Rent or Buy During Residency?

Most rent-vs-buy calculators assume your income stays flat. As a physician, your income will jump 3-5x after training. A mortgage payment that eats 40% of your residency salary becomes 10% of your attending income. That income jump completely changes the math. This calculator models it year by year so you can see the full picture, not just the tight years during training.

Selling costs are real - roughly 5-6% of the sale price for realtor commissions and legal fees. On a $600K home, that's about $33,000. You need enough home appreciation and equity built up to cover these costs and still come out ahead of renting. In most markets, 3+ years of ownership is enough. Under 2 years, it's usually not worth it unless the market is exceptionally strong. The calculator shows both "stay" and "leave" scenarios so you can see the difference.

This is the real question. Projected income gets you qualified, but you still make the actual payments on your resident salary. A mortgage + property tax + maintenance could run $3,000-4,000/mo in many cities. On a $72K salary, that's tight. It's doable - many residents do it - but budget honestly. Factor in utilities, insurance, and a maintenance fund. If you have a partner contributing income, it becomes much more manageable. The calculator shows exact monthly costs so you can see what you'd actually pay.

Nobody can time the market. What you can control: your timeline, your carrying costs, and your exit strategy. If you're staying 5+ years, short-term market fluctuations matter much less. If you're leaving in 2 years, a correction could hurt. This calculator uses conservative appreciation estimates (2-3.5% depending on city), not speculative gains. The numbers here assume things stay roughly normal, not that you'll get lucky.