Rented normally, it costs you £356 a month. That is £4,276 a year, every year you hold it.

Will it pay?Calculator

You top up £356 a month — the mortgage takes 79p of every pound of rent

Borrowing £65,792 less would close that shortfall — which is £65,792 more cash at the start, on top of the deposit.

+£820−£650−£526−£356

Rent inMortgageRunning costsShort by

The rent covers £820 of that — you cover £356

□ 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-£356/mo

All-in cash£69,534

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

£54,100 + refurb costs

And about £21,382 more over five years, because it loses £356 every month you hold it — before any repair. That already assumes the rent never falls.

£54,100 to buy it

~£15,434

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

□ works not inspected

What would have to be true?The search

No offer makes this pay

Even at £96,000 — well below the £160,000 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 £96,000

What will the rent borrow?Lender test

The rent carries £87,003 of the £120,000 loan

That £32,997 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 £19,077. Lenders test the rent at 7.5% and need it to cover 145% of the payment.

£1,088 needed

more than the £788 rent

stressed at 7.5%, 145% cover

◧ rent after empty weeks £788PRA-style test

Who has to say yes?Council record

Plymouth council approves 97% — 92% on a cautious reading

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

97%

0%50%100%

never approvesalways approves

the band is the cautious reading of the same 105 decisions — as low as 92%

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

How big is it, really?The working

One figure, and nothing checking it 1,076 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

City Centre, PL4 8DW

2 of 4 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 · 3 came back clear · 4 we could not check

■ from the Article 4 maplisting last seen 18 Sep 2026

Which strategy wins?The ways to run it

Short-stay let beats Rent by the room by £857 a month

Your controls are set to Standard rental — £1,438 a month behind Short-stay let.

Short-stay let+£1,082 · £69,534 in

15 nearby short-lets within 20 km · low confidence

Rent by the room+£225 · £95,534 in

Guaranteed council rent−£258 · £69,534 in

Standard rental−£356 · £69,534 in

Housing-benefit rent−£427 · £69,534 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

−£29,661 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 28% in the price would leave nothing from a sale after selling costs, and you would still owe the lender any shortfall. That is the £69,534 you put in. The 5-year fix runs past this 5-year hold, so the rate reset comes after it.

−£69,534+£187,729−£4,693−£120,000−£23,163−£29,661

Cash you put inSale valueSelling costsMortgageRent lossesYou are down

◧ 2.0%/yr growth assumed