Rented normally, it costs you £162 a month. That is £1,948 a year, every year you hold it.

Will it pay?Calculator

You top up £162 a month — the mortgage takes 59p of every pound of rent

Borrowing £29,962 less would close that shortfall — which is £29,962 more cash at the start, on top of the deposit.

+£889−£528−£523−£162

Rent inMortgageRunning costsShort by

The rent covers £889 of that — you cover £162

◧ market rent £889 · 81 comps2 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

£44,050 + refurb costs

And about £9,738 more over five years, because it loses £162 every month you hold it — before any repair. That already assumes the rent never falls.

£44,050 to buy it

deposit · stamp duty · solicitor · fees~£8,805, unseen

□ works not inspected

What would have to be true?The working

£35,000 off and it stops losing money

At the asking price you feed it £162 a month. At £90,048 the rent covers everything — leaving stamp duty of £4,502 at that price.

offer £90,048

asked £130,000

◧ 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 £151,500 in 2007

Nothing nearby is comparable, but asking is 14% less than the £151,500 paid for it in 2007.

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

What will the rent borrow?Lender test

The rent carries £94,324 of the £97,500 loan

That £3,176 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 rent carries the whole loan. Lenders test the rent at 7.5% and need it to cover 145% of the payment.

£884 needed

more than the £855 rent

stressed at 7.5%, 145% cover

◧ rent after empty weeks £855PRA-style test

How big is it, really?The plan

One figure, and nothing checking it 441 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

No school rated Good or better in this postcode area

5 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

£1,904 a year in charges for the building, owed even when nobody is living there

The contract the property is sold under sets these charges, and they can go up over the years.

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

■ from the listinglisting last seen 15 Sep 2026

Which strategy wins?The ways to run it

Every way loses money — Guaranteed council rent loses least, at £154 a month

Let it to the council and you keep £8 a month more, and they keep paying when it is empty.

Guaranteed council rent−£154 · £52,855 in

Standard rental−£162 · £52,855 in

Housing-benefit rent−£367 · £52,855 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) · 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

−£14,800 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 26% in the price would leave nothing from a sale after selling costs, and you would still owe the lender any shortfall. That is the £52,855 you put in. The 5-year fix runs past this 5-year hold, so the rate reset comes after it.

−£52,855+£149,849−£3,746−£97,500−£10,548−£14,800

Cash you put inSale valueSelling costsMortgageRent lossesYou are down

◧ 2.0%/yr growth assumed