Rented normally, you'd make about £70 a month.

Will it pay?Calculator

£70 of every £1,003 is yours to keep, each month

You keep 7p of every pound of rent. The mortgage takes 34p.

+£1,003−£345−£571−£16£70

Rent inMortgageRunning costsTaxProfit

Rent £1,003, modelled from 80 nearby lettings within 500 m

□ 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

£29,775 + refurb costs

£8,525 of that never comes back — stamp duty, solicitor and lender fees.

£29,775 to buy it

deposit · stamp duty · solicitor · fees~£6,774, 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 £85,000 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 4% under its 2008 price

The dearest sold for 2.2× the cheapest, so the rent has to justify this price on its own.

you'd pay £85,000

£35,000

£40,000

£40,000

£48,750

£50,000

£52,000

£56,000

£56,000

£57,000

£60,000

£72,500

£76,000

£35k£55.5k£76k

£35,000 cheapest£76,000 dearest

12 completed sales, same property type, last 3 years

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

Can we trust the rent?Rent evidence

Nearby lettings back this rent

We hold too few nearby asking rents to cross-check this figure, so nothing here confirms it a second way.

+70 more

our bar: 10 within 500 m

our own middle half£854–£1,178/mo

■ 80 lettings within 500 m□ no nearby asks to cross-checkAdvertised rents, not signed tenancies

What will the rent borrow?Lender test

The rent carries the whole loan — it could fall 40% 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.

£578 needed

of £964 rent

stressed at 7.5%, 145% cover

◧ rent after empty weeks £964PRA-style test

How big is it, really?The working

One figure, and nothing checking it 1,001 sq ft

The advert and the survey disagree — open for both figures and the gap.

■ area measured on site

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

■ from council licensing registerlisting last seen 14 Sep 2026

Which strategy wins?The ways to run it

Short-stay let beats Standard rental by £27 a month

Let it to the council: £3,732 a year less, but they keep paying when it is empty.

Short-stay let+£97 · £36,549 in

131 nearby short-lets within 5.5 km · medium confidence

Standard rental+£70 · £36,549 in

Guaranteed council rent−£241 · £36,549 in

Housing-benefit rent−£355 · £36,549 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) · 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

+£483 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 £36,549 you put in. The 5-year fix runs past this 5-year hold, so the rate reset comes after it.

−£36,549+£98,708−£2,468−£63,750+£4,541+£483

Cash you put inSale valueSelling costsMortgageRent keptYou walk with

◧ 2.0%/yr growth assumed