Rented normally, it costs you £335 a month. That is £4,026 a year, every year you hold it.

Will it pay?Calculator

You top up £335 a month — the mortgage takes 89p of every pound of rent

Borrowing £64,411 less would close that shortfall — which is £64,411 more cash at the start, on top of the deposit.

+£1,621−£1,445−£511−£335

Rent inMortgageRunning costsShort by

The rent covers £1,621 of that — you cover £335

◧ market rent £1,621 · 9 comps2 empty weeks a year assumed

What if I change my assumptions?The dials

At the asking price, 25% deposit, 6.25% charged

Change any of these 16 and every card on this page changes with it. The 6.25% is the 5.50% quoted plus a company premium.

◧ worked out from local rents

What will it cost me to buy?Breakdown

£128,200 + refurb costs

And about £20,129 more over five years, because it loses £335 every month you hold it — before any repair. That already assumes the rent never falls.

£128,200 to buy it

deposit · stamp duty · solicitor · fees~£22,701, unseen

□ works not inspected

What would have to be true?The working

£85,000 off and it stops losing money

At the asking price you feed it £335 a month. At £284,112 the rent covers everything — leaving stamp duty of £18,411 at that price.

offer £284,112

asked £370,000

◧ 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 £92,500 in 2001

Nothing nearby is comparable, but asking is 300% more than the £92,500 paid for it in 2001.

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

What will the rent borrow?Lender test

The rent carries £171,989 of the £277,500 loan

That £105,511 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 £77,992. Lenders test the rent at 7.5% and need it to cover 145% of the payment.

£2,515 needed

more than the £1,559 rent

stressed at 7.5%, 145% cover

◧ rent after empty weeks £1,559PRA-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, B13 0HB

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 — Rent by the room loses least, at £37 a month

Rent by the room needs £34,000 more cash than the others.

Rent by the room−£37 · £184,901 in

Standard rental−£335 · £150,901 in

Short-stay let−£444 · £150,901 in

16 nearby short-lets within 5.5 km · low confidence

Housing-benefit rent−£831 · £150,901 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) · Guaranteed council rent (no scheme in this borough) · 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

−£36,024 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 £150,901 you put in. The 5-year fix runs past this 5-year hold, so the rate reset comes after it.

−£150,901+£424,801−£10,620−£277,500−£21,805−£36,024

Cash you put inSale valueSelling costsMortgageRent lossesYou are down

◧ 2.0%/yr growth assumed