Rent vs. Sell Calculator — Keep or Sell a Rental

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Rent vs. sell calculator

Weigh keeping a property as a rental — cash flow, appreciation, and loan paydown — against selling now and investing the proceeds. Every figure is an estimate from the assumptions you enter.

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The short answer

Last updated: July 2026

Whether to rent or sell depends on comparing two paths: keeping the property (future equity from appreciation, cumulative net cash flow, and loan paydown) against selling now and investing the net proceeds at a return you expect. This tool projects both over a horizon you set. It’s a simplified estimate that ignores taxes — not advice.

Rent vs. sell calculator

Keep it as a rental, or sell and invest?

Project keeping the property — appreciation plus net cash flow, less the mortgage — against selling now and investing the proceeds at a return you set.

Current property value

Mortgage balance

Monthly rent

Monthly operating expenses

Mortgage, taxes, insurance, upkeep — everything you pay to run the rental each month.

Cost to sell

12%

Assumed appreciation / yr

10%

Assumed investment return / yr

12%

Horizon

10 yrs

1 yr

30 yrs

Input-driven result

Your inputs

Formula

Result below

Keep it — estimated equity in 10 yrs

$558,762

Value grown to $604,762, plus $204,000 cumulative net cash flow, less the $250,000 mortgage.

Sell now — proceeds invested 10 yrs

$301,758

$168,500 net proceeds grown at 6% a year.

Keeping it comes out ahead by

$257,005

The gap between the two paths at these assumptions.

Value paths after 10 years

Keep: projected value

$558,762

Sell: invested proceeds

$301,758

Keep path advantage

$257,005

Estimate based on your inputs. Not a promise of results.

Estimate only, from the assumptions you enter. It ignores taxes (including capital gains and depreciation recapture on a sale), rent growth, major repairs, refinancing, and loan principal paydown. Confirm the after-tax picture with a CPA before deciding.

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How it works

How this tool works.

When you own a property you could rent out or sell, the decision hangs on numbers that play out over years: the rent it clears, the equity you build as the loan is paid down, and how much the property (or an alternative investment) might appreciate. Held in your head, those trade-offs are almost impossible to compare fairly.

This calculator lays both paths side by side. Enter the property’s value, mortgage, rent, and expenses, plus your own assumptions for appreciation and what selling now and investing the proceeds might return — and it projects a rough multi-year comparison. Every result is an illustration built entirely from the rates you enter, not a forecast of what will actually happen.

Enter the property value, mortgage balance, monthly rent, and monthly operating expenses, plus your selling-cost percentage.

Set your own assumptions for annual appreciation and the return you’d expect from investing the net sale proceeds elsewhere, and choose a horizon in years.

The “keep it” path compounds the property value at your appreciation rate, adds cumulative net cash flow, and subtracts the remaining mortgage to estimate future equity; the “sell now” path grows your net proceeds at the alternative return you entered.

Compare the two ending figures. It’s a simplified model — it ignores taxes, financing changes, and market swings — so treat it as a structured way to think, not a prediction.

Make the result useful

Compare two complete scenarios, not just two prices

Selling can convert equity to cash but carries transaction costs and ends future rental income. Renting can preserve optionality but requires modeling vacancy, maintenance, management, and the financing that remains.

Use the same time horizon for both sides. A one-year rental cash-flow snapshot cannot be fairly compared with a sale number that includes a one-time commission and closing cost without stating what happens next.

Worked example

If a sale nets $80,000 after mortgage payoff and selling costs, compare it with a rental scenario that states annual cash flow, expected repairs, and how long you intend to hold. The calculator organizes assumptions; it does not predict prices.

Rental property ROI guide →

First-time landlord checklist →

Answers

Questions, answered plainly.

Does this tell me whether to rent or sell?

No. It projects two paths from the assumptions you enter and shows the gap between them. The “right” answer depends on taxes, your goals, risk tolerance, and factors no calculator can weigh — use the numbers as one input, not a verdict.

What does the “keep it” side include?

It compounds the property’s value at the appreciation rate you set, adds up the net cash flow (rent minus expenses) over the horizon, and subtracts the mortgage still owed, to estimate your equity at the end. It’s deliberately simplified and doesn’t model rent growth, big repairs, or refinancing.

Why do I have to enter the appreciation and return rates myself?

Because nobody can know them in advance, and we won’t pretend to. Making you set them keeps the result honestly yours — an illustration of the rates you chose. Try a few scenarios (optimistic and conservative) to see how sensitive the outcome is.

Does it account for taxes on a sale?

No — and taxes can be significant. Selling a rental can trigger capital gains and depreciation recapture; keeping it has its own tax profile. This tool leaves taxes out entirely, so confirm the real after-tax picture with a CPA before deciding.

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