Rented normally, it costs you £389 a month. That is £4,665 a year, every year you hold it.

Will it pay?Calculator

The mortgage alone costs more than the whole rent — you top up £389 a month

It is £389 a month short. Borrowing £71,769 less would close that shortfall — which is £71,769 more cash at the start, on top of the deposit.

+£975−£975−£389−£389

Rent inMortgageRunning costsShort by

The rent covers £975 of that — you cover £389

◧ market rent £975 · 21 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-£389/mo

All-in cash£91,364

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

£80,600 + refurb costs

And about £23,325 more over five years, because it loses £389 every month you hold it — before any repair. That already assumes the rent never falls.

£80,600 to buy it

deposit · stamp duty · solicitor · fees~£10,764, unseen

□ works not inspected

What would have to be true?The working

£95,000 off and it stops losing money

At the asking price you feed it £389 a month. At £144,305 the rent covers everything — leaving stamp duty of £7,601 at that price.

offer £144,305

asked £240,000

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

Is the price right?The deeds

Last sold for £106,500 in 2006

Nothing nearby is comparable, but asking is 125% more than the £106,500 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 £103,448 of the £180,000 loan

That £76,552 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 £60,000. Lenders test the rent at 7.5% and need it to cover 145% of the payment.

£1,631 needed

more than the £938 rent

stressed at 7.5%, 145% cover

◧ rent after empty weeks £938PRA-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

1 school in this postcode area, none rated Good or better 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 · 3 we could not check · 3 do not apply to this property

■ from council licensing registerlisting last seen 10 Sep 2026

Which strategy wins?The ways to run it

Every way loses money — Standard rental loses least, at £389 a month

Let it to the council: £1,236 a year less, but they keep paying when it is empty.

Standard rental−£389 · £91,364 in

Guaranteed council rent−£492 · £91,364 in

Housing-benefit rent−£692 · £91,364 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, after 5 years?The five-year sums

−£30,745 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 £91,364 you put in. The 5-year fix runs past this 5-year hold, so the rate reset comes after it.

−£91,364+£272,704−£6,818−£180,000−£25,267−£30,745

Cash you put inSale valueSelling costsMortgageRent lossesYou are down

◧ 2.0%/yr growth assumed