Rented normally, you'd make about £87 a month.

Will it pay?Calculator

£87 of every £991 is yours to keep, each month

You keep 9p of every pound of rent. The mortgage takes 33p.

£520 running

£991 rent in£87 yours

£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

£28,200 + refurb costs

£8,200 of that never comes back — land transaction tax, solicitor and lender fees.

£28,200 to buy it

~£22,655

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

□ works not inspected

What would have to be true?

Nothing — it works at the asking price

The rent covers the mortgage, the running costs and the tax at the £80,000 asked, so there is no discount this card has to name. A lower price would be upside, not a condition.

◧ worked back from the rent

Can we trust the rent?Rent evidence

Nearby lettings back this rent

We hold too few nearby asking rents to cross-check this figure, so nothing here confirms it a second way.

+109 more

our bar: 10 within 500 m

our own middle half£872–£1,126/mo

■ 119 lettings within 500 m□ no nearby asks to cross-checkAdvertised rents, not signed tenancies

What will the rent borrow?Lender test

The rent carries the whole loan — it could fall 43% 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.

£544 needed

of £953 rent

stressed at 7.5%, 145% cover

◧ rent after empty weeks £953PRA-style test

How big is it, really?The plan

Measured off the plan, not by a surveyor 485 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

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 could kill thisThe checks

The area is mapped as high flood risk

Flood maps cover areas, not buildings — treat it as a reason to search, not a verdict.

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

■ from the flood maplisting last seen 13 Sep 2026

Which strategy wins?The ways to run it

Nothing here beats a plain let

Let it to the council: £1,356 a year less, but they keep paying when it is empty.

Standard rental+£87 · £50,855 in

Guaranteed council rent−£26 · £50,855 in

Housing-benefit rent−£214 · £50,855 in

Short-stay let−£251 · £50,855 in

36 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?The five-year sums

−£3,215 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 35% in the price would leave nothing from a sale after selling costs, and you would still owe the lender any shortfall. That is the £50,855 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