Loan Officer Tutorial
How to run a Rent vs. Own analysis the right way
A 10-step walkthrough for building the analysis so it’s accurate, credible, and ready to put in front of a renter or referral partner.
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Start here
When (and why) to use this analysis

The Rent vs. Own analysis shows a renter, in dollars, the wealth they give up by renting instead of owning the same home. It’s built for the renter who believes renting is “saving” or “more flexible,” or who says “I can’t afford to buy right now.”

Reach for it when a renter is on the fence, when an agent hands you a renter client, or any time the conversation turns to “is renting really throwing money away?”

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It’s a conversation tool, not a handout. Walk through it with them and drag the year slider live. The gap widening year by year is what makes it land.
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The report is only as credible as your inputs. A couple of fields take judgment — this tutorial shows you how to keep every number defensible so it holds up with a sharp renter or agent.
Inputs
Current renter profile

Everything lives in the sidebar on the left and updates the report instantly. Start with where they are today:

  • Monthly Rent — their actual rent. This is the emotional anchor of the whole report.
  • Annual Rent Increase — 3–5% is typical; use a defensible local number.
  • Renters Insurance — their monthly premium, if they have it.
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Use their real rent. The comparison only hits home when it’s their check on the screen, not a generic number.
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Rent increases compound. Even 3–4%/yr adds up dramatically over 10 years — but keep it realistic. A defensible increase is more persuasive than an inflated one.
Inputs
The home they’d buy

Now the home and the loan. The Rent, Price, Down %, and Rate fields each have a slider beneath them so you can adjust live.

  • Purchase Price — a real target that matches their approval and market.
  • Down Payment % — 3–5% conventional, 3.5% FHA, 0% VA. Set what actually fits them.
  • Interest Rate & Loan Term — a real, quotable rate.
  • Loan Type — drives the auto mortgage-insurance calc.
  • Closing Costs — used for cash-to-close and the return-on-cash math.
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Use a rate you can actually quote. If they check it against a rate site or a Loan Estimate, it needs to match or the whole report loses credibility.
Inputs
Ownership costs

Fill in the real cost of owning so the monthly comparison is honest:

  • Property Tax — as a %/yr of value (the report applies it to the home’s value over time).
  • Homeowners Insurance — annual premium.
  • HOA — monthly dues, if any.
  • Monthly Mortgage Insurance — auto-fills from loan type and LTV.
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MI auto-fills, but the fields accept overrides. When you have exact figures from a quote, type right over the estimates — it keeps the net-cost-to-own number tight.
Judgment call — the important one
Growth & tax assumptions

These four inputs decide how defensible your report is:

  • Home Appreciation — long-run U.S. average is ~3–5%. Cite a source and stay conservative.
  • Investment Return — and its on/off toggle. When on, the renter is credited for investing the down payment and every monthly dollar they save by renting.
  • Marginal Tax Rate — drives the mortgage-interest & property-tax benefit.
  • Selling Costs — netted out of home equity so “owning” net worth isn’t overstated.
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Leave “invest the difference” ON — it makes the case bulletproof. “Let’s even assume you invest every dollar you’d save by renting.” Owning still wins, and that disarms the smartest objection in the room.
⚠️
Never cherry-pick a high appreciation rate. Source it, date it, and consider running a low or 0% case. A conservative version that still favors owning is one no skeptic can pick apart.
Required
Your loan officer information

At the bottom of the sidebar, complete your details — they appear on the report and its disclosures:

  • Full Name, NMLS #, Phone, Email, Office Address
  • License State — auto-fills the correct HFG license number for that state.
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Fill these once, accurately. The License State dropdown pulls the right HFG license number automatically, and everything flows onto the client-facing report.
Read the report
The wealth-gap scoreboard

The top of the report is the headline: the Wealth Gap at the year you’ve selected, the “owning wins by Year X” break-even, and two cards — net worth if they keep renting vs. net worth if they buy.

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It’s apples-to-apples. Both sides are net worth: owning = home equity (net of selling costs); renting = the down payment plus monthly savings, invested. The gap is the real difference — not a thumb on the scale.
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Scrub the year slider live. Drag it from 1 to 30 in front of them. Early years are close; watching the gap widen is the moment owning clicks.
Read the report
Monthly cost, cash, and the leverage effect

Below the scoreboard, three pieces do the heavy lifting:

  • Monthly Cost: Rent vs. Own — net cost to own (after the tax benefit) against rent that climbs every year.
  • Cash to Get In — the one-time cost to start building equity.
  • Return on Your Cash — the leverage: their down payment controls the whole home, so appreciation compounds on the full value, not just the cash in.
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Leverage is the knockout line. “Your cash controls a $450,000 asset — it appreciates on all of it, not just your down payment.” Show the return multiple and the annualized number.
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Use both honestly. The return-on-cash figure is before monthly carrying costs; the net-worth scoreboard is the all-in view. Lead with leverage, back it with net worth.
Present
How to walk a renter through it

Order matters. A sequence that converts:

  • 1. The monthly — their rent today vs. net cost to own. Often closer than they expect.
  • 2. The gap over time — drag the slider; let the wealth gap grow.
  • 3. The leverage — return on their cash; appreciation on the whole asset.
  • 4. The path in — cash to close, then “let’s talk down-payment assistance and gift funds.”
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Don’t email it cold. Screen-share or sit beside them and move the slider. Explained beats read, every time.
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End on the next step: “Want me to pull together what you’d actually qualify for?” The tool opens the door — you close it.
Finish
Deliver & stay compliant

Deliver: hit Print / Save PDF for a clean two-page leave-behind. (Chrome: keep Scale at Default / 100% and don’t use “Fit to page.”)

Do: keep every input defensible, cite your appreciation source, leave “invest the difference” on, and complete all required fields. Don’t: promise appreciation or present any figure as a guarantee — every number is an estimate, and the report’s disclaimer says so.

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Appreciation is the judgment input — source it, date it, stay conservative.
✓
Keep invest-the-difference ON — it disarms the “I’ll just invest” objection.
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Lead with the monthly and the leverage, then back it with net worth.
🖨️
Print this tutorial for a one-page cheat sheet you can keep at your desk.
Rent vs. Own Analysis
Loan Officer Quick Reference
1
When to use it. Fence-sitting renters and the “renting saves money / I can’t afford to buy” objection. Walk through it live.
2
Renter profile. Their real monthly rent, a defensible annual increase (3–5%), renters insurance.
3
The home. Real target price, down %, quotable rate, term, loan type, closing costs. Sliders adjust live.
4
Ownership costs. Property tax %, insurance, HOA, MI (auto). Override estimates with real quotes.
5
Growth & tax (judgment). Conservative, sourced appreciation. Keep invest-the-difference ON. Tax rate + selling costs.
6
Your info (required). Name, NMLS, phone, email, address, license state (auto-fills license #).
7
Scoreboard. The wealth gap + break-even year. Both sides are net worth — apples to apples. Scrub the slider.
8
Monthly, cash & leverage. Net cost to own vs rent; cash to close; return on cash — the down payment controls the whole asset.
9
Present in order. Monthly → gap over time → leverage → path in. Screen-share, don’t email cold.
10
Deliver & comply. Print clean 2-page PDF. Defensible inputs, cite sources, never promise appreciation; all figures are estimates.
Homeowners Financial Group USA, LLC · NMLS #93718 · Equal Housing Lender · For internal loan-officer training use only.