Rented normally, it costs you £208 a month. That is £2,500 a year, every year you hold it.

What could kill thisThe checks

You would not own it outright — 45 years left, and buying more years is expensive

Nobody has priced those extra years here, and they cost more every year you leave it.

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

■ from the listinglisting last seen 16 Sep 2026

Will it pay?Calculator

You top up £208 a month — the mortgage takes 78p of every pound of rent

Borrowing £38,458 less would close that shortfall — which is £38,458 more cash at the start, on top of the deposit.

£609 mortgage

£348 running

£779 rent in£208 short

£25 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

£50,750 + refurb costs

And about £12,499 more over five years, because it loses £208 every month you hold it — before any repair. That already assumes the rent never falls.

£50,750 to buy it

deposit · stamp duty · solicitor · fees~£13,512, unseen

□ works not inspected

What would have to be true?The working

£50,000 off and it stops losing money

At the asking price you feed it £208 a month. At £98,716 the rent covers everything — leaving stamp duty of £4,936 at that price.

offer £98,716

asked £150,000

◧ 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 £82,653 of the £112,500 loan

That £29,847 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 £16,623. Lenders test the rent at 7.5% and need it to cover 145% of the payment.

£1,020 needed

more than the £749 rent

stressed at 7.5%, 145% cover

◧ rent after empty weeks £749PRA-style test

How big is it, really?The plan

One figure, and nothing checking it 864 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

Southport, PR9 7AA

3 of 4 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

Which strategy wins?The ways to run it

Every way loses money — Standard rental loses least, at £208 a month

Let it to the council: £792 a year less, but they keep paying when it is empty.

Standard rental−£208 · £64,262 in

Guaranteed council rent−£274 · £64,262 in

Housing-benefit rent−£397 · £64,262 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) · Short-stay let (no local short-let data) · 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

−£19,375 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 £64,262 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