Rented normally, it costs you £224 a month. That is £2,692 a year, every year you hold it.

Will it pay?Calculator

You top up £224 a month — the mortgage takes 71p of every pound of rent

Borrowing £41,415 less would close that shortfall — which is £41,415 more cash at the start, on top of the deposit.

£1,016 mortgage

£584 running

£1,430 rent in£224 short

£25 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

£84,775 + refurb costs

And about £13,460 more over five years, because it loses £224 every month you hold it — before any repair. That already assumes the rent never falls.

£84,775 to buy it

deposit · stamp duty · solicitor · fees~£10,310, unseen

□ works not inspected

What would have to be true?The working

£55,000 off and it stops losing money

At the asking price you feed it £224 a month. At £194,775 the rent covers everything — leaving stamp duty of £11,134 at that price.

offer £194,775

asked £250,000

◧ 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 £151,724 of the £187,500 loan

That £35,776 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 £11,500. Lenders test the rent at 7.5% and need it to cover 145% of the payment.

£1,699 needed

more than the £1,375 rent

stressed at 7.5%, 145% cover

◧ rent after empty weeks £1,375PRA-style test

How big is it, really?The plan

One figure, and nothing checking it 367 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

London, SE26 5SW

1 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 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 15 Sep 2026

Which strategy wins?The ways to run it

Every way loses money — Guaranteed council rent loses least, at £150 a month

Let it to the council and you keep £74 a month more, and they keep paying when it is empty.

Guaranteed council rent−£150 · £95,085 in

Standard rental−£224 · £95,085 in

Housing-benefit rent−£417 · £95,085 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) · Buy, improve & sell (pays out on sale)

◧ 3 ways, one measureranked on money kept each month, at the asking price

What would you walk away with?The five-year sums

−£20,832 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 £95,085 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