Rented normally, it costs you £997 a month. That is £11,967 a year, every year you hold it.

Will it pay?Calculator

The mortgage alone costs more than the whole rent — you top up £997 a month

It is £997 a month short. Borrowing £184,114 less would close that shortfall — which is £184,114 more cash at the start, on top of the deposit.

+£1,922−£2,336−£583−£997

Rent inMortgageRunning costsShort by

The rent covers £1,922 of that — you cover £997

◧ market rent £1,922 · 6 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 £59,837 more over five years, because it loses £997 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~£20,988, 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?The deeds

Last sold for £74,000 in 1997

Nothing nearby is comparable, but asking is 677% more than the £74,000 paid for it in 1997.

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

What will the rent borrow?Lender test

The rent carries £203,926 of the £431,250 loan

That £227,324 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 £194,696. Lenders test the rent at 7.5% and need it to cover 145% of the payment.

£3,908 needed

more than the £1,848 rent

stressed at 7.5%, 145% cover

◧ rent after empty weeks £1,848PRA-style test

Who has to say yes?Council record

Brighton and Hove council approves 67% — 62% on a cautious reading

A council-wide rate, not a forecast — and Brighton and Hove council refuses schemes that sandwich a family home. Check both neighbours.

67%

0%50%100%

never approvesalways approves

the band is the cautious reading of the same 342 decisions — as low as 62%

■ Article 4 — planning permission requireddecision record held for this authority

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

No school rated Good or better in this postcode area

3 schools in this postcode area, none rated Good or better 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.

3 problems found · 1 came back clear · 4 we could not check · 1 does not apply to this property

■ from council licensing registerlisting last seen 19 Sep 2026

Which strategy wins?The ways to run it

Every way loses money — Standard rental loses least, at £997 a month

Let it to the council: £1,092 a year less, but they keep paying when it is empty.

Standard rental−£997 · £224,763 in

Guaranteed council rent−£1,088 · £224,763 in

Rent by the room−£1,161 · £250,763 in

Housing-benefit rent−£1,472 · £224,763 in

Short-stay let−£1,617 · £224,763 in

22 nearby short-lets within 5.5 km · low 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, after 5 years?The five-year sums

−£87,172 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 £224,763 you put in. The 5-year fix runs past this 5-year hold, so the rate reset comes after it.

−£224,763+£649,909−£16,248−£431,250−£64,819−£87,172

Cash you put inSale valueSelling costsMortgageRent lossesYou are down

◧ 2.0%/yr growth assumed