Movielover, There is a great

[scripps]

Movielover,

There is a great rent vs. own calculator on the eloan web site:
http://www.eloan.com/s/show/calc_rentvsown?sid=hYg8zBMtVhvV-qUOS-0N3moI9ss&user=&mcode=

Here is what I got using the figures you gave:

Assumptions: (you can adjust these assumptions)
Monthly Rental Payment: $ 1200
Purchase Price of the Home: $ 200,000
Anticipated Down Payment: $ 40,000
Mortgage Interest Rate: 6%
Number of years you plan on keeping the home: 5 years
Yearly Appreciation on the Home: 0%
Closing Costs to Buy the Home: 2%
Annual Property Taxes: 1.25%
Annual Home Maintenance: 0.8%
Closing Costs to Sell the Home: 6%
Income Tax Rate: 28%
Your Savings or Investment Rate: 5%
Monthly Renter Insurance: $30

Rent versus Own
Rent
Total Payments in five years: $77,491.13
Tax Savings: $0
Investment or Appreciation: $10,210.25
Own
Payments: $97,637.20
Tax Savings: $20,550.22
Investment or Appreciation:$5,613.57

Conclusion
By renting your home versus buying you will have saved $4,192.54 over the next 5 years.