Colchester · E7 8AY · 2-bed
Romford Road, Forest Gate, London, E7
© OpenStreetMap · click to open in maps
Asking price
£230,000
£278/sqft · EPC C
Verdict
Strong rental backup (6.96% gross yield)
What you could do with it
Estimated gross yields from current rental comps. Numbers are pre-cost — service, voids, mortgage, management still come off these.
Standard BTL
£1,334/mo
7.0% gross yield
Open-market tenant on a 12-month AST.
LHA / Section 8
Best fit£1,745/mo
9.1% gross yield
Council-paid tenant. Stable rent, longer tenancies, slight discount to market.
Council lease
£1,483/mo
7.7% gross yield
3–5 yr guaranteed-rent lease to a housing association. Hands-off.
Who is this for?
Quick read across the buyer personas. ✅ = good fit · ⚠ = workable with caveats · ❌ = look elsewhere.
Family home
2-bed with EPC C — workable family setup.
Standard BTL
7.0% gross — clears typical 5%+ break-even threshold.
Buy + rent later
Rents would more than cover BTL mortgage costs if life changes.
The numbers
England (SDLT) · 75% LTV mortgage at 5.5% over 25 years (capital repayment).
Stamp duty
First-time buyer
£0
Home mover
£0
2nd home / BTL
£11,500
Mortgage @ 75% LTV
- Loan
- £172,500
- Deposit
- £57,500
- Per month
- £1,059
Cash you'd need to walk in (deposit + investor SDLT, before legal/survey): £69,000
Should you pay this?
Asking price is in line with what 2-bed homes have been selling for nearby.
Contains HM Land Registry data © Crown copyright and database right.
What it'd rent for
£1,334/month6.96% gross yield
Based on 582 live rentals in Colchester · 2-bed homes here average £1,196/mo.
Most landlords need 5%+ gross to break even after costs in this area, so this is a decent fallback if your plans shift.
Property features
- []
Loading nearby sold…
5-year price trend
Crime risk
Flood risk
Schools & Ofsted
Catchment area is the #1 driver of family-let demand and exit liquidity in the suburbs. Verify the local primary + secondary ratings before offering — an Outstanding catchment can add 5–10% to £/sqft; Inadequate is a permanent drag.
- All schools within 2 miles (DfE GIAS) — official register, last Ofsted, type
- Ofsted reports for E7 8AY — full inspection reports + history
- Catchment visualiser (Locrating) — free-tier school-catchment map
Catchments aren't published nationally; many schools use distance-from-school as the deciding factor. The links above give you the official data; only the local authority can confirm a specific year's catchment boundary.
Area pulse
- 11,398 new listings here in the last month — good comparable supply.
Share this analysis
Want unlimited saved searches, the full investor breakdown, and the what-if calculator? Try Pro free for 3 days.