Rented normally, it costs you £307 a month. That is £3,685 a year, every year you hold it.

Will it pay?Calculator

You top up £307 a month — the mortgage takes 69p of every pound of rent

Borrowing £56,692 less would close that shortfall — which is £56,692 more cash at the start, on top of the deposit.

+£1,363−£934−£736−£307

Rent inMortgageRunning costsShort by

The rent covers £1,363 of that — you cover £307

◧ market rent £1,363 · 164 comps2 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

£77,550 + refurb costs

And about £18,425 more over five years, because it loses £307 every month you hold it — before any repair. That already assumes the rent never falls.

£77,550 to buy it

deposit · stamp duty · solicitor · fees~£14,891, unseen

□ works not inspected

What would have to be true?The working

£75,000 off and it stops losing money

At the asking price you feed it £307 a month. At £154,396 the rent covers everything — leaving stamp duty of £8,308 at that price.

offer £154,396

asked £230,000

◧ worked back from the rent■ stamp duty re-bandedrounded down to £5,000 — the rent it works back from is an estimate

Is the price right?The deeds

Last sold for £234,995 in 2017

Nothing nearby is comparable, and it is asking about what it fetched in 2017.

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

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.

+154 more

our bar: 10 within 500 m

our own middle half£1,256–£1,479/mo

■ 164 lettings within 500 m□ no nearby asks to cross-checkAdvertised rents, not signed tenancies

What will the rent borrow?Lender test

The rent carries £144,615 of the £172,500 loan

That £27,885 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 £4,746. Lenders test the rent at 7.5% and need it to cover 145% of the payment.

£1,563 needed

more than the £1,311 rent

stressed at 7.5%, 145% cover

◧ rent after empty weeks £1,311PRA-style test

How big is it, really?The working

One figure, and nothing checking it 861 sq ft

Only the agent’s figure exists for this house. Open for what that means.

□ area unchecked — agent’s own

Is it a good location?Open the map

Northill Apartments, M50 3DJ

1 of 2 schools in this postcode area rated Good or Outstanding 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

£3,280 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.

2 problems found · 2 came back clear · 3 we could not check · 2 do not apply to this property

■ from the listinglisting last seen 18 Sep 2026

Which strategy wins?The ways to run it

Short-stay let beats Standard rental by £823 a month

Let it to the council: £2,268 a year less, but they keep paying when it is empty.

Short-stay let+£516 · £92,441 in

14 nearby short-lets within 5.5 km · medium confidence

Standard rental−£307 · £92,441 in

Guaranteed council rent−£496 · £92,441 in

Housing-benefit rent−£761 · £92,441 in

Each row: money kept a month, then the cash it ties up. Not compared: Rent by the room (only 2 bedrooms) · Do it up, then remortgage (pays back at the remortgage) · Buy, improve & sell (pays out on sale)

◧ 4 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

−£26,891 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 £92,441 you put in. The 5-year fix runs past this 5-year hold, so the rate reset comes after it.

−£92,441+£264,625−£6,616−£172,500−£19,959−£26,891

Cash you put inSale valueSelling costsMortgageRent lossesYou are down

◧ 2.0%/yr growth assumed