Rented normally, it costs you £462 a month. That is £5,549 a year, every year you hold it.

Will it pay?Calculator

The mortgage alone costs more than the whole rent — you top up £462 a month

It is £462 a month short. Borrowing £85,366 less would close that shortfall — which is £85,366 more cash at the start, on top of the deposit.

+£1,089−£1,097−£455−£462

Rent inMortgageRunning costsShort by

The rent covers £1,089 of that — you cover £462

◧ market rent £1,089 · 5 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

£91,700 + refurb costs

And about £27,744 more over five years, because it loses £462 every month you hold it — before any repair. That already assumes the rent never falls.

£91,700 to buy it

deposit · stamp duty · solicitor · fees~£19,458, unseen

□ works not inspected

What would have to be true?The search

No offer makes this pay

Even at £162,000 — well below the £270,000 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 £162,000

Is the price right?The deeds

Last sold for £215,000 in 2025

Nothing nearby is comparable, but asking is 26% more than the £215,000 paid for it in 2025.

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

What will the rent borrow?Lender test

The rent carries £115,544 of the £202,500 loan

That £86,956 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 £68,469. Lenders test the rent at 7.5% and need it to cover 145% of the payment.

£1,835 needed

more than the £1,047 rent

stressed at 7.5%, 145% cover

◧ rent after empty weeks £1,047PRA-style test

Who has to say yes?Council record

County Durham council approves 0% — 0% on a cautious reading

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

0%

0%50%100%

never approvesalways approves

the band is the cautious reading of the same 3 decisions — as low as 0%

■ 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

Durham, DL16 6FN

3 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

You would need a licence from the council first

Letting without the council’s licence is an offence, and the fee is in no figure here.

3 problems found · 1 came back clear · 4 we could not check · 1 does not apply to this property

■ from council licensing registerlisting last seen 21 Aug 2026

Which strategy wins?The ways to run it

Rent by the room beats Standard rental by £500 a month

Let it to the council: £2,964 a year less, but they keep paying when it is empty.

Rent by the room+£38 · £145,158 in

Standard rental−£462 · £111,158 in

Guaranteed council rent−£709 · £111,158 in

Housing-benefit rent−£857 · £111,158 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) · Short-stay let (no local short-let data) · 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

−£39,448 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 27% in the price would leave nothing from a sale after selling costs, and you would still owe the lender any shortfall. That is the £111,158 you put in. The 5-year fix runs past this 5-year hold, so the rate reset comes after it.

−£111,158+£312,066−£7,802−£202,500−£30,054−£39,448

Cash you put inSale valueSelling costsMortgageRent lossesYou are down

◧ 2.0%/yr growth assumed