Rented normally, it costs you £753 a month. That is £9,039 a year, every year you hold it.

Will it pay?Calculator

You top up £753 a month — the mortgage takes 57p of every pound of rent

Borrowing £139,058 less would close that shortfall — which is £139,058 more cash at the start, on top of the deposit.

+£1,755−£995−£1,513−£753

Rent inMortgageRunning costsShort by

The rent covers £1,755 of that — you cover £753

□ 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

£82,450 + refurb costs

And about £45,194 more over five years, because it loses £753 every month you hold it — before any repair. That already assumes the rent never falls.

£82,450 to buy it

deposit · stamp duty · solicitor · fees~£16,790, unseen

□ works not inspected

What would have to be true?The search

No offer makes this pay

Even at £147,000 — well below the £245,000 asked — the rent still does not cover the costs. The gap is the rent against the running costs, not the price, so negotiating does not close it.

◧ worked back from the rent■ land transaction tax re-bandedtested down to £147,000

Can we trust the rent?Rent evidence

Nearby lettings back this rent

We hold too few nearby asking rents to cross-check this figure, so nothing here confirms it a second way.

+9 more

our bar: 10 within 500 m

our own middle half£1,479–£2,083/mo

■ 19 lettings within 1 km□ no nearby asks to cross-checkAdvertised rents, not signed tenancies

What will the rent borrow?Lender test

The rent carries the whole loan — it could fall 1% and still cover it

Your deposit is what limits this one, not the rent. Lenders test the rent at 7.5% and need it to cover 145% of the payment.

£1,665 needed

of £1,688 rent

stressed at 7.5%, 145% cover

◧ rent after empty weeks £1,688PRA-style test

Who has to say yes?Council record

Cardiff council approves 83% — 79% on a cautious reading

A council-wide rate across 298 HMO decisions, not a forecast for this address.

83%

0%50%100%

never approvesalways approves

the band is the cautious reading of the same 298 decisions — as low as 79%

■ Article 4 — planning permission requireddecision record held for this authority

How big is it, really?The plan

The rooms are on the plan; the total is not

The plan is on file; the floor area is not.

□ no floor area published

Is it a good location?Open the map

City Centre, CF10 1DF

No schools in this postcode area 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

What could kill thisThe checks

£11,414 a year in charges for the building, owed even when nobody is living there

The contract the property is sold under sets these charges, and they can go up over the years.

4 problems found · 1 came back clear · 4 we could not check

■ from the listinglisting last seen 16 Sep 2026

Which strategy wins?The ways to run it

Every way loses money — Standard rental loses least, at £753 a month

Let it to the council: £5,652 a year less, but they keep paying when it is empty.

Standard rental−£753 · £99,240 in

Rent by the room−£942 · £125,240 in

Guaranteed council rent−£1,224 · £99,240 in

Housing-benefit rent−£1,490 · £99,240 in

Short-stay let−£1,555 · £99,240 in

68 nearby short-lets within 5.5 km · medium confidence

Each row: money kept a month, then the cash it ties up. Not compared: Do it up, then remortgage (pays back at the remortgage) · Buy, improve & sell (pays out on sale)

◧ 5 ways, one measureranked on money kept each month, at the asking price

What would you walk away with, after 5 years?The five-year sums

−£56,461 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 26% in the price would leave nothing from a sale after selling costs, and you would still owe the lender any shortfall. That is the £99,240 you put in. The 5-year fix runs past this 5-year hold, so the rate reset comes after it.

−£99,240+£282,549−£7,064−£183,750−£48,957−£56,461

Cash you put inSale valueSelling costsMortgageRent lossesYou are down

◧ 2.0%/yr growth assumed