Rented normally, it costs you £53 a month. That is £630 a year, every year you hold it.

Will it pay?Calculator

You top up £53 a month — the mortgage takes 72p of every pound of rent

Borrowing £9,696 less would close that shortfall — which is £9,696 more cash at the start, on top of the deposit.

+£1,558−£1,117−£493−£53

Rent inMortgageRunning costsShort by

The rent covers £1,558 of that — you cover £53

◧ market rent £1,558 · 41 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-£53/mo

All-in cash£105,618

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

£93,525 + refurb costs

And about £3,151 more over five years, because it loses £53 every month you hold it — before any repair. That already assumes the rent never falls.

£93,525 to buy it

deposit · stamp duty · solicitor · fees~£12,093, unseen

□ works not inspected

What would have to be true?The working

£10,000 off and it stops losing money

At the asking price you feed it £53 a month. At £262,056 the rent covers everything — leaving stamp duty of £16,206 at that price.

offer £262,056

asked £275,000

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

What will the rent borrow?Lender test

The rent carries £165,305 of the £206,250 loan

That £40,945 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 £14,496. Lenders test the rent at 7.5% and need it to cover 145% of the payment.

£1,869 needed

more than the £1,498 rent

stressed at 7.5%, 145% cover

◧ rent after empty weeks £1,498PRA-style test

How big is it, really?The plan

One figure, and nothing checking it 807 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

Luton, LU2 9LH

1 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 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.

2 problems found · 2 came back clear · 4 we could not check · 1 does not apply to this property

■ from council licensing registerlisting last seen 10 Sep 2026

Which strategy wins?The ways to run it

Every way loses money — Standard rental loses least, at £53 a month

Let it to the council: £1,296 a year less, but they keep paying when it is empty.

Standard rental−£53 · £105,618 in

Rent by the room−£102 · £131,618 in

Guaranteed council rent−£161 · £105,618 in

Housing-benefit rent−£495 · £105,618 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

−£10,788 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 25% in the price would leave nothing from a sale after selling costs, and you would still owe the lender any shortfall. That is the £105,618 you put in. The 5-year fix runs past this 5-year hold, so the rate reset comes after it.

−£105,618+£312,301−£7,808−£206,250−£3,414−£10,788

Cash you put inSale valueSelling costsMortgageRent lossesYou are down

◧ 2.0%/yr growth assumed