Rented normally, it costs you £76 a month. That is £907 a year, every year you hold it.

What could kill thisThe checks

Cash buyers only — there is no mortgage on this one

The listing says no mortgage, and every figure on this page is worked with one.

2 problems found · 5 we could not check · 2 do not apply to this property

■ from the listinglisting last seen 18 Sep 2026

Will it pay?Calculator

You top up £76 a month — the mortgage takes 56p of every pound of rent

Borrowing £13,957 less would close that shortfall — which is £13,957 more cash at the start, on top of the deposit.

£650 mortgage

£546 running

£1,165 rent in£76 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

£54,100 + refurb costs

And about £4,536 more over five years, because it loses £76 every month you hold it — before any repair. That already assumes the rent never falls.

~£62,669

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

£54,100 to buy it

□ works not inspected

What would have to be true?The working

£15,000 off and it stops losing money

At the asking price you feed it £76 a month. At £141,391 the rent covers everything — leaving stamp duty of £7,397 at that price.

offer £141,391

asked £160,000

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

How big is it, really?The plan

Measured off the plan, not by a surveyor 658 sq ft

The area comes off the plan, not a survey. Open for what that means.

□ area off the floorplan — not a survey

Is it a good location?Open the map

Birmingham, B14 7SX

5 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 £76 a month

Let it to the council: £1,896 a year less, but they keep paying when it is empty.

Standard rental−£76 · £116,769 in

Short-stay let−£84 · £116,769 in

10 nearby short-lets within 5.5 km · medium confidence

Guaranteed council rent−£234 · £116,769 in

Housing-benefit rent−£463 · £116,769 in

Each row: money kept a month, then the cash it ties up. Not compared: Rent by the room (only 2 bedrooms) · 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

−£25,596 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 39% in the price would leave nothing from a sale after selling costs, and you would still owe the lender any shortfall. That is the £116,769 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