Buy to Let Investment Calculator

Should you buy a second property, or invest the money instead?

Compare the long-run net worth of buying an investment property against putting the same down payment and monthly cash flow into the market.

Country / currencySee sources for this countryCitySets typical local property price and rent — edit any field below to match your own numbers.

Buy an Investment Property

Property priceDown payment (%)Investment mortgages usually need a bigger down payment than a primary residence.Mortgage rate (annual %)Loan term (years)Buying closing costs (%)Expected monthly rent from this propertyVacancy + management + maintenance (% of rent)Typical combined allowance is 20–35% of gross rent.Property tax + insurance (annual %)Annual property appreciation (%)Selling closing costs (%)

Invest the Money Instead

Expected annual investment return (%)A diversified index fund has returned roughly 7–10% long-run, before inflation.

Instead of buying, the down payment and closing costs are invested up front, and the net monthly cash flow the property would have cost or earned is invested every month too — so both paths use exactly the same money.

Years to compare

Result

Own the property

Invest the money instead

How this is different from Rent vs. Buy

The Rent vs. Buy calculator is about where you'll live — should you rent your home or buy it? This one is about what to do with money you've already decided to invest: put it into a second property to rent out, or invest it in the market instead. The property path earns rental income and equity growth but comes with vacancy, maintenance, and management costs; the investment path is more passive but has no leverage from a mortgage.