Rented normally, it costs you £33 a month. That is £394 a year, every year you hold it.

Will it pay?Calculator

You top up £33 a month — the mortgage takes 49p of every pound of rent

Borrowing £6,062 less would close that shortfall — which is £6,062 more cash at the start, on top of the deposit.

+£1,084−£528−£589−£33

Rent inMortgageRunning costsShort by

The rent covers £1,084 of that — you cover £33

□ 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

£44,050 + refurb costs

And about £1,970 more over five years, because it loses £33 every month you hold it — before any repair. That already assumes the rent never falls.

£44,050 to buy it

deposit · stamp duty · solicitor · fees~£6,774, unseen

□ works not inspected

What would have to be true?The working

£5,000 off and it stops losing money

At the asking price you feed it £33 a month. At £121,913 the rent covers everything — leaving stamp duty of £6,096 at that price.

offer £121,913

asked £130,000

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

Can we trust the rent?Rent evidence

Nearby lettings back this rent

We hold too few nearby asking rents to cross-check this figure, so nothing here confirms it a second way.

+103 more

our bar: 10 within 500 m

our own middle half£1,052–£1,117/mo

■ 113 lettings within 500 m□ no nearby asks to cross-checkAdvertised rents, not signed tenancies

What will the rent borrow?Lender test

The rent carries the whole loan — it could fall 15% 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 £1,042 rent

stressed at 7.5%, 145% cover

◧ rent after empty weeks £1,042PRA-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

No school rated Good or better in this postcode area

3 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

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

■ from council licensing registerlisting last seen 18 Sep 2026

Which strategy wins?The ways to run it

Short-stay let beats Standard rental by £81 a month

Let it to the council: £4,692 a year less, but they keep paying when it is empty.

Short-stay let+£48 · £50,824 in

131 nearby short-lets within 5.5 km · medium confidence

Standard rental−£33 · £50,824 in

Guaranteed council rent−£424 · £50,824 in

Housing-benefit rent−£540 · £50,824 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, after 5 years?The five-year sums

−£5,776 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 £50,824 you put in. The 5-year fix runs past this 5-year hold, so the rate reset comes after it.

−£50,824+£148,392−£3,710−£97,500−£2,134−£5,776

Cash you put inSale valueSelling costsMortgageRent lossesYou are down

◧ 2.0%/yr growth assumed