Rented normally, it costs you £90 a month. That is £1,082 a year, every year you hold it.

Will it pay?Calculator

You top up £90 a month — the mortgage takes 67p of every pound of rent

Borrowing £16,654 less would close that shortfall — which is £16,654 more cash at the start, on top of the deposit.

+£1,190−£792−£488−£90

Rent inMortgageRunning costsShort by

The rent covers £1,190 of that — you cover £90

◧ market rent £1,190 · 129 comps2 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-£90/mo

All-in cash£76,589

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

£65,825 + refurb costs

And about £5,412 more over five years, because it loses £90 every month you hold it — before any repair. That already assumes the rent never falls.

£65,825 to buy it

deposit · stamp duty · solicitor · fees~£10,764, unseen

□ works not inspected

What would have to be true?The working

£20,000 off and it stops losing money

At the asking price you feed it £90 a month. At £172,777 the rent covers everything — leaving stamp duty of £9,594 at that price.

offer £172,777

asked £195,000

◧ 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 £120,000 in 2011

Nothing nearby is comparable, but asking is 63% more than the £120,000 paid for it in 2011.

□ 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.

+119 more

our bar: 10 within 500 m

our own middle half£1,094–£1,294/mo

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

What will the rent borrow?Lender test

The rent carries £126,260 of the £146,250 loan

That £19,990 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 rent carries the whole loan. Lenders test the rent at 7.5% and need it to cover 145% of the payment.

£1,325 needed

more than the £1,144 rent

stressed at 7.5%, 145% cover

◧ rent after empty weeks £1,144PRA-style test

How big is it, really?The plan

Measured off the plan, not by a surveyor 680 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

1 school 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 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 · 2 came back clear · 4 we could not check · 2 do not apply to this property

■ from the Renters’ Rights Act 2025listing last seen 19 Sep 2026

Which strategy wins?The ways to run it

Every way loses money — Standard rental loses least, at £90 a month

Standard rental also ties up the least cash, £76,589.

Standard rental−£90 · £76,589 in

Housing-benefit rent−£405 · £76,589 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) · Short-stay let (no local short-let data) · Guaranteed council rent (no scheme in this borough) · Buy, improve & sell (pays out on sale)

◧ 2 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

−£11,257 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 £76,589 you put in. The 5-year fix runs past this 5-year hold, so the rate reset comes after it.

−£76,589+£223,021−£5,576−£146,250−£5,863−£11,257

Cash you put inSale valueSelling costsMortgageRent lossesYou are down

◧ 2.0%/yr growth assumed