09/04/2026
I found a property on Rightmove this morning.
£3,495/month to rent. £1,300,000 to buy... And I ran the numbers...
Here is what I found:
If you rent this house and invest the difference, your kids inherit £630,000 more than if you bought it. After 25 years. After IHT. Calculated to the pound.
Here is the number that stopped me cold.
Total rent paid over 25 years at 4% annual rent inflation: £1,746,629.
Total money you spend on things you never get back if you own the same house (interest, stamp duty, maintenance, insurance, services): £1,862,396.
You literally pay less in rent over 25 years than you lose on irrecoverable costs if you own.
There is also a widely held belief that property at this level protects your estate through the Residence Nil-Rate Band. The £1,000,000 IHT threshold everyone talks about.
It does not apply here. Not even close.
The RNRB tapers at £1 for every £2 above a £2,000,000 estate. A £1.3m property growing at 4.5% a year reaches £3.8m. The relief is worth exactly £0. The IHT bill is £1.28m.
This is not a case against buying a home.
It is a case against buying this home. At this price. At this rent. Without doing the maths first.
Over the next few posts I am going to break down every dimension of this calculation. Tax. Swap rates. Opportunity cost. And a new structure I have designed that I think changes the entire conversation.
If you want the full white paper, it is linked in the comments.
