Let by the room, you'd make about £469 a month.

Will it pay?Calculator

£469 of every £2,539 is yours to keep, each month

You keep 18p of every pound of rent. The mortgage takes 31p.

+£2,539−£796−£1,165−£110£469

Rent inMortgageRunning costsTaxProfit

Rent £2,539, modelled — few nearby lettings

□ service charge not published4 empty weeks a year assumed

What if I change my assumptions?The dials

At the asking price, 25% deposit, 6.70% charged

Try your own numbersLive

You keep£469/mo

All-in cash£85,005

Payback15.1 yrs

Offer−+

Deposit−+

Mortgage rate−+

Rent per double−+

Worked at 6.70% — 5.95% quoted plus a company premium.

◧ worked out from local rents

What will it cost me to buy?Breakdown

£64,150 + refurb and conversion costs

£16,650 of that never comes back — stamp duty, solicitor and lender fees.

£64,150 to buy it

~£20,855

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 £190,000 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 £73,800 in 1999

Nothing nearby is comparable, but asking is 157% more than the £73,800 paid for it in 1999.

□ 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 49% 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.

£1,291 needed

of £2,539 rent

stressed at 7.5%, 145% cover

◧ market rent £2,539PRA-style test

Who has to say yes?Council record

Portsmouth council approves 84% — 80% on a cautious reading

A council-wide rate, not a forecast — and Portsmouth council refuses schemes that sandwich a family home. Check both neighbours.

84%

0%50%100%

never approvesalways approves

the band is the cautious reading of the same 599 decisions — as low as 80%

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

How big is it, really?The plan

The plan and the advert, side by side 1,453 sq ft

Two figures for this house, and neither is a survey. Open for both.

AdvertFloorplan

1.4k sq ft1.4k sq ft1.5k sq ft

1,422 sq ft1,463 sq ft

neither is a survey — a tape measure settles it

□ area off the floorplan — not a survey

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

The council here has taken away the automatic right to rent this out by the room

You would have to apply for permission first, and the council can say no.

2 problems found · 3 came back clear · 3 we could not check · 1 does not apply to this property

■ from the Article 4 maplisting last seen 23 Sep 2026

Which strategy wins?The ways to run it

Nothing here beats a plain let

Let it to the council: £3,768 a year less, but they keep paying when it is empty.

Standard rental+£527 · £84,005 in

Rent by the room+£469 · £85,005 in

Guaranteed council rent+£213 · £84,005 in

Housing-benefit rent−£105 · £84,005 in

Short-stay let−£523 · £84,005 in

3 nearby short-lets within 11.1 km · low confidence

Each row: money kept a month, then the cash it ties up. Not compared: Do it up, then remortgage (pays back at the remortgage) · Buy, improve & sell (pays out on sale)

◧ 5 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

+£21,377 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 28% in the price would leave nothing from a sale after selling costs, and you would still owe the lender any shortfall. That is the £85,005 you put in. The 5-year fix runs past this 5-year hold, so the rate reset comes after it.

−£85,005+£224,024−£5,601−£142,500+£30,459+£21,377

Cash you put inSale valueSelling costsMortgageRent keptYou walk with

◧ 2.0%/yr growth assumed