Rented normally, it costs you £865 a month. That is £10,377 a year, every year you hold it.

Will it pay?Calculator

The mortgage alone costs more than the whole rent — you top up £865 a month

It is £865 a month short. Borrowing £159,647 less would close that shortfall — which is £159,647 more cash at the start, on top of the deposit.

£1,706 mortgage

£1,365 rent in£865 short

◧ market rent £1,365 · 20 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

£146,432 + refurb costs

And about £51,885 more over five years, because it loses £865 every month you hold it — before any repair. That already assumes the rent never falls.

£146,432 to buy it

deposit · stamp duty · solicitor · fees~£20,539, unseen

□ works not inspected

What would have to be true?The search

No offer makes this pay

Even at £251,970 — well below the £419,950 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 £251,970

What will the rent borrow?Lender test

The rent carries £144,828 of the £314,963 loan

That £170,135 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 £146,963. Lenders test the rent at 7.5% and need it to cover 145% of the payment.

£2,854 needed

more than the £1,313 rent

stressed at 7.5%, 145% cover

◧ rent after empty weeks £1,313PRA-style test

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

Gateshead, NE11 9QH

2 of 3 schools in this postcode area rated Good or Outstanding 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 · 1 came back clear · 5 we could not check · 1 does not apply to this property

■ from council licensing registerlisting last seen 15 Sep 2026

Which strategy wins?The ways to run it

Every way loses money — Rent by the room loses least, at £443 a month

Your controls are set to Standard rental — £422 a month behind Rent by the room.

Rent by the room−£443 · £200,971 in

Short-stay let−£828 · £166,971 in

35 nearby short-lets within 5.5 km · medium confidence

Standard rental−£865 · £166,971 in

Guaranteed council rent−£1,099 · £166,971 in

Housing-benefit rent−£1,280 · £166,971 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) · 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?The five-year sums

−£71,700 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 £166,971 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