When the urge to buy a house kicks in, the first thing you should do is to step back and evaluate whether it makes more sense to keep renting or to buy. One of the best ways to evaluate this question of rent vs. buy is to calculate exactly what you are in for financially. To determine if you should buy, you need to figure out how much house you can afford.

This rent vs. buy calculator breaks down your rent payment with increases and your mortgage payment so you can see exactly how much of your money is going where with either option. It lets you see what your home purchase benefits could be as well as how much your savings can be with renting.  This is a great tool to have so you can determine if you can actually afford to buy a home at this juncture in your life.

There are good points and bad points to home ownership, just as the same is true of renting.  An example of the sunny side of home ownership is the equity you can acquire in your home while a stormy point would be that all the costs of repairs are now yours.  The same can be said for renting.  When you rent you are not responsible for sometimes-costly repairs but then again you aren't in your own home or building up any equity.

The only way to decide if it is truly better for you to rent or own is to take a hard calculated look at all of the options.  This is a subjective question and the answer will vary for each and every person.  Using an online rent v buy calculator to help you get closer to your answers is a wise as well as convenient thing to do.