Rented normally, it costs you £4 a month. That is £46 a year, every year you hold it.

Will it pay?Calculator

You top up £4 a month — the mortgage takes 72p of every pound of rent

Borrowing £715 less would close that shortfall — which is £715 more cash at the start, on top of the deposit.

+£2,424−£1,747−£681−£4

Rent inMortgageRunning costsShort by

The rent covers £2,424 of that — you cover £4

◧ market rent £2,424 · 31 comps2 empty weeks a year assumed

What if I change my assumptions?The dials

At the asking price, 25% deposit, 6.50% charged

Try your own numbersLive

You keep-£4/mo

All-in cash£169,124

PaybackNever

Offer−+

Deposit−+

Mortgage rate−+

Rent−+

Worked at 6.50% — 5.75% quoted plus a company premium.

◧ worked out from local rents

What will it cost me to buy?Breakdown

£150,100 + refurb costs

And about £232 more over five years, because it loses £4 every month you hold it — before any repair. That already assumes the rent never falls.

£150,100 to buy it

deposit · stamp duty · solicitor · fees~£19,024, unseen

□ works not inspected

What would have to be true?

Break-even is within £5,000 of the asked price

It lands that close to the £430,000 asked — inside the step this card rounds to, and inside the confidence band on the rent it works back from. So the price asked is already about the price this rent carries, and there is no honest discount to print.

◧ worked back from the rent

What will the rent borrow?Lender test

The rent carries £257,188 of the £322,500 loan

That £65,312 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 £24,162. Lenders test the rent at 7.5% and need it to cover 145% of the payment.

£2,923 needed

more than the £2,331 rent

stressed at 7.5%, 145% cover

◧ rent after empty weeks £2,331PRA-style test

How big is it, really?The plan

One figure, and nothing checking it 818 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

London, E13 0AX

3 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 24 Aug 2026

Which strategy wins?The ways to run it

Every way loses money — Standard rental loses least, at £4 a month

Let it to the council: £5,568 a year less, but they keep paying when it is empty.

Standard rental−£4 · £169,124 in

Rent by the room−£372 · £195,124 in

Guaranteed council rent−£468 · £169,124 in

Short-stay let−£610 · £169,124 in

40 nearby short-lets within 5.5 km · low confidence

Housing-benefit rent−£712 · £169,124 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) · 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

−£15,679 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 £169,124 you put in. The 5-year fix runs past this 5-year hold, so the rate reset comes after it.

−£169,124+£488,407−£12,210−£322,500−£252−£15,679

Cash you put inSale valueSelling costsMortgageRent lossesYou are down

◧ 2.0%/yr growth assumed