Rented normally, it costs you £957 a month. That is £11,483 a year, every year you hold it.

Will it pay?Calculator

The mortgage alone costs more than the whole rent — you top up £957 a month

It is £957 a month short. Borrowing £176,657 less would close that shortfall — which is £176,657 more cash at the start, on top of the deposit.

£1,929 mortgage

£1,705 rent in£957 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

£166,882 + refurb costs

And about £57,414 more over five years, because it loses £957 every month you hold it — before any repair. That already assumes the rent never falls.

£166,882 to buy it

~£99,527

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 £284,970 — well below the £474,950 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 £284,970

What will the rent borrow?Lender test

The rent carries £180,902 of the £356,213 loan

That £175,311 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 £146,366. Lenders test the rent at 7.5% and need it to cover 145% of the payment.

£3,228 needed

more than the £1,639 rent

stressed at 7.5%, 145% cover

◧ rent after empty weeks £1,639PRA-style test

Who has to say yes?Council record

Liverpool council decides

Named from the postcode, with no decision record under it. Check Liverpool council's pre-application advice before you commit to a room-let plan.

■ Article 4 — planning permission required◧ authority from the postcode□ no decision recordfrom the Article 4 map we hold

How big is it, really?The plan

The rooms are on the plan; the total is not

The plan is on file; the floor area is not.

□ no floor area published

Is it a good location?Open the map

Liverpool, L1 8AW

No schools in this postcode area 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

You would need a licence from the council first

Letting without the council’s licence is an offence, and the fee is in no figure here.

3 problems found · 1 came back clear · 5 we could not check

■ from council licensing registerlisting last seen 18 Sep 2026

Which strategy wins?The ways to run it

Every way loses money — Standard rental loses least, at £957 a month

Let it to the council: £8,988 a year less, but they keep paying when it is empty.

Standard rental−£957 · £266,409 in

Rent by the room−£1,379 · £266,409 in

Guaranteed council rent−£1,706 · £266,409 in

Housing-benefit rent−£1,851 · £266,409 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

−£103,901 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 32% in the price would leave nothing from a sale after selling costs, and you would still owe the lender any shortfall. That is the £266,409 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