House Hacking Calculator
House Hacking Calculator
Your real monthly housing cost when tenants pay most of the mortgage, and cash flow after you move out.
We Are Calculator
Professional Financial Tools
7/28/2026
Owner-occupant loans start around 3.5–5% down
As a % of gross rent across all units
What you pay today, for the savings comparison
House hacking means buying a small multifamily property (2-4 units), living in one unit, and letting the rent from the others cover most — sometimes all — of your mortgage. Because you occupy the property, you qualify for owner-occupant financing: as little as 3.5-5% down instead of the 20-25% an investor would need.
This house hacking calculator compares your effective monthly housing cost as a house hacker against what you're paying today, and separately shows the property's cash flow once you eventually move out and rent every unit at market.
$420,000 duplex, 5% down, 6.9% rate over 30 years, $180/mo mortgage insurance, $8,800 annual property tax, $2,600 annual insurance, 5% maintenance reserve, $1,450/unit rent, 5% vacancy, $1,600 current rent:
This example deliberately shows a deal that costs more than renting and doesn't cash flow after move-out, because that's the realistic outcome in many high-price markets — the calculator's job is to show you that clearly before you make an offer, not to talk you into a deal. Raising rent to $1,750/unit or dropping the purchase price to $360,000 flips both numbers positive; try your own local rents and prices to see where the line sits for you.
The math has three layers:
FHA loans allow 3.5% down on 1-4 unit owner-occupied properties, and conventional owner-occupant programs typically start around 5%. Below 20% down you'll generally carry mortgage insurance, which the calculator includes as its own line item.
Owner-occupant financing on a 1-4 unit property allows as little as 3.5% down with FHA, or around 5% with many conventional programs — well below the 20-25% typically required for a straight investment property.
Sometimes, but it depends heavily on your local rent-to-price ratio. In many markets tenant rent covers most, not all, of the mortgage — this calculator shows your actual effective cost rather than assuming a best case.
Duplexes are the easiest to finance and manage; triplexes and fourplexes bring in more rental income per property but add tenant-management complexity and are somewhat harder to find in many markets.
Many lenders let you count a portion of the projected rental income from the other units toward your qualifying income, which can help you qualify for a larger loan than your salary alone would support — ask your lender which percentage they credit.
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