Rented normally, it costs you £107 a month. That is £1,286 a year, every year you hold it.

What could kill thisThe checks

Cash buyers only — there is no mortgage on this one

The listing says no mortgage, and every figure on this page is worked with one.

3 problems found · 1 came back clear · 5 we could not check

■ from the listinglisting last seen 16 Sep 2026

Will it pay?Calculator

You top up £107 a month — the mortgage takes 52p of every pound of rent

Borrowing £19,790 less would close that shortfall — which is £19,790 more cash at the start, on top of the deposit.

£447 mortgage

£483 running

£856 rent in£107 short

£175 of that is a guess — no service charge published.

□ 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

£37,650 + refurb costs

And about £6,432 more over five years, because it loses £107 every month you hold it — before any repair. That already assumes the rent never falls.

~£64,060

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

£37,650 to buy it

□ works not inspected

What would have to be true?The working

£25,000 off and it stops losing money

At the asking price you feed it £107 a month. At £83,606 the rent covers everything — leaving stamp duty of £4,180 at that price.

offer £83,606

asked £110,000

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

Is the price right?Comparables

We can't tell — nothing nearby is alike enough

The dearest sold for 2.8× the cheapest, so the rent has to justify this price on its own.

you'd pay £110,000

£67,000

£80,000

£86,000

£95,000

£115,000

£115,000

£115,000

£120,000

£130,000

£141,000

£147,500

£188,000

£67k£127.5k£188k

£67,000 cheapest£188,000 dearest

12 completed sales, same property type, last 3 years

□ 12 sold nearby, not matched on sizeHM Land Registry Price Paid Data

Who has to say yes?Council record

Wigan council approves 33% — 21% on a cautious reading

A council-wide rate across 39 HMO decisions, not a forecast for this address.

33%

0%50%100%

never approvesalways approves

the band is the cautious reading of the same 39 decisions — as low as 21%

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

How big is it, really?The plan

One figure, and nothing checking it 796 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

Wigan, WN1 3BB

1 of 5 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

Which strategy wins?The ways to run it

Rent by the room beats Standard rental by £503 a month

Let it to the council: £840 a year less, but they keep paying when it is empty.

Rent by the room+£396 · £127,710 in

Standard rental−£107 · £101,710 in

Guaranteed council rent−£177 · £101,710 in

Housing-benefit rent−£361 · £101,710 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?The five-year sums

−£27,941 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 44% in the price would leave nothing from a sale after selling costs, and you would still owe the lender any shortfall. That is the £101,710 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