Rented normally, it costs you £734 a month. That is £8,810 a year, every year you hold it.

Will it pay?Calculator

The mortgage alone costs more than the whole rent — you top up £734 a month

It is £734 a month short. Borrowing £135,543 less would close that shortfall — which is £135,543 more cash at the start, on top of the deposit.

£2,031 mortgage

£1,848 rent in£734 short

◧ market rent £1,848 · 17 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

£176,400 + refurb costs

And about £44,052 more over five years, because it loses £734 every month you hold it — before any repair. That already assumes the rent never falls.

£176,400 to buy it

deposit · stamp duty · solicitor · fees~£1,350, unseen

□ works not inspected

What would have to be true?The working

£180,000 off and it stops losing money

At the asking price you feed it £734 a month. At £319,238 the rent covers everything — leaving stamp duty of £21,924 at that price.

offer £319,238

asked £500,000

◧ 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 £196,074 of the £375,000 loan

That £178,926 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 £147,554. Lenders test the rent at 7.5% and need it to cover 145% of the payment.

£3,398 needed

more than the £1,777 rent

stressed at 7.5%, 145% cover

◧ rent after empty weeks £1,777PRA-style test

How big is it, really?The plan

One figure, and nothing checking it 817 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

Watford, WD17 4PN

3 of 3 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 · 2 came back clear · 5 we could not check · 1 does not apply to this property

■ from the Renters’ Rights Act 2025listing last seen 15 Sep 2026

Which strategy wins?The ways to run it

Every way loses money — Standard rental loses least, at £734 a month

Let it to the council: £2,640 a year less, but they keep paying when it is empty.

Standard rental−£734 · £177,750 in

Rent by the room−£824 · £203,750 in

Guaranteed council rent−£954 · £177,750 in

Housing-benefit rent−£1,116 · £177,750 in

Short-stay let−£1,977 · £177,750 in

72 nearby short-lets within 20 km · medium confidence

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?The five-year sums

−£61,286 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 23% in the price would leave nothing from a sale after selling costs, and you would still owe the lender any shortfall. That is the £177,750 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