Rented normally, it costs you £993 a month. That is £11,920 a year, every year you hold it.

Will it pay?Calculator

The mortgage alone costs more than the whole rent — you top up £993 a month

It is £993 a month short. Borrowing £183,384 less would close that shortfall — which is £183,384 more cash at the start, on top of the deposit.

£2,336 mortgage

£1,949 rent in£993 short

◧ market rent £1,949 · 11 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

£203,775 + refurb costs

And about £59,600 more over five years, because it loses £993 every month you hold it — before any repair. That already assumes the rent never falls.

£203,775 to buy it

deposit · stamp duty · solicitor · fees~£20,340, unseen

□ works not inspected

What would have to be true?The search

No offer makes this pay

Even at £345,000 — well below the £575,000 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 £345,000

Is the price right?Comparables

We can't tell — nothing nearby is alike enough

The dearest sold for 1.6× the cheapest, so the rent has to justify this price on its own.

you'd pay £575,000

£347,500

£360,000

£365,000

£367,000

£375,000

£380,000

£385,000

£405,000

£450,000

£467,500

£497,000

£550,000

£347.5k£448.8k£550k

£347,500 cheapest£550,000 dearest

12 completed sales, same property type, last 3 years

□ 12 sold nearby, not matched on sizeHM Land Registry Price Paid Data

What will the rent borrow?Lender test

The rent carries £206,790 of the £431,250 loan

That £224,460 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 £191,373. Lenders test the rent at 7.5% and need it to cover 145% of the payment.

£3,908 needed

more than the £1,874 rent

stressed at 7.5%, 145% cover

◧ rent after empty weeks £1,874PRA-style test

How big is it, really?The plan

One figure, and nothing checking it 1,471 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, SS17 8EL

1 of 2 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 13 Sep 2026

Which strategy wins?The ways to run it

Every way loses money — Rent by the room loses least, at £806 a month

Let it to the council: £3,576 a year less, but they keep paying when it is empty.

Rent by the room−£806 · £258,115 in

Standard rental−£993 · £224,115 in

Guaranteed council rent−£1,291 · £224,115 in

Housing-benefit rent−£1,453 · £224,115 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) · Short-stay let (no local short-let data) · 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

−£86,720 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 £224,115 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