Rented normally, it costs you £970 a month. That is £11,639 a year, every year you hold it.

Will it pay?Calculator

The mortgage alone costs more than the whole rent — you top up £970 a month

It is £970 a month short. Borrowing £179,064 less would close that shortfall — which is £179,064 more cash at the start, on top of the deposit.

£2,742 mortgage

£2,485 rent in£970 short

◧ market rent £2,485 · 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

£240,275 + refurb costs

And about £58,196 more over five years, because it loses £970 every month you hold it — before any repair. That already assumes the rent never falls.

£240,275 to buy it

deposit · stamp duty · solicitor · fees~£27,866, unseen

□ works not inspected

What would have to be true?The working

£235,000 off and it stops losing money

At the asking price you feed it £970 a month. At £436,245 the rent covers everything — leaving stamp duty of £33,625 at that price.

offer £436,245

asked £675,000

◧ worked back from the rent■ stamp duty re-bandedrounded down to £5,000 — the rent it works back from is an estimate

What will the rent borrow?Lender test

The rent carries £263,660 of the £506,250 loan

That £242,590 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 £200,404. Lenders test the rent at 7.5% and need it to cover 145% of the payment.

£4,588 needed

more than the £2,389 rent

stressed at 7.5%, 145% cover

◧ rent after empty weeks £2,389PRA-style test

How big is it, really?The plan

One figure, and nothing checking it 2,077 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, SS1 3BL

2 of 4 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 16 Sep 2026

Which strategy wins?The ways to run it

Every way loses money — Rent by the room loses least, at £884 a month

Let it to the council: £8,640 a year less, but they keep paying when it is empty.

Rent by the room−£884 · £310,141 in

Standard rental−£970 · £268,141 in

Guaranteed council rent−£1,690 · £268,141 in

Housing-benefit rent−£1,965 · £268,141 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

−£91,311 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 £268,141 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