Rented normally, it costs you £25 a month. That is £296 a year, every year you hold it.

Will it pay?Calculator

You top up £25 a month — the mortgage takes 58p of every pound of rent

Borrowing £4,547 less would close that shortfall — which is £4,547 more cash at the start, on top of the deposit.

+£763−£439−£349−£25

Rent inMortgageRunning costsShort by

The rent covers £763 of that — you cover £25

◧ market rent £763 · 11 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-£25/mo

All-in cash£47,484

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

£36,720 + refurb costs

And about £1,478 more over five years, because it loses £25 every month you hold it — before any repair. That already assumes the rent never falls.

£36,720 to buy it

~£10,764

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

□ works not inspected

What would have to be true?The working

£5,000 off and it stops losing money

At the asking price you feed it £25 a month. At £101,936 the rent covers everything — leaving stamp duty of £5,097 at that price.

offer £101,936

asked £108,000

◧ 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 £80,955 of the £81,000 loan

That £45 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.

£734 needed

more than the £734 rent

stressed at 7.5%, 145% cover

◧ rent after empty weeks £734PRA-style test

How big is it, really?The plan

Measured off the plan, not by a surveyor 686 sq ft

The area comes off the plan, not a survey. Open for what that means.

□ area off the floorplan — not a survey

Is it a good location?Open the map

Burnley, BB11 5JX

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.

2 problems found · 1 came back clear · 3 we could not check · 3 do not apply to this property

■ from council licensing registerlisting last seen 23 Sep 2026

Which strategy wins?The ways to run it

Short-stay let beats Standard rental by £273 a month

Short-stay let also ties up the least cash, £47,484.

Short-stay let+£248 · £47,484 in

6 nearby short-lets within 20 km · medium confidence

Standard rental−£25 · £47,484 in

Housing-benefit rent−£308 · £47,484 in

Each row: money kept a month, then the cash it ties up. Not compared: Rent by the room (only 2 bedrooms) · Do it up, then remortgage (pays back at the remortgage) · Guaranteed council rent (no scheme in this borough) · Buy, improve & sell (pays out on sale)

◧ 3 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

−£6,293 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 28% in the price would leave nothing from a sale after selling costs, and you would still owe the lender any shortfall. That is the £47,484 you put in. The 5-year fix runs past this 5-year hold, so the rate reset comes after it.

−£47,484+£126,966−£3,174−£81,000−£1,601−£6,293

Cash you put inSale valueSelling costsMortgageRent lossesYou are down

◧ 2.0%/yr growth assumed