Have you ever wondered how much house your rent payment could buy?

One of our friends lives in a rent stabilized apartment in Harlem (aka Manhattan, aka NYC) and is paying $2,700/mo.

I sort of expected a penthouse suite for this monthly rent payment - but that's just the Iowan in me 😂

When I looked for some "for rent" examples on Zillow, I found one that could be rented for $2,271 so that's what we used to compare apples to oranges with.

**Side note - for $2,271/mo in rent - that apartment does NOT come with air conditioning? OMG - I would die.**

So, what would a HOUSE PAYMENT in Des Moines, Iowa, look like for that amount?

We assumed a few things, just to make the math simple:

1. Your affordability is exactly the same. Meaning, your job situation doesn't change even though you're living in Des Moines. Your income is the same - so what you can afford for rent in NYC - you can afford for a mortgage payment in Des Moines, IA.

2. 100% financing - no down payment. It goes without saying that the more you put down on a house, the better your payment will be, and the better financial position you'll be in. But for this example, we went with 100% financing because it's easy math.

3. 2.75% interest rate

4. High property taxes (around $7,000)

5. $1,000 homeowners insurance

6. PMI (mortgage insurance) is included in the payment (this is a great reason to have a down payment - every bit helps not only reduce your monthly payment but also reduce your PMI amount)

And then we looked at 3 different examples of what your New York City rent could buy you in Des Moines, IA.

One thing I didn't mention in the video (hind sight is 20/20!) is that we have a great guide on where to find savings (and sometimes free money!) when buying a home in the Greater Des Moines area. You can download that down below 👇