Calculator pack
Moving House Calculator Pack
A step-by-step calculator pack for comparing rent, ownership costs, moving expenses, paint, utilities and date planning before a move.
Who this pack is for
Use this pack before you commit to a move, renew a lease or assume a mortgage payment is the full cost of owning. Moving decisions combine one-time costs and monthly costs, so one calculator is not enough.
The pack is deliberately conservative. It helps you build a rough range first, then improve the estimate when you have quotes, rates and dates.
Start with these tools
Start with the monthly comparison, then add the one-time setup costs that often get forgotten.
The best order to use them
- Save the current rent or current home cost as the baseline.
- Run the ownership or new-rent scenario and save it as the possible move.
- Add moving costs separately so the monthly comparison is not hiding one-time cash needs.
- Use the paint calculator only for rooms you are likely to paint soon.
- Use days until to turn the move into a checklist deadline.
Save and compare your scenarios
Each calculator now has a local saved-results panel. Run the first scenario, press Save result, change one input, then save again. The comparison table is stored only in the browser you are using, so it does not require an account and it is not sent to Figure It Quick.
The useful habit is to name the difference in plain language: cheaper plan, realistic plan, stretch plan, worst case, or next month. A saved result without the reason behind it is easy to misread later.
Worked path
A move that looks 150 per month cheaper can still require a deposit, truck hire, utility setup, paint, insurance and lost time. Saving the monthly result and the moving-cost result separately makes the tradeoff clearer.
For buying, the mortgage payment is only one line. Tax, insurance, maintenance, fees and moving cash all matter. This site cannot decide whether buying is right, but it can show whether the arithmetic is being compared fairly.
How to judge the comparison
A moving comparison should not mix cash needed today with monthly cost after the move. Keep those as separate saved results. A cheaper monthly plan may still be impossible if the upfront cash is too high, and a more expensive monthly plan may still be sensible if it solves a real commute, space or safety problem.
For buying, run at least two mortgage scenarios: one with the rate and deposit you expect, and one with a less comfortable rate or higher ownership costs. The point is not to predict the future exactly. It is to see whether the decision only works when everything goes well.
For renting, compare the new rent with realistic setup costs: deposit, overlap between homes, transport, furniture gaps, utility changes and lost time. A rent figure by itself is too clean for a messy move.
When to stop calculating
Stop calculating when you have a stay-put scenario, a move scenario and a list of unknowns. The next useful action is usually to get a real quote, ask a landlord or lender a direct question, or confirm a date. More calculator runs cannot replace missing facts.
Mistakes this pack helps prevent
- Treating mortgage principal and interest as the full monthly cost.
- Forgetting one-time moving costs when comparing monthly savings.
- Using optimistic maintenance and repair assumptions.
- Counting rooms for paint without checking coats and coverage.
What to do after the numbers
Keep two saved scenarios: stay put and move. If the move still looks sensible after one-time costs and realistic monthly costs, use the saved numbers as a question list when talking to a landlord, lender, agent or adviser.