Buy Now or Wait?
Negotiate a price. Set a comfortable payment. See what needs to happen—and what happens if it doesn’t.
What can you negotiate?
$900,000 × 20% = $180,000 down
$720,000 loan
Costs, taxes & loan program
Costs are editable allowances, not a fee quote. Tax and insurance stay fixed when price changes. MI must be entered if applicable.
What payment works for you?
Includes principal, interest, tax, insurance, HOA and entered MI. Maintenance is extra.
Modeled after the 2–1 subsidy ends. Earlier refinancing and unused subsidy require lender review.
Refinance costs & equity assumptions
Starts at your offer price. A discount from asking does not establish instant equity.
What would have to be true?
Each option changes one part of the deal. These are payment thresholds, not approval promises.
At the assumed future value of $900,000, the modeled loan fits your selected LTV limit. Income, credit and lender approval are still required.
At 5.5%, your target supports a new loan of up to $702,096 over 28 years, after the entered taxes, insurance, HOA and MI.
Refinance payment savings versus the original full payment: $910/mo. Simple cost recovery: 7 months. Restarting the term can reduce payments while extending repayment; this is not an interest-savings claim.
Can the seller cover it?
The modeled costs fit the selected program ceiling. Request 3.91% to cover these modeled costs, subject to the limit and approval. Excess credit is not down payment or automatic cash back.
What if rates or values change?
Rent growth
Waiting purchase price starts from $900,000, then applies the selected change. The default uses the same starting purchase price as the offer for a fair comparison. Change it to test losing today’s negotiated price. Both paths use the same estimated home value at the comparison date.
Buy now or wait 24 months?
| After 5 years from today | Buy now | Wait, then buy |
|---|---|---|
| Purchase price | $900,000 | $900,000 |
| Full monthly housing payment at purchase | $6,184 | $5,238 |
| Total cash paid¹ | $529,633 | $486,497 |
| Remaining loan balance | $671,570 | $689,231 |
| Estimated home equity² | $228,430 | $210,769 |
| Cash paid minus equity³ | $301,203 | $275,728 |
Waiting has $25,475 less cash paid minus equity. This result follows your inputs, not a prediction.
Waiting ties this comparison at a future purchase price of $922,262. A higher waiting price favors buying now on this measure; a lower price favors waiting, holding the other inputs fixed.
¹ Down payment, uncovered closing costs, payments, maintenance, rent while waiting and cash-paid refinance costs. ² One common assumed home value of $900,000 minus each balance. ³ A comparison measure, not profit or spendable cash. No sale, tax benefits or earnings on unused money assumed. Taxes, insurance, HOA and MI held constant; maintenance uses each purchase price.
Buy-now assumes refinancing at month 24 at 5.5%. Waiting assumes no seller credit or buydown.
Stress-test the refinance
Payment / equity gap at month 24. A gap means additional cash or different loan terms would be needed. Value changes are total changes from today, not annual.
| Future rate | Home value -10% | Home value 0% | Home value +10% |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4.50% | $4,850/mo $58,210 equity gap | $4,850/mo $0 equity gap | $4,850/mo $0 equity gap |
| 5.50% | $5,274/mo $58,210 equity gap | $5,274/mo $0 equity gap | $5,274/mo $0 equity gap |
| 6.50% | $5,719/mo $58,210 equity gap | $5,719/mo $0 equity gap | $5,719/mo $0 equity gap |
| 7.50% | $6,184/mo $58,210 equity gap | $6,184/mo $0 equity gap | $6,184/mo $0 equity gap |
What are you thinking of buying?
General address lookup is coming soon. For now, use the saved Spruce or Edmonds research, or enter your own verified figures below.
Single-family homes only. Live searches share the entered location with the property-data provider. Address searches request property facts and a rent estimate. City searches use a sample of single-family listings to suggest a starting size, purchase price and rent when available. Review the findings before applying them.
Enter the purchase price, down payment, loan rate and expected rent. Your result shows what is left each month—or how much you must add.
What will you pay?
Loan limits, taxes & insurance
DSCR terms are lender-specific. The sample seller limit is not a GSE rule. Enter the lender’s actual terms. A distressed home may require bridge financing.
What will it earn?
Separate lender rent from your operating estimate. $4,656 is Zillow’s automated estimate for Spruce, not a lease or appraisal.
Edit vacancy, management & repair allowances
What would make this deal work?
Change price, down payment or rent above to compare. Taxes and insurance stay fixed unless you edit them.
Will the rent meet the lender’s loan requirement? (DSCR)
DSCR compares the lender’s accepted rent with the mortgage payment, taxes, insurance and HOA. A ratio of 1.00 means those costs are covered. It does not account for all of your operating expenses.
Below the entered ratio. Ask the originator about a smaller loan or different available terms.
Edmonds rent research · September 19, 2026
Available asking rents are context, not closed lease comparables. Size, condition, utilities and location differ from the 4,296 sq ft Spruce home.
| Example | Size | Asking rent |
|---|---|---|
| 22017 80th Pl W · 4 beds | 2,055 sq ft | $3,950/mo |
| 6801 157th Pl SW · 4 beds | 2,958 sq ft | $4,950/mo |
| 703 Main St · 3 beds | 3,054 sq ft | $4,900/mo |
See source listings. Confirm rent with a property manager and lender-accepted rent schedule.
When could the rent repay your initial cash?
Vacant-month budget: $6,403/month for debt, taxes, insurance, HOA and the entered carrying allowance. This simple rental case is separate from the optional renovation/refinance plan below.
| Time after purchase | Cumulative rental cash flow | Initial cash not yet recovered |
|---|---|---|
| 5 years | -$152,980 | $395,980 |
| 10 years | -$305,960 | $548,960 |
| 15 years | -$458,940 | $701,940 |
| 20 years | -$611,920 | $854,920 |
Cash-flow payback excludes appreciation, selling, tax benefits and equity from paying down the loan. A refinance returns borrowed money and does not count as rental profit. Rent, expenses and the current loan payment are held constant here; this is a simple payback illustration, not a full amortization forecast. Actual repairs and vacancies vary.
Optional: renovation & refinancing plan (BRRRR)
BRRRR = Buy, Renovate, Rent, Refinance, Repeat. This section adds renovation and months without rent, then estimates whether a new loan could return some of your investment. Borrowing money back is not profit.
Work through this only after reviewing the monthly rental result above. The figures below include the extra project costs.
Include the cash before rent starts.
Includes down payment, net closing costs, rehab, contingency and holding payments. No rental income assumed before stabilization. ARV is your assumption, not a valuation.
Value is only one limit.
Seasoning & lender valuation basis
Enter the actual lender policy. A value or rent increase does not remove seasoning, title, credit, lease or property-condition requirements.
The new loan is the smaller of the value limit and the rent-supported loan. New debt uses 30-year amortization.
This refinance would require more cash.
You would need to bring $270,756 to complete this refinance. After paying off the old loan, refinance costs and any entered prepayment penalty.
Cash returned is borrowed money, not profit. Negative cash left in a project means more borrowed cash was returned than invested; it is not an infinite return.
Keep the loan or refinance without cash out?
A refinance of the full payoff and costs exceeds the modeled value/rent limit by $270,756. Additional cash or different approved terms would be needed.
Interest-only acquisition payments can be lower than a fully amortizing refinance even when the rate drops. No 2–1 subsidy is assumed for these DSCR scenarios.
How much is really available for the next property?
The modeled plan needs more cash or a later eligible refinance before repeating. Reserve buffer: $23,280. Every future property needs its own underwriting.
Stress-test rent and the refinance rate
Each cell shows monthly cash flow / additional cash needed to refinance at that row’s maximum eligible loan. ARV stays fixed.
| Rent scenario | 5.50% | 6.50% | 7.50% |
|---|---|---|---|
| -10% · $4,190 | -$249/mo $291,099 cash in | -$249/mo $332,141 cash in | -$249/mo $366,957 cash in |
| 0% · $4,656 | -$276/mo $222,763 cash in | -$276/mo $270,756 cash in | -$276/mo $311,466 cash in |
| +10% · $5,122 | -$304/mo $154,428 cash in | -$304/mo $209,370 cash in | -$304/mo $255,975 cash in |
Assumptions, research & what to verify
Rates are example inputs, not live quotes. Price changes and refinance rates are independent scenarios: lower rates do not guarantee higher home values. No probability of refinancing is implied. No appreciation is assumed by default.
Primary-home examples use 30-year fixed loans, monthly amortization and the note rate for the outstanding balance. A 2–1 buydown subsidizes payments; it does not change the note rate or qualifying payment. Seller credit is limited by eligible costs and the selected program limit. Jumbo and other programs require lender confirmation.
Investor calculations use qualifying rent ÷ principal, interest, taxes, insurance and association dues (PITIA). Actual DSCR rent rules, credit, reserves, seasoning, valuation basis, prepayment penalties and loan limits vary by lender. No temporary buydown is assumed on DSCR loans. Rehab is paid in cash; acquisition debt can be fully amortizing or interest-only. This is not a construction draw model.
1060 Spruce public listing snapshot: $1,825,000 asking, 4 beds, 4,296 sq ft, $12,006 reported annual taxes and $4,656 automated monthly rent estimate. Observed September 19, 2026. These are not an appraisal, verified tax bill, lease or lender-approved rent. The $1.2M → $900k case is a separate hypothetical negotiation.
Property snapshot · Edmonds asking rents · Fannie Mae buydowns · Seller contribution limits · DSCR lender example · BRRRR method
Review with your mortgage originator and real estate professional before making an offer. Income qualification, mortgage insurance, taxes, insurance, property condition and lender rules still need verification. No tax benefits, selling expenses or investment return on unused cash are modeled.