Buy a house to rent out, or invest?
Work out for free what the same own money could be worth after 5, 10 and 20 years: a rented house with a mortgage, or investing in a global equity fund. No account needed.
Your numbers
Set the mortgage to 0 if you buy without one.
Adjust more assumptions
Result
Both routes start with the same own money: €142,000 (down payment plus purchase costs).
- After 5 yearsInvesting ahead by €32,747€159,985€192,732
- After 10 yearsInvesting ahead by €11,683€249,907€261,590
- After 20 yearsHouse ahead by €18,131€500,028€481,896
In the first year you add about €80 per month after rent, costs, interest and repayment.
Indicative calculation using the same formulas as the Property check in the app. Amounts are wealth after selling the house and repaying the mortgage, before taxes. Not financial advice; the future may turn out differently.
The area around the property
Enter the address or place name of the project and see straight away what is nearby. Free, no account needed.
The address is looked up via OpenStreetMap. Portfolane does not store it.
What the full Property check also researches
This calculator and area scan only use public data and your own numbers. In the app you add the link to the listing or the project brochure (PDF). The Property check reads the details from it and researches the property and its surroundings, with sources for its conclusions.
Location and access
Roads, public transport, airport, shops, schools, hospitals and restaurants.
Neighbourhood
Crime, noise, crowding, vacancy and industry nearby.
Future developments
Planned housing, infrastructure, population growth and the local economy.
Rules and permits
Zoning, rental rules, holiday letting and upcoming policy or tax changes.
Nature and climate risks
Flooding, wildfires, drought, earthquakes and extreme weather.
Market and price
Comparable homes, price per m², rents, occupancy and signs of oversupply.
Project and legal risks
Developer, delays, objection procedures and disputes.
Geopolitics
Only where it genuinely matters for that country or region.
Each area gets a score, with the sources behind it and how reliable they are. The Property check gives no buying advice and no guarantees.
How does this comparison work?
Both routes start with exactly the same own money: the down payment on the house plus all purchase costs. In the investment route, that amount goes into a broadly diversified equity fund in one go.
For the house, rent, vacancy, costs, mortgage interest and repayment count, and at the end the sale value minus selling costs and the remaining mortgage. For investing, the return and fund costs count.
The default values are averages, not a forecast. Adjust them to your situation: value growth, rent and costs in particular make a big difference.