Rented normally, it costs you £457 a month. That is £5,490 a year, every year you hold it.

Will it pay?Calculator

You top up £457 a month — the mortgage takes 87p of every pound of rent

Borrowing £84,459 less would close that shortfall — which is £84,459 more cash at the start, on top of the deposit.

+£1,221−£1,056−£622−£457

Rent inMortgageRunning costsShort by

The rent covers £1,221 of that — you cover £457

□ 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

£88,425 + refurb costs

And about £27,449 more over five years, because it loses £457 every month you hold it — before any repair. That already assumes the rent never falls.

£88,425 to buy it

~£28,319

deposit · stamp duty · solicitor · feeswe haven’t been inside

□ works not inspected

What would have to be true?The search

No offer makes this pay

Even at £156,000 — well below the £260,000 asked — the rent still does not cover the costs. The gap is the rent against the running costs, not the price, so negotiating does not close it.

◧ worked back from the rent■ stamp duty re-bandedtested down to £156,000

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.

+85 more

our bar: 10 within 500 m

what 9 nearby lettings ask£1,100–£1,695/mo

our own middle half£1,155–£1,291/mo

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

What will the rent borrow?Lender test

The rent carries £129,549 of the £195,000 loan

That £65,451 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 £44,723. Lenders test the rent at 7.5% and need it to cover 145% of the payment.

£1,767 needed

more than the £1,174 rent

stressed at 7.5%, 145% cover

◧ rent after empty weeks £1,174PRA-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

2 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 · 1 came back clear · 3 we could not check · 3 do not apply to this property

■ from council licensing registerlisting last seen 19 Sep 2026

Which strategy wins?The ways to run it

Every way loses money — Short-stay let loses least, at £381 a month

Let it to the council: £708 a year less, but they keep paying when it is empty.

Short-stay let−£381 · £116,744 in

50 nearby short-lets within 5.5 km · low confidence

Standard rental−£457 · £116,744 in

Guaranteed council rent−£516 · £116,744 in

Housing-benefit rent−£762 · £116,744 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

−£41,779 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 28% in the price would leave nothing from a sale after selling costs, and you would still owe the lender any shortfall. That is the £116,744 you put in. The 5-year fix runs past this 5-year hold, so the rate reset comes after it.

−£116,744+£307,384−£7,685−£195,000−£29,735−£41,779

Cash you put inSale valueSelling costsMortgageRent lossesYou are down

◧ 2.0%/yr growth assumed