Rented normally, it costs you £688 a month. That is £8,254 a year, every year you hold it.

Will it pay?Calculator

You top up £688 a month — the mortgage takes 88p of every pound of rent

Borrowing £126,988 less would close that shortfall — which is £126,988 more cash at the start, on top of the deposit.

£1,016 mortgage

£776 running

£1,148 rent in£688 short

◧ market rent £1,148 · 163 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

£84,775 + refurb costs

And about £41,271 more over five years, because it loses £688 every month you hold it — before any repair. That already assumes the rent never falls.

£84,775 to buy it

deposit · stamp duty · solicitor · fees~£23,069, unseen

□ works not inspected

What would have to be true?The search

No offer makes this pay

Even at £150,000 — well below the £250,000 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 £150,000

Can we trust the rent?Rent evidence

Nearby lettings back this rent

They are advertised rents rather than signed tenancies, so a slow month is still possible.

+153 more

our bar: 10 within 500 m

what 20 nearby lettings ask£1,000–£1,850/mo

our own middle half£1,003–£1,314/mo

■ 163 lettings within 500 mAdvertised rents, not signed tenancies

What will the rent borrow?Lender test

The rent carries £121,804 of the £187,500 loan

That £65,696 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 £46,208. Lenders test the rent at 7.5% and need it to cover 145% of the payment.

£1,699 needed

more than the £1,104 rent

stressed at 7.5%, 145% cover

◧ rent after empty weeks £1,104PRA-style test

How big is it, really?The plan

One figure, and nothing checking it 1,505 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

No school rated Good or better in this postcode area

2 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

£4,730 a year in charges for the building, owed even when nobody is living there

The contract the property is sold under sets these charges, and they can go up over the years.

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

■ from the listinglisting last seen 15 Sep 2026

Which strategy wins?The ways to run it

Every way loses money — Short-stay let loses least, at £543 a month

Let it to the council: £2,544 a year less, but they keep paying when it is empty.

Short-stay let−£543 · £107,844 in

13 nearby short-lets within 5.5 km · medium confidence

Standard rental−£688 · £107,844 in

Guaranteed council rent−£900 · £107,844 in

Housing-benefit rent−£1,047 · £107,844 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) · 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?The five-year sums

−£54,790 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 27% in the price would leave nothing from a sale after selling costs, and you would still owe the lender any shortfall. That is the £107,844 you put in. The 5-year fix runs past this 5-year hold, so the rate reset comes after it.

◧ 2.0%/yr growth assumed