Rented normally, it costs you £172 a month. That is £2,070 a year, every year you hold it.

Will it pay?Calculator

You top up £172 a month — the mortgage takes 75p of every pound of rent

Borrowing £31,844 less would close that shortfall — which is £31,844 more cash at the start, on top of the deposit.

£1,077 mortgage

£1,442 rent in£172 short

◧ market rent £1,442 · 96 comps2 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

£90,250 + refurb costs

And about £10,349 more over five years, because it loses £172 every month you hold it — before any repair. That already assumes the rent never falls.

£90,250 to buy it

deposit · stamp duty · solicitor · fees~£11,972, unseen

□ works not inspected

What would have to be true?The working

£40,000 off and it stops losing money

At the asking price you feed it £172 a month. At £222,533 the rent covers everything — leaving stamp duty of £13,077 at that price.

offer £222,533

asked £265,000

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

Is the price right?The deeds

Last sold for £235,000 in 2019

Nothing nearby is comparable, but asking is 13% more than the £235,000 paid for it in 2019.

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

Can we trust the rent?Rent evidence

Nearby lettings back this rent

A real local sample, but short of our bar of ten inside 500 metres — treat the rent as workable rather than settled.

+86 more

our bar: 10 within 500 m

what 13 nearby lettings ask£850–£1,900/mo

our own middle half£1,366–£1,522/mo

■ 96 lettings within 1 kmAdvertised rents, not signed tenancies

What will the rent borrow?Lender test

The rent carries £152,997 of the £198,750 loan

That £45,753 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 £21,273. Lenders test the rent at 7.5% and need it to cover 145% of the payment.

£1,801 needed

more than the £1,387 rent

stressed at 7.5%, 145% cover

◧ rent after empty weeks £1,387PRA-style test

How big is it, really?The plan

One figure, and nothing checking it 453 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

3 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

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.

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

■ from council licensing registerlisting last seen 13 Sep 2026

Which strategy wins?The ways to run it

Every way loses money — Standard rental loses least, at £172 a month

Let it to the council: £216 a year less, but they keep paying when it is empty.

Standard rental−£172 · £102,222 in

Guaranteed council rent−£190 · £102,222 in

Housing-benefit rent−£483 · £102,222 in

Short-stay let−£747 · £102,222 in

39 nearby short-lets within 11.1 km · medium confidence

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

−£18,539 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 25% in the price would leave nothing from a sale after selling costs, and you would still owe the lender any shortfall. That is the £102,222 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