Rented normally, it costs you £168 a month. That is £2,015 a year, every year you hold it.

Will it pay?Calculator

You top up £168 a month — the mortgage takes 44p of every pound of rent

Borrowing £31,006 less would close that shortfall — which is £31,006 more cash at the start, on top of the deposit.

£455 running

£552 rent in£168 short

£175 of that is a guess — no service charge published.

□ 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

£21,900 + refurb costs

And about £10,077 more over five years, because it loses £168 every month you hold it — before any repair. That already assumes the rent never falls.

£21,900 to buy it

~£10,764

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 £36,000 — well below the £60,000 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 £36,000

Is the price right?The deeds

Last sold for £79,000 in 2006

Nothing nearby is comparable, but asking is 24% less than the £79,000 paid for it in 2006.

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

What will the rent borrow?Lender test

The rent carries the whole loan — it could fall 23% 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.

£408 needed

of £531 rent

stressed at 7.5%, 145% cover

◧ rent after empty weeks £531PRA-style test

How big is it, really?The plan

Measured off the plan, not by a surveyor 657 sq ft

The area comes off the plan, not a survey. Open for what that means.

□ area off the floorplan — not a survey

Is it a good location?Open the map

Durham, TS22 5HG

1 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 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 14 Sep 2026

Which strategy wins?The ways to run it

Every way loses money — Standard rental loses least, at £168 a month

Let it to the council: £24 a year less, but they keep paying when it is empty.

Standard rental−£168 · £32,664 in

Guaranteed council rent−£170 · £32,664 in

Housing-benefit rent−£265 · £32,664 in

Each row: money kept a month, then the cash it ties up. Not compared: Rent by the room (only 2 bedrooms) · 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)

◧ 3 ways, one measureranked on money kept each month, at the asking price

What would you walk away with?The five-year sums

−£16,459 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 31% in the price would leave nothing from a sale after selling costs, and you would still owe the lender any shortfall. That is the £32,664 you put in. The 5-year fix runs past this 5-year hold, so the rate reset comes after it.

◧ 2.0%/yr growth assumed