Rented normally, it costs you £194 a month. That is £2,331 a year, every year you hold it.

Will it pay?Calculator

You top up £194 a month — the mortgage takes 73p of every pound of rent

Borrowing £35,860 less would close that shortfall — which is £35,860 more cash at the start, on top of the deposit.

+£2,373−£1,727−£841−£194

Rent inMortgageRunning costsShort by

The rent covers £2,373 of that — you cover £194

□ 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

Try your own numbersLive

You keep-£194/mo

All-in cash£167,650

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

£166,000 + refurb costs

And about £11,654 more over five years, because it loses £194 every month you hold it — before any repair. That already assumes the rent never falls.

£166,000 to buy it

deposit · stamp duty · solicitor · fees~£1,650, unseen

□ works not inspected

What would have to be true?The working

£45,000 off and it stops losing money

At the asking price you feed it £194 a month. At £377,146 the rent covers everything — leaving LBTT of £41,236 at that price.

offer £377,146

asked £425,000

◧ worked back from the rent■ LBTT re-bandedrounded down to £5,000 — the rent it works back from is an estimate

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.

+60 more

our bar: 10 within 500 m

our own middle half£2,237–£2,517/mo

■ 70 lettings within 1 km□ no nearby asks to cross-checkAdvertised rents, not signed tenancies

What will the rent borrow?Lender test

The rent carries £251,777 of the £318,750 loan

That £66,973 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 £26,688. Lenders test the rent at 7.5% and need it to cover 145% of the payment.

£2,889 needed

more than the £2,282 rent

stressed at 7.5%, 145% cover

◧ rent after empty weeks £2,282PRA-style test

How big is it, really?The plan

One figure, and nothing checking it 1,066 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 to know before you offerThe checks

Every tenancy here is periodic, with no Section 21 to end it

Tenancies are now periodic, with no Section 21 — budget a longer void.

1 problem found · 1 came back clear · 5 we could not check · 2 do not apply to this property

■ from the Renters’ Rights Act 2025listing last seen 20 Sep 2026

Which strategy wins?The ways to run it

Short-stay let beats Standard rental by £223 a month

Let it to the council: £7,392 a year less, but they keep paying when it is empty.

Short-stay let+£29 · £167,650 in

34 nearby short-lets within 5.5 km · medium confidence

Standard rental−£194 · £167,650 in

Rent by the room−£567 · £193,650 in

Guaranteed council rent−£810 · £167,650 in

Housing-benefit rent−£1,095 · £167,650 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) · Buy, improve & sell (pays out on sale)

◧ 5 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

−£40,367 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 23% in the price would leave nothing from a sale after selling costs, and you would still owe the lender any shortfall. That is the £167,650 you put in. The 5-year fix runs past this 5-year hold, so the rate reset comes after it.

−£167,650+£470,418−£11,760−£318,750−£12,625−£40,367

Cash you put inSale valueSelling costsMortgageRent lossesYou are down

◧ 2.0%/yr growth assumed