Rented normally, it costs you £67 a month. That is £800 a year, every year you hold it.

Will it pay?Calculator

You top up £67 a month — the mortgage takes 47p of every pound of rent

Borrowing £12,305 less would close that shortfall — which is £12,305 more cash at the start, on top of the deposit.

£366 mortgage

£456 running

£785 rent in£67 short

£150 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

£31,350 + refurb costs

And about £3,999 more over five years, because it loses £67 every month you hold it — before any repair. That already assumes the rent never falls.

£31,350 to buy it

~£12,391

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

□ works not inspected

What would have to be true?The working

£15,000 off and it stops losing money

At the asking price you feed it £67 a month. At £73,591 the rent covers everything — leaving stamp duty of £3,680 at that price.

offer £73,591

asked £90,000

◧ 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 £61,500 in 2019

Nothing nearby is comparable, but asking is 46% more than the £61,500 paid for it in 2019.

□ 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 19% 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.

£612 needed

of £755 rent

stressed at 7.5%, 145% cover

◧ rent after empty weeks £755PRA-style test

Who has to say yes?Council record

Burnley council approves 73% — 56% on a cautious reading

A council-wide rate across 33 HMO decisions, not a forecast for this address.

73%

0%50%100%

never approvesalways approves

the band is the cautious reading of the same 33 decisions — as low as 56%

■ Article 4 — planning permission requireddecision record held for this authority

How big is it, really?The plan

One figure, and nothing checking it 831 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

Burnley, BB12 6NT

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 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.

3 problems found · 3 came back clear · 3 we could not check

■ from council licensing registerlisting last seen 28 Aug 2026

Which strategy wins?The ways to run it

Every way loses money — Standard rental loses least, at £67 a month

Standard rental also ties up the least cash, £43,741.

Standard rental−£67 · £43,741 in

Rent by the room−£110 · £43,741 in

Housing-benefit rent−£327 · £43,741 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) · Guaranteed council rent (no scheme in this borough) · 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

−£10,020 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 29% in the price would leave nothing from a sale after selling costs, and you would still owe the lender any shortfall. That is the £43,741 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