Rented normally, it costs you £1,226 a month. That is £14,711 a year, every year you hold it.

Will it pay?Calculator

The mortgage alone costs more than the whole rent — you top up £1,226 a month

It is £1,226 a month short. Borrowing £226,316 less would close that shortfall — which is £226,316 more cash at the start, on top of the deposit.

£1,869 mortgage

£1,279 rent in£1,226 short

£175 of that is a guess — no service charge published.

□ 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

£161,425 + refurb costs

And about £73,553 more over five years, because it loses £1,226 every month you hold it — before any repair. That already assumes the rent never falls.

£161,425 to buy it

deposit · stamp duty · solicitor · fees~£35,132, unseen

□ works not inspected

What would have to be true?The search

No offer makes this pay

Even at £276,000 — well below the £460,000 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 £276,000

What will the rent borrow?Lender test

The rent carries £135,703 of the £345,000 loan

That £209,297 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 £187,585. Lenders test the rent at 7.5% and need it to cover 145% of the payment.

£3,127 needed

more than the £1,230 rent

stressed at 7.5%, 145% cover

◧ rent after empty weeks £1,230PRA-style test

How big is it, really?The working

One figure, and nothing checking it 2,662 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

Nearest stop up to 1.5 km away

More than nine in ten listings we cover have one closer — and that is a straight line, not the walk.

Article 4Not assessed for this address

■ postcode area, not this address■ nearest stop in our data□ kind of stop not recordedstraight-line distance, not the walk

What could kill thisThe checks

The property is being sold at auction, so the price shown is a guide, not what it will cost

Every figure on this page is worked from that price, so paying more than it cuts the return.

2 problems found · 7 we could not check

■ from the listinglisting last seen 15 Sep 2026

Which strategy wins?The ways to run it

Every way loses money — Standard rental loses least, at £1,226 a month

Standard rental also ties up the least cash, £196,557.

Standard rental−£1,226 · £196,557 in

Rent by the room−£1,670 · £196,557 in

Housing-benefit rent−£1,728 · £196,557 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) · 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?The five-year sums

−£101,471 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 27% in the price would leave nothing from a sale after selling costs, and you would still owe the lender any shortfall. That is the £196,557 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