Rented normally, it costs you £177 a month. That is £2,124 a year, every year you hold it.

Will it pay?Calculator

You top up £177 a month — the mortgage takes 66p of every pound of rent

Borrowing £32,673 less would close that shortfall — which is £32,673 more cash at the start, on top of the deposit.

+£1,301−£853−£625−£177

Rent inMortgageRunning costsShort by

The rent covers £1,301 of that — you cover £177

□ 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

£70,850 + refurb costs

And about £10,619 more over five years, because it loses £177 every month you hold it — before any repair. That already assumes the rent never falls.

£70,850 to buy it

deposit · stamp duty · solicitor · fees~£13,460, unseen

□ works not inspected

What would have to be true?The working

£40,000 off and it stops losing money

At the asking price you feed it £177 a month. At £166,421 the rent covers everything — leaving stamp duty of £9,149 at that price.

offer £166,421

asked £210,000

◧ worked back from the rent■ stamp duty re-bandedrounded down to £5,000 — the rent it works back from is an estimate

Is the price right?The deeds

Last sold for £235,000 in 2025

Nothing nearby is comparable, but asking is 11% less than the £235,000 paid for it in 2025.

□ 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

A real local sample, but short of our bar of ten inside 500 metres — treat the rent as workable rather than settled.

+71 more

our bar: 10 within 500 m

what 18 nearby lettings ask£1,250–£1,600/mo

our own middle half£1,295–£1,307/mo

■ 81 lettings within 1 kmAdvertised rents, not signed tenancies

What will the rent borrow?Lender test

The rent carries £138,037 of the £157,500 loan

That £19,463 is yours to find on top of the deposit. Tested at 125% instead of 145% — a company or a basic-rate taxpayer usually is — the rent carries the whole loan. Lenders test the rent at 7.5% and need it to cover 145% of the payment.

£1,427 needed

more than the £1,251 rent

stressed at 7.5%, 145% cover

◧ rent after empty weeks £1,251PRA-style test

How big is it, really?The plan

The plan and the advert, side by side 530 sq ft

Two figures for this house, and neither is a survey. Open for both.

AdvertFloorplan

520 sq ft530 sq ft540 sq ft

520 sq ft540 sq ft

neither is a survey — a tape measure settles it

□ area off the floorplan — not a survey

Is it a good location?Open the map

Romford, RM1 1XN

No schools in this postcode area 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 · 3 came back clear · 2 we could not check · 2 do not apply to this property

■ from council licensing registerlisting last seen 13 Sep 2026

Which strategy wins?The ways to run it

Every way loses money — Standard rental loses least, at £177 a month

Let it to the council: £1,860 a year less, but they keep paying when it is empty.

Standard rental−£177 · £84,310 in

Guaranteed council rent−£332 · £84,310 in

Housing-benefit rent−£486 · £84,310 in

Short-stay let−£513 · £84,310 in

3 nearby short-lets within 11.1 km · low confidence

Each row: money kept a month, then the cash it ties up. Not compared: Rent by the room (only 1 bedroom) · Do it up, then remortgage (pays back at the remortgage) · Buy, improve & sell (pays out on sale)

◧ 4 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

−£17,834 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 26% in the price would leave nothing from a sale after selling costs, and you would still owe the lender any shortfall. That is the £84,310 you put in. The 5-year fix runs past this 5-year hold, so the rate reset comes after it.

−£84,310+£241,517−£6,038−£157,500−£11,503−£17,834

Cash you put inSale valueSelling costsMortgageRent lossesYou are down

◧ 2.0%/yr growth assumed