Rented normally, it costs you £1,232 a month. That is £14,781 a year, every year you hold it.

Will it pay?Calculator

The mortgage alone costs more than the whole rent — you top up £1,232 a month

It is £1,232 a month short. Borrowing £227,404 less would close that shortfall — which is £227,404 more cash at the start, on top of the deposit.

+£3,513−£3,859−£885−£1,232

Rent inMortgageRunning costsShort by

The rent covers £3,513 of that — you cover £1,232

◧ market rent £3,513 · 29 comps2 empty weeks a year assumed

What if I change my assumptions?The dials

At the asking price, 25% deposit, 6.50% charged

Try your own numbersLive

You keep-£1,232/mo

All-in cash£405,500

PaybackNever

Offer−+

Deposit−+

Mortgage rate−+

Rent−+

Worked at 6.50% — 5.75% quoted plus a company premium.

◧ worked out from local rents

What will it cost me to buy?Breakdown

£404,000 + refurb costs

And about £73,906 more over five years, because it loses £1,232 every month you hold it — before any repair. That already assumes the rent never falls.

£404,000 to buy it

deposit · stamp duty · solicitor · fees~£1,500, unseen

□ works not inspected

What would have to be true?The working

£300,000 off and it stops losing money

At the asking price you feed it £1,232 a month. At £646,724 the rent covers everything — leaving LBTT of £89,760 at that price.

offer £646,724

asked £950,000

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

What will the rent borrow?Lender test

The rent carries £372,732 of the £712,500 loan

That £339,768 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 £280,131. Lenders test the rent at 7.5% and need it to cover 145% of the payment.

£6,457 needed

more than the £3,378 rent

stressed at 7.5%, 145% cover

◧ rent after empty weeks £3,378PRA-style test

How big is it, really?The plan

One figure, and nothing checking it 1,731 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

Nearest stop up to 2 km away

Beyond a comfortable walk, and more than nine in ten listings we cover have one closer.

Article 4Not assessed for this address

■ postcode area, not this address■ nearest stop in our data□ kind of stop not recordedstraight-line distance, not the walk

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 · 1 came back clear · 5 we could not check · 2 do not apply to this property

■ from the Renters’ Rights Act 2025listing last seen 24 Sep 2026

Which strategy wins?The ways to run it

Every way loses money — Standard rental loses least, at £1,232 a month

Standard rental also ties up the least cash, £405,500.

Standard rental−£1,232 · £405,500 in

Rent by the room−£2,415 · £405,500 in

Housing-benefit rent−£2,458 · £405,500 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) · Short-stay let (no local short-let data) · Guaranteed council rent (no scheme in this borough) · 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

−£174,356 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 £405,500 you put in. The 5-year fix runs past this 5-year hold, so the rate reset comes after it.

−£405,500+£1,049,953−£26,249−£712,500−£80,060−£174,356

Cash you put inSale valueSelling costsMortgageRent lossesYou are down

◧ 2.0%/yr growth assumed