Rented normally, it costs you £511 a month. That is £6,131 a year, every year you hold it.

Will it pay?Calculator

You top up £511 a month — the mortgage takes 88p of every pound of rent

Borrowing £94,324 less would close that shortfall — which is £94,324 more cash at the start, on top of the deposit.

£1,523 mortgage

£1,737 rent in£511 short

£175 of that is a guess — no service charge published.

□ 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

£130,950 + refurb costs

And about £30,655 more over five years, because it loses £511 every month you hold it — before any repair. That already assumes the rent never falls.

£130,950 to buy it

deposit · stamp duty · solicitor · fees~£14,950, unseen

□ works not inspected

What would have to be true?The working

£125,000 off and it stops losing money

At the asking price you feed it £511 a month. At £249,207 the rent covers everything — leaving stamp duty of £14,944 at that price.

offer £249,207

asked £375,000

◧ 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.

+86 more

our bar: 10 within 500 m

what 20 nearby lettings ask£1,250–£2,700/mo

our own middle half£1,494–£2,020/mo

■ 96 lettings within 500 mAdvertised rents, not signed tenancies

What will the rent borrow?Lender test

The rent carries £184,297 of the £281,250 loan

That £96,953 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 £67,465. Lenders test the rent at 7.5% and need it to cover 145% of the payment.

£2,549 needed

more than the £1,670 rent

stressed at 7.5%, 145% cover

◧ rent after empty weeks £1,670PRA-style test

How big is it, really?The plan

The rooms are on the plan; the total is not

The plan is on file; the floor area is not.

□ no floor area published

Is it a good location?Open the map

Brighton, BN2 1FB

No schools in this postcode area and flood risk checking… — open for the map, the schools and the rest.

Article 4Planning permission required to let by the room

■ 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 16 Sep 2026

Which strategy wins?The ways to run it

Every way loses money — Short-stay let loses least, at £443 a month

Let it to the council: £2,316 a year less, but they keep paying when it is empty.

Short-stay let−£443 · £145,900 in

114 nearby short-lets within 5.5 km · medium confidence

Standard rental−£511 · £145,900 in

Guaranteed council rent−£704 · £145,900 in

Housing-benefit rent−£1,021 · £145,900 in

Each row: money kept a month, then the cash it ties up. Not compared: Rent by the room (only 2 bedrooms) · 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?The five-year sums

−£46,217 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 £145,900 you put in. The 5-year fix runs past this 5-year hold, so the rate reset comes after it.

◧ 2.0%/yr growth assumed