Rented normally, it costs you £535 a month. That is £6,424 a year, every year you hold it.

Will it pay?Calculator

You top up £535 a month — the mortgage takes 93p of every pound of rent

Borrowing £98,836 less would close that shortfall — which is £98,836 more cash at the start, on top of the deposit.

£2,316 mortgage

£2,479 rent in£535 short

◧ market rent £2,479 · 47 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

£201,950 + refurb costs

And about £32,122 more over five years, because it loses £535 every month you hold it — before any repair. That already assumes the rent never falls.

£201,950 to buy it

deposit · stamp duty · solicitor · fees~£23,120, unseen

□ works not inspected

What would have to be true?The working

£130,000 off and it stops losing money

At the asking price you feed it £535 a month. At £438,188 the rent covers everything — leaving stamp duty of £33,819 at that price.

offer £438,188

asked £570,000

◧ 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?Comparables

Nothing nearby is comparable — but it is 418% over its 2001 price

The dearest sold for 2.1× the cheapest, so the rent has to justify this price on its own.

you'd pay £570,000

£390,000

£465,000

£500,000

£500,000

£560,000

£570,000

£590,000

£606,500

£650,000

£780,000

£817,000

£837,500

£390k£613.8k£837.5k

£390,000 cheapest£837,500 dearest

12 completed sales, same property type, last 3 years

□ 12 sold nearby, not matched on sizeHM Land Registry Price Paid Data

What will the rent borrow?Lender test

The rent carries £263,024 of the £427,500 loan

That £164,476 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 £122,392. Lenders test the rent at 7.5% and need it to cover 145% of the payment.

£3,874 needed

more than the £2,384 rent

stressed at 7.5%, 145% cover

◧ rent after empty weeks £2,384PRA-style test

How big is it, really?The plan

One figure, and nothing checking it 1,030 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

No school rated Good or better in this postcode area

5 schools 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 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 · 1 came back clear · 5 we could not check · 1 does not apply to this property

■ from council licensing registerlisting last seen 13 Sep 2026

Which strategy wins?The ways to run it

Every way loses money — Standard rental loses least, at £535 a month

Let it to the council: £3,948 a year less, but they keep paying when it is empty.

Standard rental−£535 · £225,070 in

Guaranteed council rent−£864 · £225,070 in

Rent by the room−£986 · £251,070 in

Housing-benefit rent−£1,287 · £225,070 in

Short-stay let−£2,086 · £225,070 in

22 nearby short-lets within 5.5 km · low confidence

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?The five-year sums

−£57,596 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 25% in the price would leave nothing from a sale after selling costs, and you would still owe the lender any shortfall. That is the £225,070 you put in. The 5-year fix runs past this 5-year hold, so the rate reset comes after it.

◧ 2.0%/yr growth assumed