Rented normally, it costs you £140 a month. That is £1,685 a year, every year you hold it.

Will it pay?Calculator

You top up £140 a month — the mortgage takes 50p of every pound of rent

Borrowing £25,931 less would close that shortfall — which is £25,931 more cash at the start, on top of the deposit.

+£736−£366−£511−£140

Rent inMortgageRunning costsShort by

The rent covers £736 of that — you cover £140

□ 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

Try your own numbersLive

You keep-£140/mo

All-in cash£37,767

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

£31,350 + refurb costs

And about £8,427 more over five years, because it loses £140 every month you hold it — before any repair. That already assumes the rent never falls.

£31,350 to buy it

deposit · stamp duty · solicitor · fees~£6,417, unseen

□ works not inspected

What would have to be true?The working

£30,000 off and it stops losing money

At the asking price you feed it £140 a month. At £55,424 the rent covers everything — leaving stamp duty of £2,771 at that price.

offer £55,424

asked £90,000

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

Can we trust the rent?Rent evidence

Nearby lettings, but only by searching 1.5 km

We widened the search to find them, so these are not next-door comparisons.

+14 more

our bar: 10 within 500 m

our own middle half£680–£797/mo

■ 24 lettings within 1.5 km□ searched wider than our barAdvertised rents, not signed tenancies

What will the rent borrow?Lender test

The rent carries the whole loan — it could fall 14% 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.

£612 needed

of £708 rent

stressed at 7.5%, 145% cover

◧ rent after empty weeks £708PRA-style test

How big is it, really?The plan

The rooms are on the plan; the total is not

The plan is on file; the floor area is not.

□ no floor area published

Is it a good location?Open the map

Preston, PR2 9WL

3 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.

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

■ from the Renters’ Rights Act 2025listing last seen 24 Sep 2026

Which strategy wins?The ways to run it

Every way loses money — Standard rental loses least, at £140 a month

Standard rental also ties up the least cash, £37,767.

Standard rental−£140 · £37,767 in

Housing-benefit rent−£406 · £37,767 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) · Short-stay let (no local short-let data) · Guaranteed council rent (no scheme in this borough) · Buy, improve & sell (pays out on sale)

◧ 2 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

−£13,023 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 £37,767 you put in. The 5-year fix runs past this 5-year hold, so the rate reset comes after it.

−£37,767+£103,972−£2,599−£67,500−£9,129−£13,023

Cash you put inSale valueSelling costsMortgageRent lossesYou are down

◧ 2.0%/yr growth assumed