Rented normally, it costs you £429 a month. That is £5,153 a year, every year you hold it.

Will it pay?Calculator

You top up £429 a month — the mortgage takes 85p of every pound of rent

Borrowing £79,280 less would close that shortfall — which is £79,280 more cash at the start, on top of the deposit.

£995 mortgage

£555 running

£1,166 rent in£429 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

£82,575 + refurb costs

And about £25,766 more over five years, because it loses £429 every month you hold it — before any repair. That already assumes the rent never falls.

£82,575 to buy it

deposit · stamp duty · solicitor · fees~£14,020, unseen

□ works not inspected

What would have to be true?The search

No offer makes this pay

Even at £147,000 — well below the £245,000 asked — the rent still does not cover the costs. The gap is the rent against the running costs, not the price, so negotiating does not close it.

◧ worked back from the rent■ stamp duty re-bandedtested down to £147,000

What will the rent borrow?Lender test

The rent carries £123,714 of the £183,750 loan

That £60,036 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 £40,242. Lenders test the rent at 7.5% and need it to cover 145% of the payment.

£1,665 needed

more than the £1,121 rent

stressed at 7.5%, 145% cover

◧ rent after empty weeks £1,121PRA-style test

How big is it, really?The plan

One figure, and nothing checking it 559 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

Ilford, IG5 0LH

1 of 5 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 not own it outright — 80 years left, and buying more years has already got dearer

Nobody has priced those extra years here — you buy them from whoever owns the building.

2 problems found · 2 came back clear · 3 we could not check · 2 do not apply to this property

■ from the listinglisting last seen 15 Sep 2026

Which strategy wins?The ways to run it

Short-stay let beats Guaranteed council rent by £643 a month

Your controls are set to Standard rental — £697 a month behind Short-stay let.

Short-stay let+£268 · £96,595 in

11 nearby short-lets within 5.5 km · low confidence

Guaranteed council rent−£375 · £96,595 in

Standard rental−£429 · £96,595 in

Housing-benefit rent−£631 · £96,595 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) · 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

−£34,709 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 £96,595 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