Let by the room, it costs you £114 a month. That is £1,369 a year, every year you hold it.

Will it pay?Calculator

You top up £114 a month — the mortgage takes 62p of every pound of rent

Borrowing £20,433 less would close that shortfall — which is £20,433 more cash at the start, on top of the deposit.

+£3,523−£2,178−£1,460−£114

Rent inMortgageRunning costsShort by

The rent covers £3,523 of that — you cover £114

□ market rent £3,523 · few comparables4 empty weeks a year assumed

What if I change my assumptions?The dials

At the asking price, 25% deposit, 6.70% charged

Try your own numbersLive

You keep-£114/mo

All-in cash£208,965

PaybackNever

Offer−+

Deposit−+

Mortgage rate−+

Rent per double−+

Worked at 6.70% — 5.95% quoted plus a company premium.

◧ worked out from local rents

What will it cost me to buy?Breakdown

£183,700 + refurb and conversion costs

And about £6,845 more over five years, because it loses £114 every month you hold it — before any repair. That already assumes the rent never falls.

£183,700 to buy it

deposit · stamp duty · solicitor · fees~£25,265, unseen

□ works not inspected

What would have to be true?The working

£25,000 off and it stops losing money

At the asking price you feed it £114 a month. At £492,730 the rent covers everything — leaving stamp duty of £39,273 at that price.

offer £492,730

asked £520,000

◧ 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 £310,000 in 2013

Nothing nearby is comparable, but asking is 68% more than the £310,000 paid for it in 2013.

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

What will the rent borrow?Lender test

The rent carries £388,745 of the £390,000 loan

That £1,255 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.

£3,534 needed

more than the £3,523 rent

stressed at 7.5%, 145% cover

◧ market rent £3,523PRA-style test

Who has to say yes?Council record

Leicester council approves 61% — 54% on a cautious reading

A council-wide rate across 225 HMO decisions, not a forecast for this address.

61%

0%50%100%

never approvesalways approves

the band is the cautious reading of the same 225 decisions — as low as 54%

■ Article 4 — planning permission requireddecision record held for this authority

How big is it, really?The working

One figure, and nothing checking it 1,787 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

Leicester City, LE2 1XR

1 of 4 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.

3 problems found · 2 came back clear · 3 we could not check · 1 does not apply to this property

■ from the Article 4 maplisting last seen 16 Sep 2026

Which strategy wins?The ways to run it

Every way loses money — Rent by the room loses least, at £114 a month

Let it to the council and you keep £87 a month more, and they keep paying when it is empty.

Rent by the room−£114 · £208,965 in

Guaranteed council rent−£1,782 · £207,965 in

Standard rental−£1,869 · £207,965 in

Housing-benefit rent−£1,910 · £207,965 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

−£29,632 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 £208,965 you put in. The 5-year fix runs past this 5-year hold, so the rate reset comes after it.

−£208,965+£591,536−£14,788−£390,000−£7,415−£29,632

Cash you put inSale valueSelling costsMortgageRent lossesYou are down

◧ 2.0%/yr growth assumed