Rented normally, it costs you £190 a month. That is £2,282 a year, every year you hold it.

Will it pay?Calculator

You top up £190 a month — the mortgage takes 71p of every pound of rent

Borrowing £35,101 less would close that shortfall — which is £35,101 more cash at the start, on top of the deposit.

+£1,308−£934−£564−£190

Rent inMortgageRunning costsShort by

The rent covers £1,308 of that — you cover £190

◧ market rent £1,308 · 101 comps2 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

£77,550 + refurb costs

And about £11,408 more over five years, because it loses £190 every month you hold it — before any repair. That already assumes the rent never falls.

£77,550 to buy it

deposit · stamp duty · solicitor · fees~£9,149, unseen

□ works not inspected

What would have to be true?The working

£45,000 off and it stops losing money

At the asking price you feed it £190 a month. At £183,191 the rent covers everything — leaving stamp duty of £10,323 at that price.

offer £183,191

asked £230,000

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

Can we trust the rent?Rent evidence

Nearby lettings back this rent

They are advertised rents rather than signed tenancies, so a slow month is still possible.

+91 more

our bar: 10 within 500 m

what 5 nearby lettings ask£1,250–£1,550/mo

our own middle half£1,209–£1,415/mo

■ 101 lettings within 500 mAdvertised rents, not signed tenancies

What will the rent borrow?Lender test

The rent carries £138,780 of the £172,500 loan

That £33,720 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 gap is £11,515. Lenders test the rent at 7.5% and need it to cover 145% of the payment.

£1,563 needed

more than the £1,258 rent

stressed at 7.5%, 145% cover

◧ rent after empty weeks £1,258PRA-style test

How big is it, really?The plan

The plan and the advert, side by side 604 sq ft

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

AdvertFloorplan

560 sq ft587 sq ft614 sq ft

560 sq ft614 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

Essex, CM14 4GE

2 of 2 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 to know before you offerThe checks

Every tenancy here is periodic, with no Section 21 to end it

Tenancies are now periodic, with no Section 21 — budget a longer void.

1 problem found · 4 came back clear · 2 we could not check · 2 do not apply to this property

■ from the Renters’ Rights Act 2025listing last seen 08 Sep 2026

Which strategy wins?The ways to run it

Every way loses money — Standard rental loses least, at £190 a month

Standard rental also ties up the least cash, £86,699.

Standard rental−£190 · £86,699 in

Housing-benefit rent−£676 · £86,699 in

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) · Short-stay let (no local short-let data) · Guaranteed council rent (no scheme in this borough) · Buy, improve & sell (pays out on sale)

◧ 2 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

−£17,565 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 £86,699 you put in. The 5-year fix runs past this 5-year hold, so the rate reset comes after it.

−£86,699+£260,504−£6,513−£172,500−£12,358−£17,565

Cash you put inSale valueSelling costsMortgageRent lossesYou are down

◧ 2.0%/yr growth assumed