Rented normally, it costs you £633 a month. That is £7,596 a year, every year you hold it.

Will it pay?Calculator

The mortgage alone costs more than the whole rent — you top up £633 a month

It is £633 a month short. Borrowing £116,866 less would close that shortfall — which is £116,866 more cash at the start, on top of the deposit.

+£479−£813−£300−£633

Rent inMortgageRunning costsShort by

The rent covers £479 of that — you cover £633

◧ market rent £479 · 24 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

£67,200 + refurb costs

And about £37,981 more over five years, because it loses £633 every month you hold it — before any repair. That already assumes the rent never falls.

£67,200 to buy it

deposit · stamp duty · solicitor · fees~£1,350, unseen

□ works not inspected

What would have to be true?The search

No offer makes this pay

Even at £120,000 — well below the £200,000 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 £120,000

What will the rent borrow?Lender test

The rent carries £50,822 of the £150,000 loan

That £99,178 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 £91,046. Lenders test the rent at 7.5% and need it to cover 145% of the payment.

£1,359 needed

more than the £461 rent

stressed at 7.5%, 145% cover

◧ rent after empty weeks £461PRA-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

Durham, SR7 0JP

2 of 3 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

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 · 3 we could not check · 3 do not apply to this property

■ from council licensing registerlisting last seen 15 Sep 2026

Which strategy wins?The ways to run it

Every way loses money — Guaranteed council rent loses least, at £612 a month

Let it to the council and you keep £21 a month more, and they keep paying when it is empty.

Guaranteed council rent−£612 · £68,550 in

Standard rental−£633 · £68,550 in

Housing-benefit rent−£708 · £68,550 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) · Short-stay let (no local short-let data) · Buy, improve & sell (pays out on sale)

◧ 3 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

−£43,454 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 23% in the price would leave nothing from a sale after selling costs, and you would still owe the lender any shortfall. That is the £68,550 you put in. The 5-year fix runs past this 5-year hold, so the rate reset comes after it.

−£68,550+£221,785−£5,545−£150,000−£41,144−£43,454

Cash you put inSale valueSelling costsMortgageRent lossesYou are down

◧ 2.0%/yr growth assumed