Rented normally, it costs you £10 a month. That is £123 a year, every year you hold it.

Will it pay?Calculator

You top up £10 a month — the mortgage takes 61p of every pound of rent

Borrowing £1,898 less would close that shortfall — which is £1,898 more cash at the start, on top of the deposit.

+£1,808−£1,097−£721−£10

Rent inMortgageRunning costsShort by

The rent covers £1,808 of that — you cover £10

□ 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

£92,075 + refurb costs

And about £617 more over five years, because it loses £10 every month you hold it — before any repair. That already assumes the rent never falls.

£92,075 to buy it

deposit · stamp duty · solicitor · fees~£7,123, unseen

□ works not inspected

What would have to be true?

Break-even is within £5,000 of the asked price

It lands that close to the £270,000 asked — inside the step this card rounds to, and inside the confidence band on the rent it works back from. So the price asked is already about the price this rent carries, and there is no honest discount to print.

◧ worked back from the rent

Can we trust the rent?Rent evidence

Nearby lettings, but only by searching 1.5 km

We widened the search to find them, so these are not next-door comparisons.

+68 more

our bar: 10 within 500 m

our own middle half£1,667–£1,961/mo

■ 78 lettings within 1.5 km□ searched wider than our barAdvertised rents, not signed tenancies

What will the rent borrow?Lender test

The rent carries £191,830 of the £202,500 loan

That £10,670 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 rent carries the whole loan. Lenders test the rent at 7.5% and need it to cover 145% of the payment.

£1,835 needed

more than the £1,738 rent

stressed at 7.5%, 145% cover

◧ rent after empty weeks £1,738PRA-style test

How big is it, really?The plan

One figure, and nothing checking it 202 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

3 schools in this postcode area, none rated Good or better 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 to know before you offerThe checks

Every tenancy here is periodic, with no Section 21 to end it

Tenancies are now periodic, with no Section 21 — budget a longer void.

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

■ from the Renters’ Rights Act 2025listing last seen 18 Sep 2026

Which strategy wins?The ways to run it

Every way loses money — Standard rental loses least, at £10 a month

Let it to the council: £3,888 a year less, but they keep paying when it is empty.

Standard rental−£10 · £99,198 in

Guaranteed council rent−£334 · £99,198 in

Housing-benefit rent−£583 · £99,198 in

Short-stay let−£1,161 · £99,198 in

55 nearby short-lets within 5.5 km · medium confidence

Each row: money kept a month, then the cash it ties up. Not compared: Rent by the room (only 1 bedroom) · 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, after 5 years?The five-year sums

−£6,733 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 24% in the price would leave nothing from a sale after selling costs, and you would still owe the lender any shortfall. That is the £99,198 you put in. The 5-year fix runs past this 5-year hold, so the rate reset comes after it.

−£99,198+£303,214−£7,580−£202,500−£668−£6,733

Cash you put inSale valueSelling costsMortgageRent lossesYou are down

◧ 2.0%/yr growth assumed