Cambridge · AL5 4FW · 3-bed
Westfield Close, Harpenden, Hertfordshire, AL5
© OpenStreetMap · click to open in maps
Asking price
£650,000
£717/sqft
Verdict
Overpriced by £246,238 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
Best fit£2,150/mo
4.0% gross yield
Open-market tenant on a 12-month AST.
HMO (rooms)
£1,894/mo
3.5% gross yield
4–6 individual tenants, shared living. Highest yield, most management.
LHA / Section 8
£1,097/mo
2.0% gross yield
Council-paid tenant. Stable rent, longer tenancies, slight discount to market.
Council lease
£932/mo
1.7% 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 but EPC unknown — factor retrofit cost or budget for it.
Standard BTL
4.0% gross — won't cover costs at current rates.
HMO (rooms)
3.5% HMO yield is too low for the management overhead.
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
£20,000
Home mover
£20,000
2nd home / BTL
£52,500
Mortgage @ 75% LTV
- Loan
- £487,500
- Deposit
- £162,500
- Per month
- £2,994
Cash you'd need to walk in (deposit + investor SDLT, before legal/survey): £215,000
Should you pay this?
Asking price is roughly £246,238 above what 3-bed homes typically go for here.
You're paying £650,000. 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
£2,150/month3.97% 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 tight as a fallback — worth running the numbers carefully.
Property features
- []
Loading nearby sold…
5-year price trend
Crime risk
Flood risk
Schools & Ofsted
No schools indexed yet for this postcode sector. The official sources below cover every UK postcode.
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.
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
HMO licensing
£825 – £1,500typical UK HMO fee, 5-year licence
3-bed property. Mandatory licensing kicks in at 5+ unrelated occupants. Below that, a licence is only required if the council runs an additional or selective scheme — the link below is the way to check.
The council's HMO page lists the current mandatory fee plus any additional / selective scheme that catches smaller HMOs.
Find borough HMO licensing page on gov.ukMandatory licensing applies UK-wide for 5+ sharer HMOs (Housing Act 2004). Scotland licenses 3+ sharers; Wales also requires Rent Smart Wales registration for every landlord.
Area pulse
- 31,087 new listings here in the last month — good comparable supply.
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