Rented normally, you'd make about £492 a month.

Will it pay?Calculator

£492 of every £3,472 is yours to keep, each month

You keep 14p of every pound of rent. The mortgage takes 47p.

+£3,472−£1,625−£1,239−£116£492

Rent inMortgageRunning costsTaxProfit

Rent £3,472, modelled from 53 nearby lettings within 1 km

□ service charge not published2 empty weeks a year assumed

What if I change my assumptions?The dials

At the asking price, 25% deposit, 6.50% charged

Change any of these 16 and every card on this page changes with it. The 6.50% is the 5.75% quoted plus a company premium.

◧ worked out from local rents

What will it cost me to buy?Breakdown

£139,525 + refurb costs

£39,525 of that never comes back — stamp duty, solicitor and lender fees.

£139,525 to buy it

deposit · stamp duty · solicitor · fees~£16,087, unseen

□ works not inspected

What would have to be true?

Nothing — it works at the asking price

The rent covers the mortgage, the running costs and the tax at the £400,000 asked, so there is no discount this card has to name. A lower price would be upside, not a condition.

◧ worked back from the rent

Is the price right?The deeds

Last sold for £135,000 in 2002

Nothing nearby is comparable, but asking is 196% more than the £135,000 paid for it in 2002.

□ this address’s own deeds, no comparable saleHM Land Registry Price Paid Data

Can we trust the rent?Rent evidence

Nearby lettings back this rent

We hold too few nearby asking rents to cross-check this figure, so nothing here confirms it a second way.

+43 more

our bar: 10 within 500 m

our own middle half£3,397–£3,549/mo

■ 53 lettings within 1 km□ no nearby asks to cross-checkAdvertised rents, not signed tenancies

What will the rent borrow?Lender test

The rent carries the whole loan — it could fall 19% and still cover it

Your deposit is what limits this one, not the rent. Lenders test the rent at 7.5% and need it to cover 145% of the payment.

£2,719 needed

of £3,338 rent

stressed at 7.5%, 145% cover

◧ rent after empty weeks £3,338PRA-style test

How big is it, really?The plan

One figure, and nothing checking it 666 sq ft

Only the agent’s figure exists for this house. Open for what that means.

□ area unchecked — agent’s own

Is it a good location?Open the map

London, E9 5LZ

2 of 4 schools in this postcode area rated Good or Outstanding and flood risk checking… — open for the map, the schools and the rest.

Article 4Not assessed for this address

■ postcode area, not this address

What could kill thisThe checks

You would need a licence from the council first

Letting without the council’s licence is an offence, and the fee is in no figure here.

2 problems found · 2 came back clear · 5 we could not check

■ from council licensing registerlisting last seen 13 Sep 2026

Which strategy wins?The ways to run it

Nothing here beats a plain let

Let it to the council: £4,932 a year less, but they keep paying when it is empty.

Standard rental+£492 · £155,612 in

Guaranteed council rent+£81 · £155,612 in

Short-stay let−£40 · £155,612 in

3 nearby short-lets within 5.5 km · low confidence

Rent by the room−£470 · £181,612 in

Housing-benefit rent−£576 · £155,612 in

Each row: money kept a month, then the cash it ties up. Not compared: Do it up, then remortgage (pays back at the remortgage) · Buy, improve & sell (pays out on sale)

◧ 5 ways, one measureranked on money kept each month, at the asking price

What would you walk away with, after 5 years?The five-year sums

+£18,240 after five years on the cash you put in, before tax on the sale

Less than the same cash would have made in a savings account, after tax on the interest. The savings account’s capital is not at risk; the property’s is. A fall of about 25% in the price would leave nothing from a sale after selling costs, and you would still owe the lender any shortfall. That is the £155,612 you put in. The 5-year fix runs past this 5-year hold, so the rate reset comes after it.

−£155,612+£453,177−£11,329−£300,000+£32,005+£18,240

Cash you put inSale valueSelling costsMortgageRent keptYou walk with

◧ 2.0%/yr growth assumed