Support

Help with the Rent vs Buy calculator and Chrome extension.

Frequently asked questions

What does this calculator do?: It compares two paths: buying a home vs. continuing to rent and investing the money you would have spent on a down payment and extra monthly costs. It shows which option builds more wealth over your chosen time horizon, after taxes and selling costs.
Is this financial advice?: No. This is an educational tool that runs simplified projections based on assumptions you provide. Real-world outcomes depend on many factors not captured here. Consult a financial advisor for personalized guidance.
Where does the data come from?: Default values are based on publicly available California housing data, historical stock market returns, and current mortgage rates. Neighborhood data on the city map pages uses estimated medians. You can adjust every assumption to match your situation.
Is my data stored or shared?: No. All calculations run in your browser. Your inputs are saved in your browser's local storage so they persist between visits, but nothing is sent to our servers or any third party. See our privacy policy for details.

The extension card doesn't appear on a Zillow listing: Make sure you're on an individual property page (zillow.com/homedetails/...), not a search results page. If the page loads slowly, wait a few seconds — the extension needs the listing data to finish loading. Try refreshing the page.
The rent estimate shows "unavailable": Some Zillow listings don't have a Rent Zestimate. When this happens, the extension uses a default rent value. Click "Adjust assumptions in the full calculator" to enter your own rent estimate.
The numbers don't match what I expected: The extension uses the calculator's default assumptions for everything beyond price, rent, HOA, and property tax (e.g., 10% stock returns, 3.5% home appreciation, 10-year horizon). Click the "Adjust assumptions in the full calculator" link to customize these values.
Does the extension collect my data?: No. The extension runs entirely in your browser. It reads listing data from the Zillow page you're already viewing and performs the calculation locally. Nothing is sent to our servers or any third party.

The bookmarklet says "Could not find a listing price": Make sure you're on an individual Zillow property page, not a search results page or Zillow's homepage. Zillow occasionally changes their page structure, which can break the bookmarklet. Check back on our Zillow integration page for an updated version.

Found a bug, have a suggestion, or need help? Reach out at support@rentvsbuyinca.com .