Rent vs Buy a house/apartment/flat - Excel Model

Description
Many people have to decide whether to buy or to rent an apartment. This decision should not be made on a hunch but rather after analysis in Excel. Thanks to this tool in Excel you will be able to compare two options: renting and buying the apartment and decide what makes sense in your specific situation. We start by looking at all costs related to renting the property. We also look at all costs that are generated by the house if you have bought it. This will include not only direct costs but also some provisions for maintenance, time involved in the maintenance and administration as well as the additional time related to traveling to work (if the property you bought is further away than the house you could be renting). In the tool there is also a separate sheet where you model the loan, mortgage you use to finance the purchase of the house. The modeling of loan is done on the basis of the duration of the loan, interest rate and the initial loan size. We assume fixed interest rate. Finally there is a sheet where you can compare both options (buying and renting) and see which one is the best one for your specific situation and time horizon. The model uses the NPV on the cash flow generated by both options and takes into account the increase of the property value. In the file you will find a link to a movie showing how to use the file.