Rented normally, it costs you £201 a month. That is £2,406 a year, every year you hold it.

Will it pay?Calculator

You top up £201 a month — the mortgage takes 56p of every pound of rent

Borrowing £37,016 less would close that shortfall — which is £37,016 more cash at the start, on top of the deposit.

+£716−£402−£514−£201

Rent inMortgageRunning costsShort by

The rent covers £716 of that — you cover £201

□ service charge not published2 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

£34,185 + refurb costs

And about £12,030 more over five years, because it loses £201 every month you hold it — before any repair. That already assumes the rent never falls.

£34,185 to buy it

~£11,362

deposit · stamp duty · solicitor · feeswe haven’t been inside

□ works not inspected

What would have to be true?The search

No offer makes this pay

Even at £59,400 — well below the £99,000 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 £59,400

Can we trust the rent?Rent evidence

Nearby lettings, but only by searching 1.5 km

We widened the search to find them, so these are not next-door comparisons.

+36 more

our bar: 10 within 500 m

what 3 nearby lettings ask£850–£950/mo

our own middle half£668–£767/mo

■ 46 lettings within 1.5 km□ searched wider than our barAdvertised rents, not signed tenancies

What will the rent borrow?Lender test

The rent carries the whole loan — it could fall 2% 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.

£673 needed

of £688 rent

stressed at 7.5%, 145% cover

◧ rent after empty weeks £688PRA-style test

Is it a good location?Open the map

Liverpool, L13 7GA

2 of 4 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 · 4 we could not check · 2 do not apply to this property

■ from council licensing registerlisting last seen 19 Sep 2026

Which strategy wins?The ways to run it

Every way loses money — Standard rental loses least, at £201 a month

Let it to the council: £108 a year less, but they keep paying when it is empty.

Standard rental−£201 · £45,547 in

Guaranteed council rent−£210 · £45,547 in

Housing-benefit rent−£340 · £45,547 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, after 5 years?The five-year sums

−£18,307 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 28% in the price would leave nothing from a sale after selling costs, and you would still owe the lender any shortfall. That is the £45,547 you put in. The 5-year fix runs past this 5-year hold, so the rate reset comes after it.

−£45,547+£117,458−£2,936−£74,250−£13,032−£18,307

Cash you put inSale valueSelling costsMortgageRent lossesYou are down

◧ 2.0%/yr growth assumed