Homes and property

Mortgages, refinancing, renting vs buying, rentals, flips and solar: the arithmetic of property.

• Kitchen Remodel Cost Calculator and Bathroom Remodel Budget

  Work out a kitchen remodel cost or bathroom remodel budget from your own quotes, line by line, with a reserve. Example kitchen: $45,183.50.

• HELOC Payment Calculator: The Jump When the Draw Period Ends

  HELOC payment, worked: $50,000 at an illustrative 8.5% is $354.17 a month interest-only, then $433.91 when repayment starts. Formulas and extra payments.

• House Flipping Calculator: What the 70% Rule Leaves Out

  The 70% rule sets a flip's offer, not its profit. Worked: the rule leaves $90,000, costs take $47,400, profit is $42,600. BRRRR too.

• Solar Panel Payback Calculator: Why the Simple Answer Moves

  Solar payback = net cost / yearly savings. Worked: 17.5 years flat, 14.7 with rising rates. Export credit and loan effects shown.

• Refinance Break Even Calculator: When the Term Reset Moves the Answer

  Refinance break even point = closing costs / monthly saving. On one illustrative loan that is 18.7 months, but the balance says month 25. Worked.

• Rent vs Buy Calculator: Finding the Break-Even Year

  Is it better to rent or buy? On one illustrative house the rent vs buy break even is 16 years at flat prices and 6 at +3% a year. The formula, worked.

• Extra Mortgage Payment Calculator: Why Timing Decides What It Saves

  The same $10,000 extra mortgage payment saves $53,943.23 in month 1 and $3,613.95 in month 300. Worked amortization math and the formula.

• Rental Property Cash Flow Calculator: The Formula, Worked Through

  The same $250,000 rental shows $9,481 a year of cash flow, or $781 once vacancy, repairs and capex are counted. The formula and a spreadsheet layout.