Rented normally, it costs you £1,426 a month. That is £17,114 a year, every year you hold it.

Will it pay?Calculator

The mortgage alone costs more than the whole rent — you top up £1,426 a month

It is £1,426 a month short. Borrowing £263,294 less would close that shortfall — which is £263,294 more cash at the start, on top of the deposit.

£2,417 mortgage

£1,741 rent in£1,426 short

£175 of that is a guess — no service charge published.

□ 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

£211,550 + refurb costs

And about £85,570 more over five years, because it loses £1,426 every month you hold it — before any repair. That already assumes the rent never falls.

£211,550 to buy it

deposit · stamp duty · solicitor · fees~£15,951, unseen

□ works not inspected

What would have to be true?The search

No offer makes this pay

Even at £357,000 — well below the £595,000 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■ stamp duty re-bandedtested down to £357,000

Is the price right?The deeds

Last sold for £500,000 in 2003

Nothing nearby is comparable, but asking is 19% more than the £500,000 paid for it in 2003.

□ this address’s own deeds, no comparable saleHM Land Registry Price Paid Data

What will the rent borrow?Lender test

The rent carries £184,721 of the £446,250 loan

That £261,529 is yours to find on top of the deposit. Tested at 125% instead of 145% — a company or a basic-rate taxpayer usually is — the gap is £231,973. Lenders test the rent at 7.5% and need it to cover 145% of the payment.

£4,044 needed

more than the £1,674 rent

stressed at 7.5%, 145% cover

◧ rent after empty weeks £1,674PRA-style test

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

No school rated Good or better in this postcode area

2 schools in this postcode area, none rated Good or better and flood risk checking… — open for the map, the schools and the rest.

Article 4Not assessed for this address

■ postcode area, not this address

What could kill thisThe checks

You would need a licence from the council first

Letting without the council’s licence is an offence, and the fee is in no figure here.

2 problems found · 1 came back clear · 6 we could not check

■ from council licensing registerlisting last seen 15 Sep 2026

Which strategy wins?The ways to run it

Every way loses money — Standard rental loses least, at £1,426 a month

Let it to the council: £9,348 a year less, but they keep paying when it is empty.

Standard rental−£1,426 · £227,501 in

Rent by the room−£1,526 · £253,501 in

Guaranteed council rent−£2,205 · £227,501 in

Short-stay let−£2,321 · £227,501 in

30 nearby short-lets within 5.5 km · low confidence

Housing-benefit rent−£2,354 · £227,501 in

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?The five-year sums

−£114,780 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 24% in the price would leave nothing from a sale after selling costs, and you would still owe the lender any shortfall. That is the £227,501 you put in. The 5-year fix runs past this 5-year hold, so the rate reset comes after it.

◧ 2.0%/yr growth assumed