Rented normally, it costs you £270 a month. That is £3,239 a year, every year you hold it.

Will it pay?Calculator

You top up £270 a month — the mortgage takes 55p of every pound of rent

Borrowing £49,825 less would close that shortfall — which is £49,825 more cash at the start, on top of the deposit.

£548 mortgage

£688 running

£1,005 rent in£270 short

◧ market rent £1,005 · 26 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

£45,725 + refurb costs

And about £16,193 more over five years, because it loses £270 every month you hold it — before any repair. That already assumes the rent never falls.

£45,725 to buy it

deposit · stamp duty · solicitor · fees~£6,417, unseen

□ works not inspected

What would have to be true?The search

No offer makes this pay

Even at £81,000 — well below the £135,000 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 £81,000

Is the price right?Comparables

We can't tell — nothing nearby is alike enough

The dearest sold for 2.7× the cheapest, so the rent has to justify this price on its own.

you'd pay £135,000

£115,000

£120,000

£120,000

£135,000

£173,500

£190,000

£200,000

£205,000

£208,995

£210,000

£260,000

£315,000

£115k£215k£315k

£115,000 cheapest£315,000 dearest

12 completed sales, same property type, last 3 years

□ 12 sold nearby, not matched on sizeHM Land Registry Price Paid Data

What will the rent borrow?Lender test

The rent carries the whole loan — it could fall 5% and still cover it

Your deposit is what limits this one, not the rent. Lenders test the rent at 7.5% and need it to cover 145% of the payment.

£918 needed

of £966 rent

stressed at 7.5%, 145% cover

◧ rent after empty weeks £966PRA-style test

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

No school rated Good or better in this postcode area

2 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 could kill thisThe checks

£4,068 a year in charges for the building, owed even when nobody is living there

The contract the property is sold under sets these charges, and they can go up over the years.

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

■ from the listinglisting last seen 17 Sep 2026

Which strategy wins?The ways to run it

Every way loses money — Guaranteed council rent loses least, at £226 a month

Let it to the council and you keep £44 a month more, and they keep paying when it is empty.

Guaranteed council rent−£226 · £52,142 in

Standard rental−£270 · £52,142 in

Housing-benefit rent−£416 · £52,142 in

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) · 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

−£21,119 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 25% in the price would leave nothing from a sale after selling costs, and you would still owe the lender any shortfall. That is the £52,142 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