Cambridge · AL1 3WA · 2-bed
London Road, St. Albans
© OpenStreetMap · click to open in maps
Asking price
£375,000
Verdict
Overpriced by £71,816 vs 2-bed homes nearby
What you could do with it
Estimated gross yields from current rental comps. Numbers are pre-cost — service, voids, mortgage, management still come off these.
Standard BTL
Best fit£1,350/mo
4.3% gross yield
Open-market tenant on a 12-month AST.
LHA / Section 8
£873/mo
2.8% gross yield
Council-paid tenant. Stable rent, longer tenancies, slight discount to market.
Council lease
£742/mo
2.4% gross yield
3–5 yr guaranteed-rent lease to a housing association. Hands-off.
Who is this for?
Quick read across the buyer personas. ✅ = good fit · ⚠ = workable with caveats · ❌ = look elsewhere.
Family home
2-bed but EPC unknown — factor retrofit cost or budget for it.
Standard BTL
4.3% gross — tight; works only with low costs / cheap finance.
Buy + rent later
Rent would cover most mortgage costs but you'd top up if it sat empty for a few months.
The numbers
England (SDLT) · 75% LTV mortgage at 5.5% over 25 years (capital repayment).
Stamp duty
First-time buyer
£0
Home mover
£6,250
2nd home / BTL
£25,000
Mortgage @ 75% LTV
- Loan
- £281,250
- Deposit
- £93,750
- Per month
- £1,727
Cash you'd need to walk in (deposit + investor SDLT, before legal/survey): £118,750
Should you pay this?
Asking price is roughly £71,816 above what 2-bed homes typically go for here.
You're paying £375,000. Comparable 2-bed homes in this area suggest a market price of around £303,184.
Contains HM Land Registry data © Crown copyright and database right.
What it'd rent for
£1,350/month4.32% gross yield
Based on 792 live rentals in Cambridge · 2-bed homes here average £1,809/mo.
Most landlords need 5%+ gross to break even after costs in this area, so this is tight as a fallback — worth running the numbers carefully.
Property features
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Loading nearby sold…
5-year price trend
Crime risk
Flood risk
Schools & Ofsted
Catchment area is the #1 driver of family-let demand and exit liquidity in the suburbs. Verify the local primary + secondary ratings before offering — an Outstanding catchment can add 5–10% to £/sqft; Inadequate is a permanent drag.
- All schools within 2 miles (DfE GIAS) — official register, last Ofsted, type
- Ofsted reports for AL1 3WA — full inspection reports + history
- Catchment visualiser (Locrating) — free-tier school-catchment map
Catchments aren't published nationally; many schools use distance-from-school as the deciding factor. The links above give you the official data; only the local authority can confirm a specific year's catchment boundary.
Area pulse
- 31,087 new listings here in the last month — good comparable supply.
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