Rented normally, it costs you £80 a month. That is £959 a year, every year you hold it.

Will it pay?Calculator

You top up £80 a month — the mortgage takes 47p of every pound of rent

Borrowing £14,755 less would close that shortfall — which is £14,755 more cash at the start, on top of the deposit.

+£854−£402−£532−£80

Rent inMortgageRunning costsShort by

The rent covers £854 of that — you cover £80

□ 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

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

£37,155 + refurb costs

And about £4,796 more over five years, because it loses £80 every month you hold it — before any repair. That already assumes the rent never falls.

£37,155 to buy it

deposit · stamp duty · solicitor · fees~£8,551, unseen

□ works not inspected

What would have to be true?The working

£15,000 off and it stops losing money

At the asking price you feed it £80 a month. At £79,326 the rent covers everything — leaving LBTT of £6,346 at that price.

offer £79,326

asked £99,000

◧ worked back from the rent■ LBTT re-bandedrounded down to £5,000 — the rent it works back from is an estimate

Can we trust the rent?Rent evidence

Nearby lettings, but only by searching 1.5 km

We widened the search to find them, so these are not next-door comparisons.

+126 more

our bar: 10 within 500 m

our own middle half£777–£939/mo

■ 136 lettings within 1.5 km□ searched wider than our barAdvertised rents, not signed tenancies

What will the rent borrow?Lender test

The rent carries the whole loan — it could fall 18% 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.

£673 needed

of £821 rent

stressed at 7.5%, 145% cover

◧ rent after empty weeks £821PRA-style test

How big is it, really?The plan

The plan and the advert, side by side 453 sq ft

Two figures for this house, and neither is a survey. Open for both.

AdvertFloorplan

443 sq ft453 sq ft463 sq ft

443 sq ft463 sq ft

neither is a survey — a tape measure settles it

□ area off the floorplan — not a survey

Is it a good location?Open the map

Cathcart, G44 4AQ

No schools in this postcode area 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 to know before you offerThe checks

Every tenancy here is periodic, with no Section 21 to end it

Tenancies are now periodic, with no Section 21 — budget a longer void.

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

■ from the Renters’ Rights Act 2025listing last seen 18 Sep 2026

Which strategy wins?The ways to run it

Short-stay let beats Guaranteed council rent by £190 a month

Your controls are set to Standard rental — £212 a month behind Short-stay let.

Short-stay let+£132 · £45,706 in

6 nearby short-lets within 11.1 km · low confidence

Guaranteed council rent−£58 · £45,706 in

Standard rental−£80 · £45,706 in

Housing-benefit rent−£256 · £45,706 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

−£12,596 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 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 £45,706 you put in. The 5-year fix runs past this 5-year hold, so the rate reset comes after it.

−£45,706+£115,441−£2,886−£74,250−£5,195−£12,596

Cash you put inSale valueSelling costsMortgageRent lossesYou are down

◧ 2.0%/yr growth assumed