Rented normally, it costs you £120 a month. That is £1,439 a year, every year you hold it.

Will it pay?Calculator

You top up £120 a month — the mortgage takes 73p of every pound of rent

Borrowing £22,143 less would close that shortfall — which is £22,143 more cash at the start, on top of the deposit.

+£1,108−£813−£415−£120

Rent inMortgageRunning costsShort by

The rent covers £1,108 of that — you cover £120

◧ market rent £1,108 · 18 comps2 empty weeks a year assumed

What if I change my assumptions?The dials

At the asking price, 25% deposit, 6.50% charged

Try your own numbersLive

You keep-£120/mo

All-in cash£81,305

PaybackNever

Offer−+

Deposit−+

Mortgage rate−+

Rent−+

Worked at 6.50% — 5.75% quoted plus a company premium.

◧ worked out from local rents

What will it cost me to buy?Breakdown

£67,200 + refurb costs

And about £7,196 more over five years, because it loses £120 every month you hold it — before any repair. That already assumes the rent never falls.

£67,200 to buy it

deposit · stamp duty · solicitor · fees~£14,105, unseen

□ 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 £120 a month. At £170,469 the rent covers everything — leaving stamp duty of £9,433 at that price.

offer £170,469

asked £200,000

◧ 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 £117,560 of the £150,000 loan

That £32,440 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 £13,631. Lenders test the rent at 7.5% and need it to cover 145% of the payment.

£1,359 needed

more than the £1,065 rent

stressed at 7.5%, 145% cover

◧ rent after empty weeks £1,065PRA-style test

Who has to say yes?Council record

Nottingham council approves 68% — 61% on a cautious reading

A council-wide rate across 180 HMO decisions, not a forecast for this address.

68%

0%50%100%

never approvesalways approves

the band is the cautious reading of the same 180 decisions — as low as 61%

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

How big is it, really?The plan

One figure, and nothing checking it 969 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

Nottingham, NG6 8PF

2 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

What could kill thisThe checks

The council here has taken away the automatic right to rent this out by the room

You would have to apply for permission first, and the council can say no.

2 problems found · 1 came back clear · 5 we could not check · 1 does not apply to this property

■ from the Article 4 maplisting last seen 28 Aug 2026

Which strategy wins?The ways to run it

Rent by the room beats Standard rental by £212 a month

Let it to the council: £2,148 a year less, but they keep paying when it is empty.

Rent by the room+£92 · £107,305 in

Standard rental−£120 · £81,305 in

Guaranteed council rent−£299 · £81,305 in

Housing-benefit rent−£463 · £81,305 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

−£13,935 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 £81,305 you put in. The 5-year fix runs past this 5-year hold, so the rate reset comes after it.

−£81,305+£230,939−£5,773−£150,000−£7,796−£13,935

Cash you put inSale valueSelling costsMortgageRent lossesYou are down

◧ 2.0%/yr growth assumed