Rented normally, you'd make about £228 a month.

Will it pay?Calculator

£228 of every £1,401 is yours to keep, each month

You keep 16p of every pound of rent. The mortgage takes 33p.

+£1,401−£467−£652−£53£228

Rent inMortgageRunning costsTaxProfit

Rent £1,401, modelled from 23 nearby lettings

□ 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

Try your own numbersLive

You keep£228/mo

All-in cash£54,953

Payback20.1 yrs

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

£39,225 + refurb costs

£10,475 of that never comes back — stamp duty, solicitor and lender fees.

£39,225 to buy it

~£15,728

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

□ 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 £115,000 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?The deeds

Last sold for £110,000 in 2007

Nothing nearby is comparable, but asking is 5% more than the £110,000 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 the whole loan — it could fall 42% 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.

£782 needed

of £1,347 rent

stressed at 7.5%, 145% cover

◧ rent after empty weeks £1,347PRA-style test

How big is it, really?The plan

One figure, and nothing checking it 1,033 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 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.

3 problems found · 1 came back clear · 5 we could not check

■ from council licensing registerlisting last seen 24 Sep 2026

Which strategy wins?The ways to run it

Nothing here beats a plain let

Let it to the council: £2,568 a year less, but they keep paying when it is empty.

Standard rental+£228 · £54,953 in

Rent by the room+£133 · £54,953 in

Guaranteed council rent+£14 · £54,953 in

Housing-benefit rent−£162 · £54,953 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) · Buy, improve & sell (pays out on sale)

◧ 4 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

+£8,410 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 £54,953 you put in. The 5-year fix runs past this 5-year hold, so the rate reset comes after it.

−£54,953+£138,257−£3,456−£86,250+£14,813+£8,410

Cash you put inSale valueSelling costsMortgageRent keptYou walk with

◧ 2.0%/yr growth assumed