Rented normally, it costs you £177 a month. That is £2,126 a year, every year you hold it.

Will it pay?Calculator

You top up £177 a month — the mortgage takes 79p of every pound of rent

Borrowing £32,712 less would close that shortfall — which is £32,712 more cash at the start, on top of the deposit.

+£1,153−£914−£416−£177

Rent inMortgageRunning costsShort by

The rent covers £1,153 of that — you cover £177

◧ market rent £1,153 · 39 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

£75,575 + refurb costs

And about £10,632 more over five years, because it loses £177 every month you hold it — before any repair. That already assumes the rent never falls.

£75,575 to buy it

deposit · stamp duty · solicitor · fees~£1,575, unseen

□ works not inspected

What would have to be true?The working

£40,000 off and it stops losing money

At the asking price you feed it £177 a month. At £181,362 the rent covers everything — leaving stamp duty of £10,195 at that price.

offer £181,362

asked £225,000

◧ 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 £122,334 of the £168,750 loan

That £46,416 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 £26,842. Lenders test the rent at 7.5% and need it to cover 145% of the payment.

£1,529 needed

more than the £1,109 rent

stressed at 7.5%, 145% cover

◧ rent after empty weeks £1,109PRA-style test

Who has to say yes?Council record

Birmingham council approves 50% — 45% on a cautious reading

A council-wide rate, not a forecast — and Birmingham council refuses schemes that sandwich a family home. Check both neighbours.

50%

0%50%100%

never approvesalways approves

the band is the cautious reading of the same 393 decisions — as low as 45%

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

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

Birmingham, B11 3RA

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

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.

3 problems found · 1 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

Rent by the room beats Short-stay let by £104 a month

Your controls are set to Standard rental — £188 a month behind Rent by the room.

Rent by the room+£11 · £103,150 in

Short-stay let−£93 · £77,150 in

12 nearby short-lets within 5.5 km · low confidence

Standard rental−£177 · £77,150 in

Guaranteed council rent−£244 · £77,150 in

Housing-benefit rent−£496 · £77,150 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, after 5 years?The five-year sums

−£14,107 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 23% in the price would leave nothing from a sale after selling costs, and you would still owe the lender any shortfall. That is the £77,150 you put in. The 5-year fix runs past this 5-year hold, so the rate reset comes after it.

−£77,150+£249,548−£6,239−£168,750−£11,517−£14,107

Cash you put inSale valueSelling costsMortgageRent lossesYou are down

◧ 2.0%/yr growth assumed