Rented normally, it costs you £797 a month. That is £9,565 a year, every year you hold it.

Will it pay?Calculator

The mortgage alone costs more than the whole rent — you top up £797 a month

It is £797 a month short. Borrowing £147,156 less would close that shortfall — which is £147,156 more cash at the start, on top of the deposit.

+£1,010−£1,219−£588−£797

Rent inMortgageRunning costsShort by

The rent covers £1,010 of that — you cover £797

□ 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

£103,025 + refurb costs

And about £47,826 more over five years, because it loses £797 every month you hold it — before any repair. That already assumes the rent never falls.

£103,025 to buy it

deposit · stamp duty · solicitor · fees~£15,111, unseen

□ works not inspected

What would have to be true?The search

No offer makes this pay

Even at £180,000 — well below the £300,000 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 £180,000

What will the rent borrow?Lender test

The rent carries £107,162 of the £225,000 loan

That £117,838 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 £100,692. Lenders test the rent at 7.5% and need it to cover 145% of the payment.

£2,039 needed

more than the £971 rent

stressed at 7.5%, 145% cover

◧ rent after empty weeks £971PRA-style test

Who has to say yes?Council record

Leicester council approves 61% — 54% on a cautious reading

A council-wide rate across 225 HMO decisions, not a forecast for this address.

61%

0%50%100%

never approvesalways approves

the band is the cautious reading of the same 225 decisions — as low as 54%

■ Article 4 — planning permission requireddecision record held for this authority

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

5 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.

3 problems found · 2 came back clear · 3 we could not check · 1 does not apply to this property

■ from council licensing registerlisting last seen 16 Sep 2026

Which strategy wins?The ways to run it

Every way loses money — Rent by the room loses least, at £337 a month

Let it to the council: £36 a year less, but they keep paying when it is empty.

Rent by the room−£337 · £144,136 in

Standard rental−£797 · £118,136 in

Guaranteed council rent−£800 · £118,136 in

Housing-benefit rent−£1,037 · £118,136 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) · 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

−£61,427 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 £118,136 you put in. The 5-year fix runs past this 5-year hold, so the rate reset comes after it.

−£118,136+£342,069−£8,552−£225,000−£51,808−£61,427

Cash you put inSale valueSelling costsMortgageRent lossesYou are down

◧ 2.0%/yr growth assumed