Rented normally, you'd make about £178 a month.

Will it pay?Calculator

£178 of every £1,090 is yours to keep, each month

You keep 16p of every pound of rent. The mortgage takes 43p.

+£1,090−£467−£403−£42£178

Rent inMortgageRunning costsTaxProfit

Rent £1,090, modelled from 13 nearby lettings

◧ market rent £1,090 · 13 comps2 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£178/mo

All-in cash£40,500

Payback18.9 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

£38,925 + refurb costs

£10,175 of that never comes back — stamp duty, solicitor and lender fees.

£38,925 to buy it

deposit · stamp duty · solicitor · fees~£1,575, 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 £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 £40,000 in 2001

Nothing nearby is comparable, but asking is 188% more than the £40,000 paid for it in 2001.

□ 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 25% 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 £1,048 rent

stressed at 7.5%, 145% cover

◧ rent after empty weeks £1,048PRA-style test

Who has to say yes?Council record

Walsall council approves 40% — 17% on a cautious reading

A council-wide rate across 10 HMO decisions, not a forecast for this address.

40%

0%50%100%

never approvesalways approves

the band is the cautious reading of the same 10 decisions — as low as 17%

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

How big is it, really?The plan

One figure, and nothing checking it 753 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

Walsall, WS8 7BW

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 to know before you offerThe checks

Every tenancy here is periodic, with no Section 21 to end it

Tenancies are now periodic, with no Section 21 — budget a longer void.

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

■ from the Renters’ Rights Act 2025listing last seen 19 Sep 2026

Which strategy wins?The ways to run it

Short-stay let beats Standard rental by £418 a month

Let it to the council: £3,048 a year less, but they keep paying when it is empty.

Short-stay let+£596 · £40,500 in

9 nearby short-lets within 20 km · low confidence

Standard rental+£178 · £40,500 in

Guaranteed council rent−£76 · £40,500 in

Housing-benefit rent−£201 · £40,500 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) · 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

+£9,736 after five years on the cash you put in, before tax on the sale

More 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 24% in the price would leave nothing from a sale after selling costs, and you would still owe the lender any shortfall. That is the £40,500 you put in. The 5-year fix runs past this 5-year hold, so the rate reset comes after it.

−£40,500+£128,100−£3,202−£86,250+£11,589+£9,736

Cash you put inSale valueSelling costsMortgageRent keptYou walk with

◧ 2.0%/yr growth assumed