Rented normally, it costs you £1,053 a month. That is £12,639 a year, every year you hold it.

Will it pay?Calculator

The mortgage alone costs more than the whole rent — you top up £1,053 a month

It is £1,053 a month short. Borrowing £194,450 less would close that shortfall — which is £194,450 more cash at the start, on top of the deposit.

+£2,297−£2,641−£710−£1,053

Rent inMortgageRunning costsShort by

The rent covers £2,297 of that — you cover £1,053

◧ market rent £2,297 · 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

£231,150 + refurb costs

And about £63,196 more over five years, because it loses £1,053 every month you hold it — before any repair. That already assumes the rent never falls.

£231,150 to buy it

deposit · stamp duty · solicitor · fees~£20,787, unseen

□ works not inspected

What would have to be true?The working

£255,000 off and it stops losing money

At the asking price you feed it £1,053 a month. At £390,698 the rent covers everything — leaving stamp duty of £29,070 at that price.

offer £390,698

asked £650,000

◧ 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 £665,000 in 2024

Nothing nearby is comparable, and it is asking about what it fetched in 2024.

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

What will the rent borrow?Lender test

The rent carries £243,714 of the £487,500 loan

That £243,786 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 £204,792. Lenders test the rent at 7.5% and need it to cover 145% of the payment.

£4,418 needed

more than the £2,209 rent

stressed at 7.5%, 145% cover

◧ rent after empty weeks £2,209PRA-style test

How big is it, really?The plan

Smaller than the advert claims 1,281 sq ft

The advert and the survey disagree — open for both figures and the gap.

AdvertMeasured

1.2k sq ft1.4k sq ft1.6k sq ft

1,224 sq ft1,564 sq ft

the survey is what every price-per-foot figure on this page uses

■ area measured on site

Is it a good location?Open the map

Grays, RM16 2GG

2 of 5 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 · 2 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 £1,053 a month

Let it to the council: £9,912 a year less, but they keep paying when it is empty.

Standard rental−£1,053 · £251,937 in

Rent by the room−£1,851 · £251,937 in

Guaranteed council rent−£1,879 · £251,937 in

Housing-benefit rent−£2,015 · £251,937 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, after 5 years?The five-year sums

−£93,639 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 £251,937 you put in. The 5-year fix runs past this 5-year hold, so the rate reset comes after it.

−£251,937+£732,570−£18,314−£487,500−£68,458−£93,639

Cash you put inSale valueSelling costsMortgageRent lossesYou are down

◧ 2.0%/yr growth assumed