Cambridge · AL4 0NR · 3-bed
Park Lane, Colney Heath, St. Albans, Hertfordshire, AL4
© OpenStreetMap · click to open in maps
Asking price
£625,000
£514/sqft · EPC D
Verdict
Overpriced by £221,238 vs 3-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
£2,700/mo
5.2% gross yield
Open-market tenant on a 12-month AST.
HMO (rooms)
Best fit£5,084/mo
9.8% gross yield
4–6 individual tenants, shared living. Highest yield, most management.
LHA / Section 8
£678/mo
1.3% gross yield
Council-paid tenant. Stable rent, longer tenancies, slight discount to market.
Council lease
£576/mo
1.1% 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
3-bed with EPC D — workable family setup.
Standard BTL
5.2% gross — tight; works only with low costs / cheap finance.
HMO (rooms)
9.8% HMO yield, no Article 4 — strong on paper.
Buy + rent later
Rents would more than cover BTL mortgage costs if life changes.
The numbers
England (SDLT) · 75% LTV mortgage at 5.5% over 25 years (capital repayment).
Stamp duty
First-time buyer
£10,000
Home mover
£18,750
2nd home / BTL
£50,000
Mortgage @ 75% LTV
- Loan
- £468,750
- Deposit
- £156,250
- Per month
- £2,879
Cash you'd need to walk in (deposit + investor SDLT, before legal/survey): £206,250
Should you pay this?
Asking price is roughly £221,238 above what 3-bed homes typically go for here.
You're paying £625,000. Comparable 3-bed homes in this area suggest a market price of around £403,762.
Contains HM Land Registry data © Crown copyright and database right.
What it'd rent for
£2,700/month5.18% gross yield
Based on 792 live rentals in Cambridge · 3-bed homes here average £2,156/mo.
Most landlords need 5%+ gross to break even after costs in this area, so this is a decent fallback if your plans shift.
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 AL4 0NR — 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.
HMO licensing
No curated HMO data for this area. Most UK councils run mandatory licensing for 5+ sharers (statutory) plus area-specific additional / selective schemes. Verify with the local authority before completing a purchase.
Area pulse
- 31,087 new listings here in the last month — good comparable supply.
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