Free tool — house hack calculator

house hack calculator.
your real cost to live there.

Buy a duplex, triplex or fourplex, live in one unit, rent the rest. The math is not rental cash flow — it is your monthly payment minus the rent from the doors you don't occupy. Sometimes that number is small. Sometimes it's negative, and the building pays you to live in it.

the building + your loan
down payment presets
Typical program minimums, not quotes. What you actually put down moves with the program, your credit, the property type and the individual lender's overlays — and the 20% figure assumes you are NOT occupying a unit, so it is here only as the comparison.
On 3-4 unit FHA loans a self-sufficiency test may apply — the projected net rent has to cover the full payment before the file clears. Whether it applies, and how the rent is discounted, is a program-and-lender question. Ask before you write an offer.
Owner-occupied financing carries an occupancy commitment — typically move in within a set window after closing and live there around a year, though the exact term varies by program and lender. This total does not include mortgage insurance. Low-down-payment loans usually carry it, and what it costs depends on the program, your loan-to-value and your credit. Property tax and insurance vary by state — confirm all of it with a local quote and a professional before you price a deal off this. Next: run the same building as a straight rental in the rental property analyzer and check your real operating expenses.
your net housing cost
$549
your share, per month
Total payment $3,249 minus $2,700 collected from the other units. This is what leaves your account each month to be housed — not the property’s cash flow.
monthly breakdown
principal + interest$2,629
taxes + insurance$620
total monthly payment$3,249
rent from 2 other units($2,700)
your net housing cost$549
cash to close
$27,300
$14,700 down + $12,600 costs — estimate only
rent collected while you live there
$2,700
3 units, you occupy one
vs. renting a comparable unit
+$801
per month — market rent for one unit, minus your net housing cost
if you move out, all units rented
+$477
monthly, after reserves and the same payment
House hacking · 101

The loan is the deal.
The rest is arithmetic.

A house hack is not a clever spreadsheet. It is a financing category — and it closes the day you move out.
01

Why the loan is the whole edge.

The same fourplex financed as an investment usually asks 20-25% down. Financed as your primary residence it can start far lower, on primary-residence terms, with the projected rent often helping you qualify. That gap — not the rent roll — is what makes the strategy work. Minimums are typical program floors and vary by lender.

FHA, typical min~3.5% down
conventional, typical min~5% down
investor, typical min~20-25% down
the edgeleverage, not rent
02

The occupancy commitment.

Owner-occupied money comes with a promise attached: you move into one unit and live there. The usual shape is a move-in window after closing and roughly a year of occupancy, but the exact term is written into your program and your note — it varies. Break it and you have a problem, not a strategy.

occupancy1 of the units
typical term~1 year — varies
move-in windowset at closing
readyour actual note
03

What nobody tells you.

You live next to your tenants. The 11pm call is your call, and raising rent is a conversation you have in the driveway. Capital costs scale with doors, not with the one you sleep in: several water heaters, one roof over four units, turnover every time somebody leaves. Budget a reserve from month one.

your landlordis you
capexon all N doors
turnoverevery lease end
reservefrom month one
Set the unit count to two and this house hacking calculator doubles as a duplex cash flow calculator: the "if you move out" line is the same building with every door rented, minus a reserve. Two things worth reading before you shop: the full house hacking guide for how the strategy plays out over a few years, and DSCR vs. conventional financing for what happens to your options on property number two — once you are no longer the occupant, the loan changes and so does the down payment.
FAQ

Before you move in.

Straight answers on down payments, occupancy, and the day you leave.
— Down payment —
How much do I need down to house hack a duplex?
FHA minimums commonly start around 3.5%, conventional owner-occupied around 5%, and an investor loan on the same building usually wants 20%+. Those are typical program minimums, not quotes — the real number moves with program, credit and lender. Confirm before you write an offer.
— Occupancy —
Do I have to live in the property?
Yes — one unit has to be your primary residence. The usual shape is a move-in window after closing and about a year of occupancy, but the exact term varies by program and lender. Read your note.
— Qualifying —
Can the tenant rent help me qualify?
Often, yes — many programs count part of the projected rent from the other units, usually after a vacancy haircut. On 3-4 unit FHA loans a self-sufficiency test may also apply, where projected net rent has to cover the whole payment. Both vary by lender.
— Moving out —
What happens to the numbers when I move out?
Every door becomes rentable, but you start paying for housing elsewhere and need a real reserve. The calculator prints that line: all units rented, minus reserves, same payment. Tax treatment changes too — that varies by state, so consult a professional.
Live · all 50 states

Find the 2-4 units
that actually pencil.

Verleon AI underwrites active listings nationwide and scores each one — cash flow, DSCR, cash-on-cash, the 1% rule and the 70% rule, plus comps and ARV. Filter to duplexes, triplexes and fourplexes and see the math before you tour anything.

Try Verleon AI →Read the house hacking guide
DSCR loans, demystified →Section 8 FMR by state →Best markets for cash flow →BRRRR strategy, real numbers →How to analyze a rental →Verleon vs. PropStream →
Not investment advice. Verleon AI provides analytical tooling for real-estate professionals. Underwriting outputs (DSCR, cap rate, Section 8 FMR estimates, scores) are modeled from public and licensed data and are not a substitute for independent due diligence, legal counsel, lender pre-approval, or licensed appraisal. Past performance is not indicative of future results.