it and investing the proceeds. Put both possibilities on the same timeline.
Start with your numbers. The values below are examples, not a property valuation or market forecast. Adjust the costs and assumptions to reflect your home.
Private to your browser · Inputs are not sentTwo possible futures.
Estimated net outcomes at the end of your selected timeline.
Future sale equity + rental cash-flow account
Net sale proceeds + assumed investment growth
Assumes a 5% annual investment return, compounded.
Based on the scenario above, before taxes.
See the paths over time.
View the data tableEstimated before-tax net outcome for each year. The same values are available in the year-by-year table below.
What changes the outcome?
Change one assumption at a time to see its effect. Your inputs and main comparison stay unchanged.
| Assumption | Rent, then sell | Sell & invest |
|---|
These examples are not forecasts or recommended assumptions.
Inside the first year’s rental cash flow
Upfront rental preparation is a separate cost at the start of the rental path. It affects the overall comparison but is excluded from the average monthly cash-flow figure above. Placement fees are included in first-year cash flow.
Year by year.
Each row compares selling the rental in that year with investing the proceeds from a sale today.
| Year | Rent & sell later | Sell & invest | Annual rental cash flow | Loan balance |
|---|
How this comparison works
The rental path
The model collects rent after the vacancy allowance, deducts the entered operating costs, maintenance and major-repair reserves, Call Realty fees including the Administration / Compliance Fee at 2% of rent collected, and mortgage payments. The Administration / Compliance Fee changes with projected rent collections after vacancy and annual rent growth. Reserves are percentages of collected rent and are treated as costs used, rather than a separate savings balance added back later. The loan follows monthly, fixed-rate amortization over its remaining term.
Rental cash flow is carried forward at the same investment-return assumption used for the sale path. Positive cash flow is reinvested. Negative cash flow represents owner funding and its opportunity cost; it does not assume that you borrow to cover a shortfall.
At each comparison point, the home is valued using your annual home-value change, then selling costs and the remaining mortgage are deducted. The cash-flow account is added to those net proceeds. Upfront rental preparation is deducted at the beginning.
The sale path
Selling today begins with your estimated home value, less the selling-cost percentage and remaining mortgage. That net amount grows at your entered annual investment-return assumption over the same period. No particular investment is selected. The entered return is an effective annual rate, converted to an equivalent monthly rate: (1 + annual return as a decimal) raised to 1/12, minus 1. For example, 5% annually is approximately 0.4074% per month, compounding to 5% over a full year. Rental cash flow uses that same rate.
What the estimate leaves out
Results are before tax. They exclude income tax, capital gains, depreciation, depreciation recapture, individual exemptions, and tax benefits. The model does not forecast market conditions or guarantee occupancy, costs, appreciation, or investment returns.
Review the IRS guidance on rental income and expenses and selling your home, and discuss your circumstances with a qualified tax professional.
About the comparison.
What does the rent vs. sell calculator compare?
It compares two estimated before-tax outcomes over the same period: keeping the home as a rental and selling it at the end, or selling now and investing the net proceeds. The result changes with your inputs and is not an appraisal or a forecast.
Are Call Realty's management fees included?
Yes. The model includes the $85 monthly management fee, the Administration / Compliance Fee at 2% of rent collected, the $475 tenant placement fee, and the $175 renewal fee. Management fees are adjusted for the assumed vacancy rate, and placement and renewal timing follows the turnover assumption. The written management agreement governs the actual charges.
How is the 2% Administration / Compliance Fee calculated?
It is an additional owner expense equal to 2% of rent collected before other expenses. For example, $2,000 in rent collected means a $40 monthly fee. The calculator applies the vacancy allowance and annual rent growth before calculating this fee. It is already deducted from rental cash flow and the rental projections, so you do not need to enter it under other carrying costs.
Does the comparison include selling costs and the mortgage?
Yes. Both paths include the selling-cost percentage and mortgage payoff at the time of sale. The rental path models payments and principal reduction using a fixed-rate, fully amortizing loan with the remaining term you enter.
What does “sell now & invest” assume?
The calculator does not select a particular investment. It applies the annual return you enter to your net sale proceeds. The default is an illustrative 5% effective annual return, using an equivalent monthly rate so a full year compounds to the entered annual return. The same assumption applies to the rental cash-flow account. Actual investments can gain or lose value, and returns are not guaranteed.
How is rental cash flow treated?
Rental cash flow is modeled after the entered expenses, reserves, management fees, the Administration / Compliance Fee, placement and renewal fees, and mortgage payments. Positive cash flow is reinvested at the same assumed return used for the selling path. Negative cash flow represents additional owner funding and its opportunity cost, not an assumed loan.
Are taxes included in the results?
No. The comparison excludes income taxes, capital gains taxes, depreciation, depreciation recapture, and individual tax benefits or exclusions. Ask a qualified tax professional how those items could change your comparison.
Do I need to provide my contact information?
No. The calculator runs in your browser. Its inputs are not sent to Call Realty, and no email address is required to view the results. You can choose to contact the team for a property-specific conversation.