Rented normally, it costs you £1,691 a month. That is £20,291 a year, every year you hold it.

Will it pay?Calculator

The mortgage alone costs more than the whole rent — you top up £1,691 a month

It is £1,691 a month short. Borrowing £312,174 less would close that shortfall — which is £312,174 more cash at the start, on top of the deposit.

£3,453 mortgage

£2,454 rent in£1,691 short

◧ market rent £2,454 · 12 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

£304,150 + refurb costs

And about £101,457 more over five years, because it loses £1,691 every month you hold it — before any repair. That already assumes the rent never falls.

£304,150 to buy it

~£92,863

deposit · stamp duty · solicitor · feeswe haven’t been inside

□ works not inspected

What would have to be true?The search

No offer makes this pay

Even at £510,000 — well below the £850,000 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 £510,000

Is the price right?The deeds

Last sold for £770,000 in 2022

Nothing nearby is comparable, but asking is 10% more than the £770,000 paid for it in 2022.

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

What will the rent borrow?Lender test

The rent carries £260,371 of the £637,500 loan

That £377,129 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 £335,469. Lenders test the rent at 7.5% and need it to cover 145% of the payment.

£5,777 needed

more than the £2,360 rent

stressed at 7.5%, 145% cover

◧ rent after empty weeks £2,360PRA-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

One figure, and nothing checking it 1,300 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

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 16 Sep 2026

Which strategy wins?The ways to run it

Every way loses money — Guaranteed council rent loses least, at £1,657 a month

Let it to the council and you keep £34 a month more, and they keep paying when it is empty.

Guaranteed council rent−£1,657 · £397,013 in

Standard rental−£1,691 · £397,013 in

Rent by the room−£1,848 · £431,013 in

Housing-benefit rent−£2,187 · £397,013 in

Short-stay let−£2,779 · £397,013 in

50 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?The five-year sums

−£164,433 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 28% in the price would leave nothing from a sale after selling costs, and you would still owe the lender any shortfall. That is the £397,013 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