Rented normally, it costs you £41 a month. That is £486 a year, every year you hold it.

Will it pay?Calculator

You top up £41 a month — the mortgage takes 72p of every pound of rent

Borrowing £7,481 less would close that shortfall — which is £7,481 more cash at the start, on top of the deposit.

+£2,494−£1,788−£747−£41

Rent inMortgageRunning costsShort by

The rent covers £2,494 of that — you cover £41

◧ market rent £2,494 · 5 comps2 empty weeks a year assumed

What if I change my assumptions?The dials

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

Try your own numbersLive

You keep-£41/mo

All-in cash£173,208

PaybackNever

Offer−+

Deposit−+

Mortgage rate−+

Rent−+

Worked at 6.50% — 5.75% quoted plus a company premium.

◧ worked out from local rents

What will it cost me to buy?Breakdown

£153,750 + refurb costs

And about £2,431 more over five years, because it loses £41 every month you hold it — before any repair. That already assumes the rent never falls.

£153,750 to buy it

deposit · stamp duty · solicitor · fees~£19,458, unseen

□ works not inspected

What would have to be true?The working

£10,000 off and it stops losing money

At the asking price you feed it £41 a month. At £429,988 the rent covers everything — leaving stamp duty of £32,999 at that price.

offer £429,988

asked £440,000

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

What will the rent borrow?Lender test

The rent carries £264,615 of the £330,000 loan

That £65,385 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 £23,046. Lenders test the rent at 7.5% and need it to cover 145% of the payment.

£2,991 needed

more than the £2,398 rent

stressed at 7.5%, 145% cover

◧ rent after empty weeks £2,398PRA-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

Essex, SS17 0RP

1 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 · 1 came back clear · 5 we could not check · 1 does not apply to this property

■ from council licensing registerlisting last seen 10 Sep 2026

Which strategy wins?The ways to run it

Every way loses money — Standard rental loses least, at £41 a month

Let it to the council: £8,808 a year less, but they keep paying when it is empty.

Standard rental−£41 · £173,208 in

Rent by the room−£286 · £207,920 in

Short-stay let−£558 · £173,208 in

4 nearby short-lets within 20 km · low confidence

Guaranteed council rent−£775 · £173,208 in

Housing-benefit rent−£936 · £173,208 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

−£18,576 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 £173,208 you put in. The 5-year fix runs past this 5-year hold, so the rate reset comes after it.

−£173,208+£499,760−£12,494−£330,000−£2,634−£18,576

Cash you put inSale valueSelling costsMortgageRent lossesYou are down

◧ 2.0%/yr growth assumed

Could you let it by the room?Room by room

−£286 to +£352 a month at 5 rooms two models disagree, before tax, once converted

The floorplan supports 5 lettable rooms and £12,170 of work gets you there — but the two ways this page prices them do not agree on whether they pay.

Room-add modelSite's engine

-£541£33£607

-£541£607

the £638 gap between them is tax

◧ room-add model · medium confidence■ 47 room adverts in SS17Dwelfy’s room-add model, before tax