Rented normally, it costs you £250 a month. That is £3,002 a year, every year you hold it.

Will it pay?Calculator

You top up £250 a month — the mortgage takes 83p of every pound of rent

Borrowing £46,183 less would close that shortfall — which is £46,183 more cash at the start, on top of the deposit.

+£1,854−£1,544−£560−£250

Rent inMortgageRunning costsShort by

The rent covers £1,854 of that — you cover £250

◧ market rent £1,854 · 27 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-£250/mo

All-in cash£154,551

PaybackNever

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

£131,850 + refurb costs

And about £15,009 more over five years, because it loses £250 every month you hold it — before any repair. That already assumes the rent never falls.

£131,850 to buy it

deposit · stamp duty · solicitor · fees~£22,701, unseen

□ works not inspected

What would have to be true?The working

£60,000 off and it stops losing money

At the asking price you feed it £250 a month. At £318,398 the rent covers everything — leaving stamp duty of £21,840 at that price.

offer £318,398

asked £380,000

◧ worked back from the rent■ stamp duty re-bandedrounded down to £5,000 — the rent it works back from is an estimate

Is the price right?The deeds

Last sold for £200,000 in 2008

Nothing nearby is comparable, but asking is 90% more than the £200,000 paid for it in 2008.

□ this address’s own deeds, no comparable saleHM Land Registry Price Paid Data

What will the rent borrow?Lender test

The rent carries £196,711 of the £285,000 loan

That £88,289 is yours to find on top of the deposit. Tested at 125% instead of 145% — a company or a basic-rate taxpayer usually is — the gap is £56,815. Lenders test the rent at 7.5% and need it to cover 145% of the payment.

£2,583 needed

more than the £1,783 rent

stressed at 7.5%, 145% cover

◧ rent after empty weeks £1,783PRA-style test

Who has to say yes?Council record

Birmingham council approves 50% — 45% on a cautious reading

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

50%

0%50%100%

never approvesalways approves

the band is the cautious reading of the same 393 decisions — as low as 45%

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

Is it a good location?Open the map

Edgbaston, B16 0PX

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

■ from council licensing registerlisting last seen 11 Sep 2026

Which strategy wins?The ways to run it

Every way loses money — Rent by the room loses least, at £241 a month

Let it to the council: £4,080 a year less, but they keep paying when it is empty.

Rent by the room−£241 · £188,551 in

Standard rental−£250 · £154,551 in

Guaranteed council rent−£590 · £154,551 in

Housing-benefit rent−£933 · £154,551 in

Short-stay let−£976 · £154,551 in

44 nearby short-lets within 5.5 km · medium 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

−£30,864 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 26% in the price would leave nothing from a sale after selling costs, and you would still owe the lender any shortfall. That is the £154,551 you put in. The 5-year fix runs past this 5-year hold, so the rate reset comes after it.

−£154,551+£435,842−£10,896−£285,000−£16,259−£30,864

Cash you put inSale valueSelling costsMortgageRent lossesYou are down

◧ 2.0%/yr growth assumed