Rented normally, it costs you £40 a month. That is £485 a year, every year you hold it.

Will it pay?Calculator

You top up £40 a month — the mortgage takes 52p of every pound of rent

Borrowing £7,456 less would close that shortfall — which is £7,456 more cash at the start, on top of the deposit.

+£1,202−£630−£613−£40

Rent inMortgageRunning costsShort by

The rent covers £1,202 of that — you cover £40

□ 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

£52,425 + refurb costs

And about £2,423 more over five years, because it loses £40 every month you hold it — before any repair. That already assumes the rent never falls.

£52,425 to buy it

deposit · stamp duty · solicitor · fees~£10,230, unseen

□ works not inspected

What would have to be true?The working

£5,000 off and it stops losing money

At the asking price you feed it £40 a month. At £145,055 the rent covers everything — leaving stamp duty of £7,654 at that price.

offer £145,055

asked £155,000

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

Is the price right?The deeds

Last sold for £195,000 in 2005

Nothing nearby is comparable, but asking is 21% less than the £195,000 paid for it in 2005.

□ this address’s own deeds, no comparable saleHM Land Registry Price Paid Data

Can we trust the rent?Rent evidence

Nearby lettings back this rent

We hold too few nearby asking rents to cross-check this figure, so nothing here confirms it a second way.

+67 more

our bar: 10 within 500 m

our own middle half£1,116–£1,295/mo

■ 77 lettings within 1 km□ no nearby asks to cross-checkAdvertised rents, not signed tenancies

What will the rent borrow?Lender test

The rent carries the whole loan — it could fall 9% and still cover it

Your deposit is what limits this one, not the rent. Lenders test the rent at 7.5% and need it to cover 145% of the payment.

£1,054 needed

of £1,156 rent

stressed at 7.5%, 145% cover

◧ rent after empty weeks £1,156PRA-style test

How big is it, really?The plan

One figure, and nothing checking it 657 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

Southend-On-Sea, SS2 5BH

2 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 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 · 4 we could not check · 2 do not apply to this property

■ from council licensing registerlisting last seen 18 Sep 2026

Which strategy wins?The ways to run it

Every way loses money — Standard rental loses least, at £40 a month

Let it to the council: £1,644 a year less, but they keep paying when it is empty.

Standard rental−£40 · £62,655 in

Guaranteed council rent−£177 · £62,655 in

Housing-benefit rent−£362 · £62,655 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) · 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, after 5 years?The five-year sums

−£7,518 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 £62,655 you put in. The 5-year fix runs past this 5-year hold, so the rate reset comes after it.

−£62,655+£178,474−£4,462−£116,250−£2,625−£7,518

Cash you put inSale valueSelling costsMortgageRent lossesYou are down

◧ 2.0%/yr growth assumed