Cambridge · AL3 5EN · 5-bed
Selby Avenue, St. Albans
© OpenStreetMap · click to open in maps
Asking price
£1,200,000
Verdict
Overpriced by £583,297 vs 5+ 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£7,500/mo
7.5% gross yield
Open-market tenant on a 12-month AST.
HMO (rooms)
£5,159/mo
5.2% gross yield
4–6 individual tenants, shared living. Highest yield, most management.
LHA / Section 8
£1,346/mo
1.4% gross yield
Council-paid tenant. Stable rent, longer tenancies, slight discount to market.
Council lease
£1,144/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
5-bed but EPC unknown — factor retrofit cost or budget for it.
Standard BTL
7.5% gross — clears typical 5%+ break-even threshold.
HMO (rooms)
5.2% HMO yield is too low for the management overhead.
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
£61,250
Home mover
£61,250
2nd home / BTL
£121,250
Mortgage @ 75% LTV
- Loan
- £900,000
- Deposit
- £300,000
- Per month
- £5,527
Cash you'd need to walk in (deposit + investor SDLT, before legal/survey): £421,250
Should you pay this?
Asking price is roughly £583,297 above what 5+ bed homes typically go for here.
You're paying £1,200,000. Comparable 5+ bed homes in this area suggest a market price of around £616,703.
Contains HM Land Registry data © Crown copyright and database right.
What it'd rent for
£7,500/month7.5% gross yield
Based on 792 live rentals in Cambridge · 5-bed homes here average £2,836/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
- []
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 AL3 5EN — 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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