Rented normally, it costs you £17 a month. That is £199 a year, every year you hold it.

Will it pay?Calculator

You top up £17 a month — the mortgage takes 56p of every pound of rent

Borrowing £3,054 less would close that shortfall — which is £3,054 more cash at the start, on top of the deposit.

+£1,433−£808−£641−£17

Rent inMortgageRunning costsShort by

The rent covers £1,433 of that — you cover £17

□ 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-£17/mo

All-in cash£84,088

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

£72,735 + refurb costs

And about £993 more over five years, because it loses £17 every month you hold it — before any repair. That already assumes the rent never falls.

£72,735 to buy it

deposit · stamp duty · solicitor · fees~£11,353, unseen

□ works not inspected

What would have to be true?

Break-even is within £5,000 of the asked price

It lands that close to the £199,000 asked — inside the step this card rounds to, and inside the confidence band on the rent it works back from. So the price asked is already about the price this rent carries, and there is no honest discount to print.

◧ worked back from the rent

Is the price right?The deeds

Last sold for £172,000 in 2002

Nothing nearby is comparable, but asking is 16% more than the £172,000 paid for it in 2002.

□ this address’s own deeds, no comparable saleHM Land Registry Price Paid Data

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.

+134 more

our bar: 10 within 500 m

our own middle half£1,322–£1,553/mo

■ 144 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 2% 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.

£1,353 needed

of £1,378 rent

stressed at 7.5%, 145% cover

◧ rent after empty weeks £1,378PRA-style test

How big is it, really?The plan

The plan and the advert, side by side 656 sq ft

Two figures for this house, and neither is a survey. Open for both.

AdvertFloorplan

646 sq ft656 sq ft666 sq ft

646 sq ft666 sq ft

neither is a survey — a tape measure settles it

□ area off the floorplan — not a survey

Is it a good location?Open the map

City Centre, G1 1JG

No schools in this postcode area 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 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 · 4 we could not check · 3 do not apply to this property

■ from the Renters’ Rights Act 2025listing last seen 11 Sep 2026

Which strategy wins?The ways to run it

Every way loses money — Standard rental loses least, at £17 a month

Let it to the council: £3,444 a year less, but they keep paying when it is empty.

Standard rental−£17 · £84,088 in

Short-stay let−£274 · £84,088 in

6 nearby short-lets within 5.5 km · low confidence

Guaranteed council rent−£304 · £84,088 in

Housing-benefit rent−£546 · £84,088 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) · 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, after 5 years?The five-year sums

−£12,250 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 26% in the price would leave nothing from a sale after selling costs, and you would still owe the lender any shortfall. That is the £84,088 you put in. The 5-year fix runs past this 5-year hold, so the rate reset comes after it.

−£84,088+£227,860−£5,696−£149,250−£1,075−£12,250

Cash you put inSale valueSelling costsMortgageRent lossesYou are down

◧ 2.0%/yr growth assumed