Move IQ is your personal moving advisor. Tell it your finances, your life plans, and the place you're eyeing — it works out what you can truly afford, whether to rent or buy, the long-term wealth impact, and whether this move is financially responsible. Numbers, explained.
Most moving tools assume you should buy and just ask how much. Move IQ starts from your whole picture — money, life and the place itself — works out what you can truly afford, and tells you plainly whether to buy, rent, or wait.
A clear three-way verdict that weighs your finances and your life — how settled you are, your plans, your need for flexibility. Sometimes the smartest move is to keep renting, and this tool will say so plainly.
Move IQ works backward from your income and cash to the most you can responsibly spend — on rent and on a home — with a comfortable zone and a stretch ceiling, built on the same 28/36 math lenders use.
A side-by-side projection of your net worth on each path — including equity, appreciation, selling costs and the return you'd earn investing the down payment instead.
Emergency fund, down payment, credit, job stability, cash-flow cushion and more — each one graded pass, caution or not-yet, with the real numbers behind it.
Whatever the verdict, you leave with a prioritized to-do list — savings targets, debt to clear, credit goals — tailored to your exact gaps.
Every number you enter stays in your browser. Nothing is saved, sent, or stored anywhere. Close the tab and it's gone.
Fill in the two input tabs with your real numbers. Everything else updates instantly — the verdict, the wealth projection, the checklist and your plan.
Be honest here — this is the foundation of the whole verdict. Use household totals if you'd buy with a partner. Numbers stay on your device.
A home is a life decision, not just a money one. These answers shape whether settling down or staying flexible is the smarter move for you — they tune the recommendation, they don't just crunch numbers.
Describe the home you'd actually buy and a comparable home you could rent instead. Not sure on a field? The defaults are reasonable U.S. starting points — adjust to your market.
Everything at a glance. This is the short version of your whole analysis — the headline call, what you can afford, and anything you should be careful about. Dig into any tab for the full reasoning.
Before you fall for a place, know your range. These are built from the same 28/36 guidelines lenders use, your cash on hand, and your real monthly budget — with a comfortable zone and a stretch zone you should think twice before crossing.
These ranges assume the rate, down payment, taxes and insurance on your property tab. Change those and your budget moves with them — that's the point. A lender may approve you for the stretch number; whether it's comfortable is a different question, and that's what Move IQ is here to answer.
If you buy, your wealth grows through equity and appreciation. If you rent, it grows by investing the cash you didn't tie up. Here's how the two paths compare over your time horizon.
These are the checkpoints lenders and financial planners actually use. Caution flags aren't deal-breakers — but a cluster of them means slow down.
Concrete next steps, ordered by priority and tailored to the gaps in your current picture.
The concepts behind every number — so the verdict is a tool you understand, not a black box.
A lender benchmark: keep housing costs at or below 28% of gross income (the "front-end" ratio) and total debt — housing plus all other debt — at or below 36% ("back-end"). Many lenders allow back-end DTI up to 43–45%, and FHA loans sometimes higher, but qualifying isn't the same as it being comfortable.
Lower is saferPlanners recommend 3–6 months of full living expenses set aside in cash — kept separate from your down payment. Buying a home that drains your reserves to zero turns a broken water heater into a financial crisis.
Reserves after closingHome price ÷ one year of rent for a comparable place. As a rough guide: under 15 tends to favor buying, 15–21 is a toss-up, and above 21–25 usually favors renting. It's a quick gut-check, not the whole story.
Quick market readBuying carries heavy one-time costs — roughly 2–5% to buy and 6–8% to sell. It usually takes about 5 years (sometimes 3, sometimes 8+) of equity and appreciation to recover them. The shorter your stay, the more renting wins.
Time horizon mattersPut down less than 20% and most lenders add private mortgage insurance — an extra monthly cost that protects them, not you. It typically falls off once you reach ~20% equity. This tool estimates it automatically.
Built into your paymentA down payment isn't "free" money — invested elsewhere it could grow. A fair comparison credits the renter with the investment return on the cash a buyer ties up. That's why the wealth race isn't just "rent vs. mortgage."
The renter's edgeReady to buy — finances are solid, horizon is long, economics favor owning. Rent for now — you could afford to buy, but renting is the smarter financial move today. Build first — buying or stretching for a pricey rental would put you at real risk; strengthen the foundation before either.
Honest by designIt doesn't know your local market quirks, exact tax situation, or how a home would feel to live in. Treat the verdict as a rigorous starting point — then confirm the numbers with a lender, a CPA and a real estate professional.
A starting pointMove IQ works backward from your income, debt and cash to find the most you can responsibly spend — on rent and on a home. The comfortable zone keeps housing near 28% of income; the stretch zone is the most a lender might allow. Staying in the comfortable band is what leaves room to save and absorb surprises.
Know your ceilingMoney isn't the whole story. How settled your life is, how much you value the freedom to move, whether your household is growing, and how tied you are to one location all shape the decision. Buying rewards stability; lots of change rewards flexibility. Move IQ weighs this alongside the numbers.
The human sideTwo things cap how much home you can buy: what your income can carry monthly, and how much cash you have for the down payment and closing. Whichever is lower wins. If cash is the limit, saving more — not earning more — is what unlocks a bigger budget.
The binding constraintA place can be exciting and still be a mistake. Before committing, check it against your real budget, your reserves after closing, your time horizon, and your life plans. "Can I get approved?" and "Is this a responsible move?" are different questions — Move IQ answers the second one.
Decide with clarity