Rented normally, it costs you £101 a month. That is £1,215 a year, every year you hold it.

What could kill thisThe checks

You would not own it outright — 1 years left, and buying more years is expensive

Nobody has priced those extra years here, and they cost more every year you leave it.

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

■ from the listinglisting last seen 17 Sep 2026

Will it pay?Calculator

You top up £101 a month — the mortgage takes 46p of every pound of rent

Borrowing £18,690 less would close that shortfall — which is £18,690 more cash at the start, on top of the deposit.

£305 mortgage

£431 running

£660 rent in£101 short

£25 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

£26,625 + refurb costs

And about £6,074 more over five years, because it loses £101 every month you hold it — before any repair. That already assumes the rent never falls.

£26,625 to buy it

~£10,211

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

□ works not inspected

What would have to be true?The working

£20,000 off and it stops losing money

At the asking price you feed it £101 a month. At £50,076 the rent covers everything — leaving stamp duty of £2,504 at that price.

offer £50,076

asked £75,000

◧ 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, but only by searching 1.5 km

We widened the search to find them, so these are not next-door comparisons.

+1 more

our bar: 10 within 500 m

our own middle half£633–£688/mo

■ 11 lettings within 1.5 km□ searched wider than our barAdvertised rents, not signed tenancies

What will the rent borrow?Lender test

The rent carries the whole loan — it could fall 20% 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.

£510 needed

of £635 rent

stressed at 7.5%, 145% cover

◧ rent after empty weeks £635PRA-style test

How big is it, really?The plan

The plan and the advert, side by side 426 sq ft

Two figures for this house, and neither is a survey. Open for both.

□ area off the floorplan — not a survey

Is it a good location?Open the map

Wigan, WN3 5UG

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

Which strategy wins?The ways to run it

Every way loses money — Standard rental loses least, at £101 a month

Let it to the council: £1,368 a year less, but they keep paying when it is empty.

Standard rental−£101 · £36,836 in

Guaranteed council rent−£215 · £36,836 in

Housing-benefit rent−£341 · £36,836 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) · Short-stay let (no local short-let data) · 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

−£11,785 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 £36,836 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