Rented normally, it costs you £231 a month. That is £2,768 a year, every year you hold it.

Will it pay?Calculator

You top up £231 a month — the mortgage takes 68p of every pound of rent

Borrowing £42,585 less would close that shortfall — which is £42,585 more cash at the start, on top of the deposit.

+£1,128−£772−£587−£231

Rent inMortgageRunning costsShort by

The rent covers £1,128 of that — you cover £231

□ 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-£231/mo

All-in cash£75,143

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

£64,150 + refurb costs

And about £13,840 more over five years, because it loses £231 every month you hold it — before any repair. That already assumes the rent never falls.

£64,150 to buy it

deposit · stamp duty · solicitor · fees~£10,993, unseen

□ works not inspected

What would have to be true?The working

£55,000 off and it stops losing money

At the asking price you feed it £231 a month. At £133,204 the rent covers everything — leaving stamp duty of £6,824 at that price.

offer £133,204

asked £190,000

◧ 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 £119,682 of the £142,500 loan

That £22,818 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 £3,669. Lenders test the rent at 7.5% and need it to cover 145% of the payment.

£1,291 needed

more than the £1,085 rent

stressed at 7.5%, 145% cover

◧ rent after empty weeks £1,085PRA-style test

How big is it, really?The plan

The plan and the advert, side by side 1,281 sq ft

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

AdvertFloorplan

420 sq ft937 sq ft1.5k sq ft

420 sq ft1,453 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 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 · 2 came back clear · 4 we could not check · 2 do not apply to this property

■ from the Renters’ Rights Act 2025listing last seen 14 Sep 2026

Which strategy wins?The ways to run it

Short-stay let beats Guaranteed council rent by £1,472 a month

Your controls are set to Standard rental — £1,477 a month behind Short-stay let.

Short-stay let+£1,246 · £75,143 in

21 nearby short-lets within 5.5 km · medium confidence

Guaranteed council rent−£226 · £75,143 in

Standard rental−£231 · £75,143 in

Housing-benefit rent−£497 · £75,143 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

−£20,413 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 £75,143 you put in. The 5-year fix runs past this 5-year hold, so the rate reset comes after it.

−£75,143+£217,665−£5,442−£142,500−£14,992−£20,413

Cash you put inSale valueSelling costsMortgageRent lossesYou are down

◧ 2.0%/yr growth assumed