Rented normally, it costs you £14 a month. That is £171 a year, every year you hold it.

Will it pay?Calculator

You top up £14 a month — the mortgage takes 42p of every pound of rent

Borrowing £2,634 less would close that shortfall — which is £2,634 more cash at the start, on top of the deposit.

+£927−£386−£555−£14

Rent inMortgageRunning costsShort by

The rent covers £927 of that — you cover £14

□ 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-£14/mo

All-in cash£40,412

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

£32,925 + refurb costs

And about £856 more over five years, because it loses £14 every month you hold it — before any repair. That already assumes the rent never falls.

£32,925 to buy it

deposit · stamp duty · solicitor · fees~£7,487, unseen

□ works not inspected

What would have to be true?

Break-even is within £5,000 of the asked price

It lands that close to the £95,000 asked — inside the step this card rounds to, and inside the confidence band on the rent it works back from. So the price asked is already about the price this rent carries, and there is no honest discount to print.

◧ worked back from the rent

Is the price right?The deeds

Last sold for £92,000 in 2004

Nothing nearby is comparable, but asking is 3% more than the £92,000 paid for it in 2004.

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

Can we trust the rent?Rent evidence

Nearby lettings, all asking less

Every one of the 4 nearby asking rents we hold is lower than the rent this page uses.

+37 more

our bar: 10 within 500 m

what 4 nearby lettings ask£750–£925/mo

our own middle half£820–£1,048/mo

■ 47 lettings within 500 m□ above every nearby askAdvertised rents, not signed tenancies

What will the rent borrow?Lender test

The rent carries the whole loan — it could fall 28% and still cover it

Your deposit is what limits this one, not the rent. Lenders test the rent at 7.5% and need it to cover 145% of the payment.

£646 needed

of £891 rent

stressed at 7.5%, 145% cover

◧ rent after empty weeks £891PRA-style test

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

No school rated Good or better in this postcode area

3 schools in this postcode area, none rated Good or better 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.

2 problems found · 2 came back clear · 3 we could not check · 2 do not apply to this property

■ from council licensing registerlisting last seen 16 Sep 2026

Which strategy wins?The ways to run it

Short-stay let beats Standard rental by £211 a month

Let it to the council: £252 a year less, but they keep paying when it is empty.

Short-stay let+£197 · £40,412 in

22 nearby short-lets within 5.5 km · medium confidence

Standard rental−£14 · £40,412 in

Guaranteed council rent−£35 · £40,412 in

Housing-benefit rent−£247 · £40,412 in

Each row: money kept a month, then the cash it ties up. Not compared: Rent by the room (only 1 bedroom) · Do it up, then remortgage (pays back at the remortgage) · 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

−£5,085 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 £40,412 you put in. The 5-year fix runs past this 5-year hold, so the rate reset comes after it.

−£40,412+£110,261−£2,757−£71,250−£927−£5,085

Cash you put inSale valueSelling costsMortgageRent lossesYou are down

◧ 2.0%/yr growth assumed