Rented normally, it costs you £435 a month. That is £5,221 a year, every year you hold it.

Will it pay?Calculator

The mortgage alone costs more than the whole rent — you top up £435 a month

It is £435 a month short. Borrowing £80,320 less would close that shortfall — which is £80,320 more cash at the start, on top of the deposit.

+£1,198−£1,219−£414−£435

Rent inMortgageRunning costsShort by

The rent covers £1,198 of that — you cover £435

◧ market rent £1,198 · 23 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

£102,650 + refurb costs

And about £26,104 more over five years, because it loses £435 every month you hold it — before any repair. That already assumes the rent never falls.

£102,650 to buy it

deposit · stamp duty · solicitor · fees~£17,630, unseen

□ works not inspected

What would have to be true?The working

£105,000 off and it stops losing money

At the asking price you feed it £435 a month. At £192,891 the rent covers everything — leaving stamp duty of £11,002 at that price.

offer £192,891

asked £300,000

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

Is the price right?The deeds

Last sold for £113,000 in 2013

Nothing nearby is comparable, but asking is 165% more than the £113,000 paid for it in 2013.

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

What will the rent borrow?Lender test

The rent carries £127,109 of the £225,000 loan

That £97,891 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 £77,554. Lenders test the rent at 7.5% and need it to cover 145% of the payment.

£2,039 needed

more than the £1,152 rent

stressed at 7.5%, 145% cover

◧ rent after empty weeks £1,152PRA-style test

Who has to say yes?Council record

Birmingham council approves 50% — 45% on a cautious reading

A council-wide rate, not a forecast — and Birmingham council refuses schemes that sandwich a family home. Check both neighbours.

50%

0%50%100%

never approvesalways approves

the band is the cautious reading of the same 393 decisions — as low as 45%

■ Article 4 — planning permission requireddecision record held for this authority

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

Birmingham, B14 4LH

1 of 5 schools in this postcode area rated Good or Outstanding and flood risk checking… — open for the map, the schools and the rest.

Article 4Planning permission required to let by the room

■ postcode area, not this address

What could kill thisThe checks

The council here has taken away the automatic right to rent this out by the room

You would have to apply for permission first, and the council can say no.

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

■ from the Article 4 maplisting last seen 23 Sep 2026

Which strategy wins?The ways to run it

Every way loses money — Short-stay let loses least, at £201 a month

Your controls are set to Standard rental — £234 a month behind Short-stay let.

Short-stay let−£201 · £120,280 in

74 nearby short-lets within 11.1 km · medium confidence

Rent by the room−£262 · £146,280 in

Standard rental−£435 · £120,280 in

Guaranteed council rent−£541 · £120,280 in

Housing-benefit rent−£794 · £120,280 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

−£38,278 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 £120,280 you put in. The 5-year fix runs past this 5-year hold, so the rate reset comes after it.

−£120,280+£343,876−£8,597−£225,000−£28,278−£38,278

Cash you put inSale valueSelling costsMortgageRent lossesYou are down

◧ 2.0%/yr growth assumed