Rented normally, it costs you £682 a month. That is £8,188 a year, every year you hold it.

Will it pay?Calculator

The mortgage alone costs more than the whole rent — you top up £682 a month

It is £682 a month short. Borrowing £125,965 less would close that shortfall — which is £125,965 more cash at the start, on top of the deposit.

+£2,315−£2,336−£661−£682

Rent inMortgageRunning costsShort by

The rent covers £2,315 of that — you cover £682

◧ market rent £2,315 · 17 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

£203,775 + refurb costs

And about £40,939 more over five years, because it loses £682 every month you hold it — before any repair. That already assumes the rent never falls.

£203,775 to buy it

deposit · stamp duty · solicitor · fees~£23,796, unseen

□ works not inspected

What would have to be true?The working

£165,000 off and it stops losing money

At the asking price you feed it £682 a month. At £406,992 the rent covers everything — leaving stamp duty of £30,699 at that price.

offer £406,992

asked £575,000

◧ worked back from the rent■ stamp duty 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 £245,623 of the £431,250 loan

That £185,627 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 £146,327. Lenders test the rent at 7.5% and need it to cover 145% of the payment.

£3,908 needed

more than the £2,226 rent

stressed at 7.5%, 145% cover

◧ rent after empty weeks £2,226PRA-style test

How big is it, really?The plan

The plan and the advert, side by side 1,290 sq ft

Two figures for this house, and neither is a survey. Open for both.

AdvertFloorplan

1k sq ft1.2k sq ft1.3k sq ft

1,009 sq ft1,346 sq ft

neither is a survey — a tape measure settles it

□ area off the floorplan — not a survey

Is it a good location?Open the map

No school rated Good or better in this postcode area

1 school in this postcode area, none rated Good or better and flood risk checking… — open for the map, the schools and the rest.

Article 4Not assessed for this address

■ 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 · 4 we could not check · 1 does not apply to this property

■ from council licensing registerlisting last seen 18 Sep 2026

Which strategy wins?The ways to run it

Every way loses money — Standard rental loses least, at £682 a month

Let it to the council: £5,280 a year less, but they keep paying when it is empty.

Standard rental−£682 · £227,571 in

Rent by the room−£887 · £253,571 in

Guaranteed council rent−£1,122 · £227,571 in

Housing-benefit rent−£1,303 · £227,571 in

Short-stay let−£2,311 · £227,571 in

72 nearby short-lets within 11.1 km · medium confidence

Each row: money kept a month, then the cash it ties up. Not compared: Do it up, then remortgage (pays back at the remortgage) · Buy, improve & sell (pays out on sale)

◧ 5 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

−£67,543 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 25% in the price would leave nothing from a sale after selling costs, and you would still owe the lender any shortfall. That is the £227,571 you put in. The 5-year fix runs past this 5-year hold, so the rate reset comes after it.

−£227,571+£651,924−£16,298−£431,250−£44,347−£67,543

Cash you put inSale valueSelling costsMortgageRent lossesYou are down

◧ 2.0%/yr growth assumed