Rented normally, it costs you £119 a month. That is £1,425 a year, every year you hold it.

Will it pay?Calculator

You top up £119 a month — the mortgage takes 47p of every pound of rent

Borrowing £21,926 less would close that shortfall — which is £21,926 more cash at the start, on top of the deposit.

£333 mortgage

£470 running

£712 rent in£119 short

£150 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

£28,830 + refurb costs

And about £7,126 more over five years, because it loses £119 every month you hold it — before any repair. That already assumes the rent never falls.

£28,830 to buy it

deposit · stamp duty · solicitor · fees~£5,684, unseen

□ works not inspected

What would have to be true?The working

£25,000 off and it stops losing money

At the asking price you feed it £119 a month. At £52,763 the rent covers everything — leaving stamp duty of £2,638 at that price.

offer £52,763

asked £82,000

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

Can we trust the rent?Rent evidence

Nearby lettings, all asking more

Every one of the 3 nearby asking rents we hold is higher than the rent this page uses.

+45 more

our bar: 10 within 500 m

what 3 nearby lettings ask£850–£925/mo

our own middle half£634–£800/mo

■ 55 lettings within 500 m□ below every nearby askAdvertised rents, not signed tenancies

What will the rent borrow?Lender test

The rent carries the whole loan — it could fall 19% and still cover it

Your deposit is what limits this one, not the rent. Lenders test the rent at 7.5% and need it to cover 145% of the payment.

£557 needed

of £685 rent

stressed at 7.5%, 145% cover

◧ rent after empty weeks £685PRA-style test

How big is it, really?The working

One figure, and nothing checking it 291 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

1 school 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 to know before you offerThe checks

Every tenancy here is periodic, with no Section 21 to end it

Tenancies are now periodic, with no Section 21 — budget a longer void.

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

■ from the Renters’ Rights Act 2025listing last seen 17 Sep 2026

Which strategy wins?The ways to run it

Short-stay let beats Guaranteed council rent by £40 a month

Your controls are set to Standard rental — £144 a month behind Short-stay let.

Short-stay let+£25 · £34,514 in

3 nearby short-lets within 11.1 km · low confidence

Guaranteed council rent−£15 · £34,514 in

Standard rental−£119 · £34,514 in

Housing-benefit rent−£180 · £34,514 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

−£11,485 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 £34,514 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