Rented normally, it costs you £778 a month. That is £9,337 a year, every year you hold it.

Will it pay?Calculator

The mortgage alone costs more than the whole rent — you top up £778 a month

It is £778 a month short. Borrowing £143,643 less would close that shortfall — which is £143,643 more cash at the start, on top of the deposit.

£1,158 mortgage

£937 rent in£778 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

£97,550 + refurb costs

And about £46,684 more over five years, because it loses £778 every month you hold it — before any repair. That already assumes the rent never falls.

£97,550 to buy it

deposit · stamp duty · solicitor · fees~£6,417, unseen

□ works not inspected

What would have to be true?The search

No offer makes this pay

Even at £171,000 — well below the £285,000 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 £171,000

Can we trust the rent?Rent evidence

Nearby lettings back this rent

We hold too few nearby asking rents to cross-check this figure, so nothing here confirms it a second way.

+37 more

our bar: 10 within 500 m

our own middle half£832–£1,055/mo

■ 47 lettings within 1 km□ no nearby asks to cross-checkAdvertised rents, not signed tenancies

What will the rent borrow?Lender test

The rent carries £99,416 of the £213,750 loan

That £114,334 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 £98,427. Lenders test the rent at 7.5% and need it to cover 145% of the payment.

£1,937 needed

more than the £901 rent

stressed at 7.5%, 145% cover

◧ rent after empty weeks £901PRA-style test

Is it a good location?Open the map

No school rated Good or better in this postcode area

4 schools in this postcode area, none rated Good or better 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 not own it outright — 80 years left, and buying more years has already got dearer

Nobody has priced those extra years here — you buy them from whoever owns the building.

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

■ from the listinglisting last seen 18 Sep 2026

Which strategy wins?The ways to run it

Short-stay let beats Standard rental by £1,872 a month

Let it to the council: £1,884 a year less, but they keep paying when it is empty.

Short-stay let+£1,094 · £103,967 in

4 nearby short-lets within 11.1 km · low confidence

Standard rental−£778 · £103,967 in

Guaranteed council rent−£935 · £103,967 in

Housing-benefit rent−£1,072 · £103,967 in

Each row: money kept a month, then the cash it ties up. Not compared: Rent by the room (only 1 bedroom) · Do it up, then remortgage (pays back at the remortgage) · 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

−£57,002 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 24% in the price would leave nothing from a sale after selling costs, and you would still owe the lender any shortfall. That is the £103,967 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