Rented normally, it costs you £336 a month. That is £4,034 a year, every year you hold it.

Will it pay?Calculator

You top up £336 a month — the mortgage takes 77p of every pound of rent

Borrowing £62,068 less would close that shortfall — which is £62,068 more cash at the start, on top of the deposit.

£731 mortgage

£513 running

£944 rent in£336 short

£175 of that is a guess — no service charge published.

□ service charge not published2 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

£60,800 + refurb costs

And about £20,172 more over five years, because it loses £336 every month you hold it — before any repair. That already assumes the rent never falls.

£60,800 to buy it

~£22,526

deposit · stamp duty · solicitor · feeswe haven’t been inside

□ works not inspected

What would have to be true?The search

No offer makes this pay

Even at £108,000 — well below the £180,000 asked — the rent still does not cover the costs. The gap is the rent against the running costs, not the price, so negotiating does not close it.

◧ worked back from the rent■ stamp duty re-bandedtested down to £108,000

Is the price right?The deeds

Last sold for £175,000 in 2026

Nothing nearby is comparable, and it is asking about what it fetched in 2026.

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

What will the rent borrow?Lender test

The rent carries £100,159 of the £135,000 loan

That £34,841 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 £18,815. Lenders test the rent at 7.5% and need it to cover 145% of the payment.

£1,223 needed

more than the £908 rent

stressed at 7.5%, 145% cover

◧ rent after empty weeks £908PRA-style test

Who has to say yes?Council record

Blackpool council approves 20% — 6% on a cautious reading

A council-wide rate across 10 HMO decisions, not a forecast for this address.

20%

0%50%100%

never approvesalways approves

the band is the cautious reading of the same 10 decisions — as low as 6%

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

How big is it, really?The plan

One figure, and nothing checking it 1,647 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

No school rated Good or better in this postcode area

2 schools in this postcode area, none rated Good or better 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 · 1 came back clear · 5 we could not check · 1 does not apply to this property

■ from the Article 4 maplisting last seen 17 Sep 2026

Which strategy wins?The ways to run it

Rent by the room beats Standard rental by £458 a month

Let it to the council: £840 a year less, but they keep paying when it is empty.

Rent by the room+£122 · £83,326 in

Standard rental−£336 · £83,326 in

Guaranteed council rent−£406 · £83,326 in

Housing-benefit rent−£550 · £83,326 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

−£30,650 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 29% in the price would leave nothing from a sale after selling costs, and you would still owe the lender any shortfall. That is the £83,326 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