Rented normally, it costs you £1,979 a month. That is £23,750 a year, every year you hold it.

Will it pay?Calculator

The mortgage alone costs more than the whole rent — you top up £1,979 a month

It is £1,979 a month short. Borrowing £365,383 less would close that shortfall — which is £365,383 more cash at the start, on top of the deposit.

£2,316 mortgage

£682 rent in£1,979 short

◧ market rent £682 · 8 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

£201,950 + refurb costs

And about £118,749 more over five years, because it loses £1,979 every month you hold it — before any repair. That already assumes the rent never falls.

£201,950 to buy it

deposit · stamp duty · solicitor · fees~£10,764, unseen

□ works not inspected

What would have to be true?The search

No offer makes this pay

Even at £342,000 — well below the £570,000 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 £342,000

What will the rent borrow?Lender test

The rent carries £72,361 of the £427,500 loan

That £355,139 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 £343,562. Lenders test the rent at 7.5% and need it to cover 145% of the payment.

£3,874 needed

more than the £656 rent

stressed at 7.5%, 145% cover

◧ rent after empty weeks £656PRA-style test

Is it a good location?Open the map

No school rated Good or better in this postcode area

4 schools in this postcode area, none rated Good or better 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

The property is being sold at auction, so the price shown is a guide, not what it will cost

Every figure on this page is worked from that price, so paying more than it cuts the return.

2 problems found · 4 we could not check · 3 do not apply to this property

■ from the listinglisting last seen 17 Sep 2026

Which strategy wins?The ways to run it

Every way loses money — Standard rental loses least, at £1,979 a month

Let it to the council: £516 a year less, but they keep paying when it is empty.

Standard rental−£1,979 · £212,714 in

Guaranteed council rent−£2,022 · £212,714 in

Housing-benefit rent−£2,132 · £212,714 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) · 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?The five-year sums

−£147,726 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 £212,714 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