Rented normally, it costs you £968 a month. That is £11,621 a year, every year you hold it.

Will it pay?Calculator

The mortgage alone costs more than the whole rent — you top up £968 a month

It is £968 a month short. Borrowing £178,788 less would close that shortfall — which is £178,788 more cash at the start, on top of the deposit.

£2,641 mortgage

£2,314 rent in£968 short

◧ market rent £2,314 · 16 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 £58,106 more over five years, because it loses £968 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~£36,622, 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 £968 a month. At £411,582 the rent covers everything — leaving stamp duty of £31,158 at that price.

offer £411,582

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

What will the rent borrow?Lender test

The rent carries £245,517 of the £487,500 loan

That £241,983 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 £202,700. Lenders test the rent at 7.5% and need it to cover 145% of the payment.

£4,418 needed

more than the £2,225 rent

stressed at 7.5%, 145% cover

◧ rent after empty weeks £2,225PRA-style test

Who has to say yes?Council record

Harlow council approves 50% — 22% on a cautious reading

A council-wide rate across 8 HMO decisions, not a forecast for this address.

50%

0%50%100%

never approvesalways approves

the band is the cautious reading of the same 8 decisions — as low as 22%

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

How big is it, really?The plan

One figure, and nothing checking it 2,782 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

Harlow, CM17 9JA

1 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 4Planning permission required to let by the room

■ postcode area, not this address

What could kill thisThe checks

The council here has taken away the automatic right to rent this out by the room

You would have to apply for permission first, and the council can say no.

2 problems found · 2 came back clear · 4 we could not check · 1 does not apply to this property

■ from the Article 4 maplisting last seen 15 Sep 2026

Which strategy wins?The ways to run it

Every way loses money — Standard rental loses least, at £968 a month

Standard rental also ties up the least cash, £267,772.

Standard rental−£968 · £267,772 in

Rent by the room−£1,090 · £301,772 in

Housing-benefit rent−£1,825 · £267,772 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) · Guaranteed council rent (no scheme in this borough) · Buy, improve & sell (pays out on sale)

◧ 3 ways, one measureranked on money kept each month, at the asking price

What would you walk away with?The five-year sums

−£92,880 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 26% in the price would leave nothing from a sale after selling costs, and you would still owe the lender any shortfall. That is the £267,772 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