Rented normally, you'd make about £33 a month.

Will it pay?Calculator

£33 of every £959 is yours to keep, each month

You keep 3p of every pound of rent. The mortgage takes 57p.

£548 mortgage

£333 running

£959 rent in£33 yours

◧ market rent £959 · 82 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

£45,425 + refurb costs

£11,675 of that never comes back — stamp duty, solicitor and lender fees.

£45,425 to buy it

deposit · stamp duty · solicitor · fees~£10,090, unseen

□ works not inspected

What would have to be true?

Nothing — it works at the asking price

The rent covers the mortgage, the running costs and the tax at the £135,000 asked, so there is no discount this card has to name. A lower price would be upside, not a condition.

◧ worked back from the rent

Is the price right?Comparables

Nothing nearby is comparable — but it is 17% over its 2007 price

The dearest sold for 3.3× the cheapest, so the rent has to justify this price on its own.

you'd pay £135,000

£78,950

£103,000

£141,000

£142,000

£163,000

£166,000

£170,000

£170,000

£205,000

£220,000

£243,000

£260,000

£79k£169.5k£260k

£78,950 cheapest£260,000 dearest

12 completed sales, same property type, last 3 years

□ 12 sold nearby, not matched on sizeHM Land Registry Price Paid Data

What will the rent borrow?Lender test

The rent carries the loan, with no margin left

A small rent shortfall or a rate move would cap the loan. Lenders test the rent at 7.5% and need it to cover 145% of the payment.

£918 needed

of £922 rent

stressed at 7.5%, 145% cover

◧ rent after empty weeks £922PRA-style test

How big is it, really?The plan

One figure, and nothing checking it 603 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

2 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

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 16 Sep 2026

Which strategy wins?The ways to run it

Nothing here beats a plain let

Let it to the council: £2,364 a year less, but they keep paying when it is empty.

Standard rental+£33 · £55,515 in

Guaranteed council rent−£164 · £55,515 in

Housing-benefit rent−£294 · £55,515 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

−£2,249 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 27% in the price would leave nothing from a sale after selling costs, and you would still owe the lender any shortfall. That is the £55,515 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