Rented normally, you'd make about £128 a month.

Will it pay?Calculator

£128 of every £1,172 is yours to keep, each month

You keep 11p of every pound of rent. The mortgage takes 45p.

£528 mortgage

£441 running

£1,172 rent in£128 yours

◧ market rent £1,172 · 129 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

£44,050 + refurb costs

£11,550 of that never comes back — stamp duty, solicitor and lender fees.

£44,050 to buy it

deposit · stamp duty · solicitor · fees~£8,677, unseen

□ works not inspected

What would have to be true?

Nothing — it works at the asking price

The rent covers the mortgage, the running costs and the tax at the £130,000 asked, so there is no discount this card has to name. A lower price would be upside, not a condition.

◧ worked back from the rent

Can we trust the rent?Rent evidence

Nearby lettings back this rent

They are advertised rents rather than signed tenancies, so a slow month is still possible.

+119 more

our bar: 10 within 500 m

what 20 nearby lettings ask£920–£2,400/mo

our own middle half£1,054–£1,303/mo

■ 129 lettings within 500 mAdvertised rents, not signed tenancies

What will the rent borrow?Lender test

The rent carries the whole loan — it could fall 22% 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.

£884 needed

of £1,127 rent

stressed at 7.5%, 145% cover

◧ rent after empty weeks £1,127PRA-style test

How big is it, really?The plan

The plan and the advert, side by side 532 sq ft

Two figures for this house, and neither is a survey. Open for both.

□ area off the floorplan — not a survey

Is it a good location?Open the map

York, YO1 6JD

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 to know before you offerThe checks

Every tenancy here is periodic, with no Section 21 to end it

Tenancies are now periodic, with no Section 21 — budget a longer void.

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

■ from the Renters’ Rights Act 2025listing last seen 15 Sep 2026

Which strategy wins?The ways to run it

Short-stay let beats Standard rental by £264 a month

Let it to the council: £2,772 a year less, but they keep paying when it is empty.

Short-stay let+£392 · £52,727 in

28 nearby short-lets within 5.5 km · medium confidence

Standard rental+£128 · £52,727 in

Guaranteed council rent−£103 · £52,727 in

Housing-benefit rent−£293 · £52,727 in

Each row: money kept a month, then the cash it ties up. Not compared: Rent by the room (only 1 bedroom) · 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?The five-year sums

+£4,090 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 £52,727 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