Every chart on this page is free to republish. You do not need to ask, and there is no fee. The only condition is that you credit VanToVault and link back to the page the chart came from, which the copy-paste code below does for you automatically.
These are released under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 licence. The underlying figures are original analysis or are cited inline to their federal, academic or industry source on the page each chart links to.
A note on the ROAD Act diagrams below. The 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act became law on 11 July 2026, and most of what has been written about it is aimed at investors or their lawyers. These were drawn for ordinary buyers, from the enacted text. If you are covering the law and want a figure checked, or a version cropped or recoloured for your layout, ask and I will send it.
The charts
Where a duplex beats renting, by metro
Dollars kept (or lost) each month by living in one unit of a screened two-to-four unit building and renting the other, against renting comparable space. The 11 metros ranked on the Foothold Index, August 2026; eight of them come out ahead of renting.
<a href="https://vantovault.com/library/foothold-score/"><img src="https://vantovault.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/foothold-kept-per-month-2026-08-v2.png" alt="Bar chart of dollars kept or lost per month by house hacking instead of renting across the 11 metros ranked on the VanToVault Foothold Index, August 2026" width="600" style="max-width:100%;height:auto;border:0" /></a>
<p>Chart: <a href="https://vantovault.com/library/foothold-score/">VanToVault, Where a duplex beats renting, by metro</a></p>Which buildings the ROAD Act investor ban covers
The Act defines a single-family home as two or fewer dwelling units, which puts duplexes inside the ban and triplexes outside it. Most coverage omits that definition.
<a href="https://vantovault.com/blog/road-act-investor-ban-duplexes/"><img src="https://vantovault.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/vtv-road-act-covered-buildings-v2.png" alt="Diagram of which buildings the ROAD Act investor purchase ban covers, from VanToVault" width="600" style="max-width:100%;height:auto;border:0" /></a>
<p>Chart: <a href="https://vantovault.com/blog/road-act-investor-ban-duplexes/">VanToVault, Which buildings the ROAD Act investor ban covers</a></p>How long the ROAD Act investor ban lasts
Enacted 11 July 2026, effective 7 January 2027, automatically repealed 7 January 2042.
<a href="https://vantovault.com/blog/road-act-investor-ban-duplexes/"><img src="https://vantovault.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/vtv-road-act-ban-timeline-v2.png" alt="Timeline of the ROAD Act investor ban from enactment in July 2026 through repeal in January 2042, from VanToVault" width="600" style="max-width:100%;height:auto;border:0" /></a>
<p>Chart: <a href="https://vantovault.com/blog/road-act-investor-ban-duplexes/">VanToVault, How long the ROAD Act investor ban lasts</a></p>The small mortgage gap
Why cheap homes are so often bought in cash: mortgage use and denial rates by price tier, from Urban Institute figures.
<a href="https://vantovault.com/blog/small-dollar-mortgage-road-act/"><img src="https://vantovault.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/vtv-small-mortgage-gap.png" alt="Two bar charts showing how rarely the cheapest homes are bought with a mortgage, from VanToVault" width="600" style="max-width:100%;height:auto;border:0" /></a>
<p>Chart: <a href="https://vantovault.com/blog/small-dollar-mortgage-road-act/">VanToVault, The small mortgage gap</a></p>What counts as a manufactured home after the ROAD Act
The Act struck the permanent chassis requirement. This is the four-step test for what now qualifies under the HUD code.
<a href="https://vantovault.com/blog/road-act-manufactured-home-chassis-rule/"><img src="https://vantovault.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/vtv-manufactured-home-definition-v2.png" alt="Decision diagram for what counts as a manufactured home after the ROAD Act chassis rule change, from VanToVault" width="600" style="max-width:100%;height:auto;border:0" /></a>
<p>Chart: <a href="https://vantovault.com/blog/road-act-manufactured-home-chassis-rule/">VanToVault, What counts as a manufactured home after the ROAD Act</a></p>Three ways to finance a second unit after the ROAD Act
Building an ADU, converting to two units, or buying a duplex outright, side by side on financing route and limit.
<a href="https://vantovault.com/blog/road-act-adu-financing/"><img src="https://vantovault.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/vtv-adu-three-routes.png" alt="Comparison of three ways to finance a second housing unit after the ROAD Act, from VanToVault" width="600" style="max-width:100%;height:auto;border:0" /></a>
<p>Chart: <a href="https://vantovault.com/blog/road-act-adu-financing/">VanToVault, Three ways to finance a second unit after the ROAD Act</a></p>The federal definition of an accessory dwelling unit
Section 502(r) created the first statutory ADU definition for USDA guaranteed loans. This is its four-part test.
<a href="https://vantovault.com/blog/road-act-adu-financing/"><img src="https://vantovault.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/vtv-adu-definition.png" alt="Four-part test for what counts as an accessory dwelling unit under the new federal definition, from VanToVault" width="600" style="max-width:100%;height:auto;border:0" /></a>
<p>Chart: <a href="https://vantovault.com/blog/road-act-adu-financing/">VanToVault, The federal definition of an accessory dwelling unit</a></p>FHA Title I loan limits before and after the ROAD Act
The limits that changed with real figures, including the limit for buildings with two or more units rising from $60,000 to $150,000, capped at an average of $37,500 a unit ($75,000 on a duplex).
<a href="https://vantovault.com/blog/road-act-adu-financing/"><img src="https://vantovault.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/vtv-adu-limits-before-after-v3.png" alt="Bar chart comparing FHA Title I loan limits before and after the ROAD Act, from VanToVault" width="600" style="max-width:100%;height:auto;border:0" /></a>
<p>Chart: <a href="https://vantovault.com/blog/road-act-adu-financing/">VanToVault, FHA Title I loan limits before and after the ROAD Act</a></p>When ADU rent counts toward qualifying
The same three limits at Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and FHA, and the two dates that decide whether rent from an unbuilt ADU can be used at all. Rules as published, checked 31 August 2026, with corrections from a Casita Coalition board reviewer.
<a href="https://vantovault.com/blog/road-act-adu-financing/"><img src="https://vantovault.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/vtv-adu-rent-qualifying-2026-08.png" alt="Chart comparing when ADU rental income counts toward mortgage qualifying at Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and FHA, from VanToVault" width="600" style="max-width:100%;height:auto;border:0" /></a>
<p>Chart: <a href="https://vantovault.com/blog/road-act-adu-financing/">VanToVault, When ADU rent counts toward qualifying</a></p>The underlying datasets
Two original datasets sit behind most of the numbers above. Both are free, both are machine-readable, and both carry a permanent DOI so they can be cited in academic work.
- The Foothold Index, 83 metros screened for where an owner-occupant can buy a two-to-four unit building and keep the cost of owning near or below renting. Methodology and write-up · CSV · JSON · DOI 10.5281/zenodo.22019647
- The down payment assistance survey, 83 metros checked for whether assistance can be used on a two-to-four unit owner-occupied purchase, with several agencies confirming in writing. Methodology and write-up · CSV · JSON · DOI 10.5281/zenodo.22019630
How to cite
VanToVault, chart title, vantovault.com, with a link to the page the chart appears on. For the datasets, cite the DOI. If a figure is dated, please keep the date with it, because each one is re-checked and a copied number goes stale the moment its source updates.
Want something that is not here
I can run a custom cut of either dataset for one market, one price band, or a different mortgage rate, and send it as a chart or as raw numbers. There is no charge and no catch. Reach me through the contact page. Calculators can be embedded too, as live widgets rather than images, on the free calculator widgets page.
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Sources
- [S1] Zenodo, read 24 September 2026: “There is a newer version of the record available” zenodo.org.
- [S2] Zenodo, read 24 September 2026: “There is a newer version of the record available." (record 22019631, v1, August 20, 2026)” zenodo.org.