{
  "slug": "house-hack-cost-to-live",
  "title": "House Hacking Cost to Live Calculator",
  "heading": "House Hack Cost-to-Live Calculator",
  "category": "financial",
  "url": "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/house-hack-cost-to-live",
  "summary": "What living in your own multi-unit or rented-rooms property actually costs each month.",
  "description": "House hacking means buying a property, living in one part, and renting the rest — the point is not cash flow but reducing your own housing cost, often to near zero. This calculator totals the full ownership cost, subtracts the rent collected from the other units or rooms, and returns your effective monthly housing cost. It compares that against what you currently pay in rent, and shows the cost once you move out and the whole property rents, which is the figure that decides whether you have bought a good rental or just a discounted place to live.",
  "formula": "Total cost = mortgage + taxes + insurance + utilities you pay + maintenance reserve. Your cost = total − rent collected. Post-move-out cash flow = total rent − total cost.",
  "dateModified": "2026-08-25",
  "run_url": "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/api/public/calc?tool=house-hack-cost-to-live",
  "inputs": [
    {
      "id": "price",
      "label": "Purchase price",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 420000,
      "unit": "$",
      "min": 1000,
      "max": null
    },
    {
      "id": "downPct",
      "label": "Down payment",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 5,
      "unit": "%",
      "min": 0,
      "max": 100
    },
    {
      "id": "rate",
      "label": "Mortgage rate",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 6.6,
      "unit": "%",
      "min": 0.1,
      "max": null
    },
    {
      "id": "pmi",
      "label": "Mortgage insurance",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 210,
      "unit": "$/mo",
      "min": 0,
      "max": null
    },
    {
      "id": "taxes",
      "label": "Property taxes",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 410,
      "unit": "$/mo",
      "min": 0,
      "max": null
    },
    {
      "id": "insurance",
      "label": "Insurance",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 145,
      "unit": "$/mo",
      "min": 0,
      "max": null
    },
    {
      "id": "utilities",
      "label": "Utilities you pay",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 260,
      "unit": "$/mo",
      "min": 0,
      "max": null
    },
    {
      "id": "maintenance",
      "label": "Maintenance & capex reserve",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 350,
      "unit": "$/mo",
      "min": 0,
      "max": null
    },
    {
      "id": "rentedUnits",
      "label": "Units or rooms you rent out",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 2,
      "unit": "count",
      "min": 0,
      "max": null
    },
    {
      "id": "rentPerUnit",
      "label": "Rent per unit or room",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 1150,
      "unit": "$/mo",
      "min": 0,
      "max": null
    },
    {
      "id": "yourUnitRent",
      "label": "Market rent for the space you occupy",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 1250,
      "unit": "$/mo",
      "min": 0,
      "max": null
    },
    {
      "id": "currentRent",
      "label": "What you pay in rent now",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 1900,
      "unit": "$/mo",
      "min": 0,
      "max": null
    },
    {
      "id": "vacancy",
      "label": "Vacancy allowance",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 6,
      "unit": "%",
      "min": 0,
      "max": 40
    }
  ],
  "outputs": [
    {
      "id": "yourCost",
      "label": "Your effective monthly housing cost",
      "format": "currency",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": true
    },
    {
      "id": "saving",
      "label": "Monthly saving vs renting",
      "format": "currency",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": false
    },
    {
      "id": "annualSaving",
      "label": "Annual saving",
      "format": "currency",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": false
    },
    {
      "id": "totalCost",
      "label": "Full monthly cost of the property",
      "format": "currency",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": false
    },
    {
      "id": "collected",
      "label": "Rent collected after vacancy",
      "format": "currency",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": false
    },
    {
      "id": "payment",
      "label": "Principal & interest",
      "format": "currency",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": false
    },
    {
      "id": "postMoveOut",
      "label": "Cash flow once fully rented",
      "format": "currency",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": false
    }
  ],
  "worked_example": {
    "inputs": [
      "Purchase price: 420000 $",
      "Down payment: 5 %",
      "Mortgage rate: 6.6 %",
      "Mortgage insurance: 210 $/mo",
      "Property taxes: 410 $/mo",
      "Insurance: 145 $/mo",
      "Utilities you pay: 260 $/mo",
      "Maintenance & capex reserve: 350 $/mo",
      "Units or rooms you rent out: 2 count",
      "Rent per unit or room: 1150 $/mo",
      "Market rent for the space you occupy: 1250 $/mo",
      "What you pay in rent now: 1900 $/mo",
      "Vacancy allowance: 6 %"
    ],
    "outputs": [
      "Your effective monthly housing cost: $1,761.25",
      "Monthly saving vs renting: $138.75",
      "Annual saving: $1,665.02",
      "Full monthly cost of the property: $3,923.25",
      "Rent collected after vacancy: $2,162.00",
      "Principal & interest: $2,548.25",
      "Cash flow once fully rented: -$586.25"
    ]
  },
  "how_to": {
    "title": "How to use this",
    "steps": [
      "Enter purchase price ($).",
      "Enter down payment (%).",
      "Enter mortgage rate (%).",
      "Enter mortgage insurance ($/mo).",
      "Enter property taxes ($/mo).",
      "Enter insurance ($/mo).",
      "Enter utilities you pay ($/mo).",
      "Enter maintenance & capex reserve ($/mo).",
      "Enter units or rooms you rent out (count).",
      "Enter rent per unit or room ($/mo).",
      "Enter market rent for the space you occupy ($/mo).",
      "Enter what you pay in rent now ($/mo).",
      "Enter vacancy allowance (%).",
      "Read your your effective monthly housing cost on the right — it updates as you type.",
      "Hit Share to keep the scenario or send it to someone."
    ]
  },
  "scenarios": [
    {
      "name": "Conservative",
      "description": "Lower-end numbers — what if things land soft?",
      "values": {
        "price": 250000,
        "downPct": 3,
        "rate": 6.6,
        "pmi": 130,
        "taxes": 250,
        "insurance": 85,
        "utilities": 160,
        "maintenance": 200,
        "rentedUnits": 1,
        "rentPerUnit": 700,
        "yourUnitRent": 750,
        "currentRent": 1150,
        "vacancy": 4
      }
    },
    {
      "name": "Typical",
      "description": "Defaults — the most common real-world setup.",
      "values": {
        "price": 420000,
        "downPct": 5,
        "rate": 6.6,
        "pmi": 210,
        "taxes": 410,
        "insurance": 145,
        "utilities": 260,
        "maintenance": 350,
        "rentedUnits": 2,
        "rentPerUnit": 1150,
        "yourUnitRent": 1250,
        "currentRent": 1900,
        "vacancy": 6
      }
    },
    {
      "name": "Ambitious",
      "description": "Higher-end numbers — what if things really pop?",
      "values": {
        "price": 670000,
        "downPct": 8,
        "rate": 6.6,
        "pmi": 340,
        "taxes": 660,
        "insurance": 230,
        "utilities": 420,
        "maintenance": 550,
        "rentedUnits": 3,
        "rentPerUnit": 1850,
        "yourUnitRent": 2000,
        "currentRent": 3050,
        "vacancy": 10
      }
    }
  ],
  "limitations": [
    "Results are estimates before tax, fees, and inflation unless an input explicitly covers them.",
    "Rates are treated as fixed for the whole period — variable-rate products will drift from this projection.",
    "This is educational maths, not financial advice. Check anything contractual with the lender or your accountant."
  ],
  "faq": [
    {
      "q": "Why can I put so little down?",
      "a": "Owner-occupied financing allows far lower down payments than investor loans — some government-backed programmes go to a few percent on properties up to four units, provided you actually live there for the required period. That leverage is the core advantage of house hacking, and it disappears the moment the property becomes a pure investment."
    },
    {
      "q": "Is renting rooms the same as renting units?",
      "a": "Financially similar, practically very different. Rooms usually produce more rent per square foot but come with shared spaces, faster turnover, and a much thinner boundary between landlord and housemate. Separate units cost more per door and give you back your privacy."
    },
    {
      "q": "What happens when I move out?",
      "a": "The post-move-out figure on this page is the answer, and it is the one to underwrite against. Plenty of house hacks work brilliantly while you occupy them and cash flow negatively the day you leave, because your unit's rent was covering costs you stopped paying attention to."
    },
    {
      "q": "Should I count the maintenance reserve if nothing breaks?",
      "a": "Yes. Reserves are not a prediction of this month, they are the average of the roof, the water heater, and the turnover spread across every month. Skipping them makes the first real repair look like a catastrophe instead of a budgeted event."
    }
  ],
  "related": [
    "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/short-term-rental-breakeven",
    "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/rental-cash-flow",
    "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/rental-cap-rate"
  ],
  "license": "CC-BY-4.0",
  "citation": "RevenueLab — House Hacking Cost to Live Calculator (https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/house-hack-cost-to-live)"
}