Rented normally, it costs you £125 a month. That is £1,500 a year, every year you hold it.

Will it pay?Calculator

You top up £125 a month — the mortgage takes 73p of every pound of rent

Borrowing £23,079 less would close that shortfall — which is £23,079 more cash at the start, on top of the deposit.

+£1,808−£1,320−£613−£125

Rent inMortgageRunning costsShort by

The rent covers £1,808 of that — you cover £125

◧ market rent £1,808 · 1 comp2 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-£125/mo

All-in cash£129,358

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

£111,775 + refurb costs

And about £7,501 more over five years, because it loses £125 every month you hold it — before any repair. That already assumes the rent never falls.

£111,775 to buy it

deposit · stamp duty · solicitor · fees~£17,583, unseen

□ works not inspected

What would have to be true?The working

£30,000 off and it stops losing money

At the asking price you feed it £125 a month. At £294,214 the rent covers everything — leaving stamp duty of £19,421 at that price.

offer £294,214

asked £325,000

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

What will the rent borrow?Lender test

The rent carries £191,830 of the £243,750 loan

That £51,920 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 £21,227. Lenders test the rent at 7.5% and need it to cover 145% of the payment.

£2,209 needed

more than the £1,738 rent

stressed at 7.5%, 145% cover

◧ rent after empty weeks £1,738PRA-style test

How big is it, really?The plan

One figure, and nothing checking it 1,249 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, LE3 2DZ

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 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 15 Sep 2026

Which strategy wins?The ways to run it

Rent by the room beats Standard rental by £353 a month

Let it to the council: £4,236 a year less, but they keep paying when it is empty.

Rent by the room+£228 · £171,358 in

Standard rental−£125 · £129,358 in

Guaranteed council rent−£478 · £129,358 in

Housing-benefit rent−£800 · £129,358 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

−£19,074 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 26% in the price would leave nothing from a sale after selling costs, and you would still owe the lender any shortfall. That is the £129,358 you put in. The 5-year fix runs past this 5-year hold, so the rate reset comes after it.

−£129,358+£371,445−£9,286−£243,750−£8,125−£19,074

Cash you put inSale valueSelling costsMortgageRent lossesYou are down

◧ 2.0%/yr growth assumed