Rented normally, it costs you £1,320 a month. That is £15,845 a year, every year you hold it.

Will it pay?Calculator

The mortgage alone costs more than the whole rent — you top up £1,320 a month

It is £1,320 a month short. Borrowing £243,769 less would close that shortfall — which is £243,769 more cash at the start, on top of the deposit.

+£1,625−£2,356−£589−£1,320

Rent inMortgageRunning costsShort by

The rent covers £1,625 of that — you cover £1,320

◧ market rent £1,625 · 17 comps2 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-£1,320/mo

All-in cash£225,058

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

£205,600 + refurb costs

And about £79,225 more over five years, because it loses £1,320 every month you hold it — before any repair. That already assumes the rent never falls.

£205,600 to buy it

deposit · stamp duty · solicitor · fees~£19,458, unseen

□ works not inspected

What would have to be true?The search

No offer makes this pay

Even at £348,000 — well below the £580,000 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 £348,000

What will the rent borrow?Lender test

The rent carries £172,414 of the £435,000 loan

That £262,586 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 £235,000. Lenders test the rent at 7.5% and need it to cover 145% of the payment.

£3,942 needed

more than the £1,563 rent

stressed at 7.5%, 145% cover

◧ rent after empty weeks £1,563PRA-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

Leicester City, LE5 6AH

2 of 5 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

Every way loses money — Rent by the room loses least, at £1,122 a month

Let it to the council: £2,472 a year less, but they keep paying when it is empty.

Rent by the room−£1,122 · £271,058 in

Standard rental−£1,320 · £225,058 in

Guaranteed council rent−£1,526 · £225,058 in

Housing-benefit rent−£1,851 · £225,058 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

−£107,907 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 £225,058 you put in. The 5-year fix runs past this 5-year hold, so the rate reset comes after it.

−£225,058+£654,331−£16,358−£435,000−£85,822−£107,907

Cash you put inSale valueSelling costsMortgageRent lossesYou are down

◧ 2.0%/yr growth assumed