The Property Calculators — How to Use Them

Five calculators, a page each, and nothing left to guess.

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Twenty-three calculators, grouped by what you are trying to work out, and a full page for every one of them: each field explained, the formula behind it, a worked example in DHA Lahore rupees, the mistakes people make and what it cannot tell you. They all run inside your own browser: nothing you type is stored, and nothing is sent to us.

01

Which one do you need?

Pick by the question you are actually asking.

“Can I afford this house?”How much home you can afford“Is this rent too much for me?”How much rent is comfortable“What will it cost me every month to live here?”What it costs to live there“What will the transfer cost on top of the price?”Transfer cost and taxes“Is this worth buying to rent out?”Rental income and yield
02

Three rules that apply to all five

  • Nothing is stored. Every calculation happens in your browser. Close the tab and it is gone — we never see your income, your rent or your price.
  • We do not fill in government or DHA rates. They change with every budget and every DHA circular, and a wrong figure costs you real money. Where a rate is needed, the field is empty and you put in what the office tells you today.
  • These are estimates, not a valuation and not financial advice. Confirm every figure with your bank and the DHA office before you commit to anything.
03

The order that works

  1. Start with affordability or rent — that gives you a ceiling.
  2. Run monthly cost for the kind of house you have in mind. This is the step people skip.
  3. Once a price is agreed, run transfer and tax so the counter holds no surprise.
  4. If you are buying to rent out, finish with yield, using the yearly total from step 2.
Open this calculator

All twenty-three are below. Open the one that matches your question — each page explains every field, shows the formula, works a real DHA Lahore example and ends with what that calculator cannot tell you.

Bank instalmentThe moment a bank quotes you a rate. It is also the fastest way to see why a longer loan is not the bargain it looks like.How much home you can affordUse it before you start looking, not after. Knowing your ceiling saves you from falling in love with a plot that was never within reach.How much a bank will lendBefore you walk into a bank, and before an agent talks you into a price. Knowing the ceiling saves an embarrassing conversation later.Instalments against incomeBefore you apply, so you already know the answer the bank is going to give you.What the down payment changesWhen you are deciding whether to wait a year and save more, or buy now with less down.How the loan comes downWhen the instalment feels large and you want to see why the balance is barely moving. Also before deciding to pay extra.Is refinancing worth itWhen another bank offers you a better rate, or when rates fall and your own bank has not passed it on.Taking cash out of the houseWhen you need a lump sum — building, a business, a family need — and the house is the largest thing you own.Compare three banksAfter you have asked three banks and written down what each one said. Not before — this calculator has nothing to compare until you do.Islamic financing beside a normal loanWhen you want the interest-free route and need to know what, if anything, it costs you compared with the conventional one.How much of the house is yoursOnce a year, to see where you stand. Also before asking a bank for anything — equity is the first thing they look at.DHA transfer costBefore you agree a price. The transfer bill on one Kanal runs into lakhs, and who pays which part of it is something you settle before the transfer date, not on it.Transfer cost and taxesOnce a price is agreed and before you hand over any money. This is the number that surprises people at the counter.Filer and non-filerBefore you decide whether getting on the active taxpayer list is worth the trouble — and before a transfer, when it is too late to change.Commercial transfer costThe moment a commercial deal is agreed. DHA's commercial transfer fee surprises people who have only ever bought residential.The non-construction penaltyUse it when a plot has been sitting empty and you are not sure what has built up — or before you buy one, so the seller's unpaid penalty does not become yours on transfer day.Late instalment surchargeWhen instalments have been missed and you want to know the number that brings the file current today — and whether you are already in the cancellation zone.How much rent is comfortableBefore you sign a rent agreement, and before you let an agent talk you up by "just twenty thousand more". Twenty thousand a month is Rs 2.4 lakh a year.What a fair rent isBefore you agree a rent — as a landlord who does not want to ask too little, or a tenant who does not want to pay too much.Rent or buyThe question everyone asks and almost nobody works out. Do it before you commit either way.Rental income and yieldWhen you are choosing between buying to live in and buying to rent out, or comparing two properties that earn different rents.What it costs to live thereBefore you commit to a house — yours or rented. Two houses at the same price can cost very different amounts to live in.What you keep after sellingThe moment you start thinking about selling — especially if the sale is meant to fund the next purchase.Keep, build or sellWhen a plot has been sitting for a while and the argument at home keeps going in circles. It will not settle the argument, but it puts the three answers in the same units.Inheritance sharesBefore a family meeting, so that everyone is looking at the same arithmetic rather than at what somebody remembers being told.Marla, kanal and feetEvery time a listing gives a size in a unit you do not think in — and every time a dealer hands you a plot as two measurements in feet.How much you may buildBefore you commission a design, and before you buy a narrow plot. A plot that is 5 feet narrower than its neighbour can lose far more than 5 feet of buildable ground once both side setbacks come off.Cost of buildingBefore you buy a plot to build on, and again before you sign with a contractor. The two numbers are rarely the same.Price in your own currencyFor Pakistanis abroad, who think in dirhams, pounds, riyals or dollars and have to decide whether a Lahore price is large or small.