Rented normally, it costs you £5 a month. That is £58 a year, every year you hold it.

Will it pay?Calculator

You top up £5 a month — the mortgage takes 46p of every pound of rent

Borrowing £886 less would close that shortfall — which is £886 more cash at the start, on top of the deposit.

+£1,047−£483−£568−£5

Rent inMortgageRunning costsShort by

The rent covers £1,047 of that — you cover £5

□ 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-£5/mo

All-in cash£51,185

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

£44,055 + refurb costs

And about £288 more over five years, because it loses £5 every month you hold it — before any repair. That already assumes the rent never falls.

£44,055 to buy it

deposit · stamp duty · solicitor · fees~£7,130, unseen

□ works not inspected

What would have to be true?

Break-even is within £5,000 of the asked price

It lands that close to the £119,000 asked — inside the step this card rounds to, and inside the confidence band on the rent it works back from. So the price asked is already about the price this rent carries, and there is no honest discount to print.

◧ worked back from the rent

Is the price right?Comparables

Nothing nearby is comparable — but it is 6% under its 2010 price

The dearest sold for 1.8× the cheapest, so the rent has to justify this price on its own.

you'd pay £119,000

£155,000

£158,750

£189,000

£210,500

£220,000

£230,000

£238,500

£249,995

£256,000

£262,000

£262,000

£272,000

£155k£213.5k£272k

£155,000 cheapest£272,000 dearest

12 completed sales, same property type, last 3 years

□ 12 sold nearby, not matched on sizeHM Land Registry Price Paid Data

What will the rent borrow?Lender test

The rent carries the whole loan — it could fall 20% 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.

£809 needed

of £1,007 rent

stressed at 7.5%, 145% cover

◧ rent after empty weeks £1,007PRA-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

City Centre, G1 3LA

No schools in this postcode area 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 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 · 1 came back clear · 4 we could not check · 3 do not apply to this property

■ from the Renters’ Rights Act 2025listing last seen 09 Sep 2026

Which strategy wins?The ways to run it

Short-stay let beats Standard rental by £66 a month

Let it to the council: £1,608 a year less, but they keep paying when it is empty.

Short-stay let+£61 · £51,185 in

6 nearby short-lets within 5.5 km · low confidence

Standard rental−£5 · £51,185 in

Guaranteed council rent−£139 · £51,185 in

Housing-benefit rent−£337 · £51,185 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) · 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

−£7,657 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 £51,185 you put in. The 5-year fix runs past this 5-year hold, so the rate reset comes after it.

−£51,185+£136,502−£3,413−£89,250−£312−£7,657

Cash you put inSale valueSelling costsMortgageRent lossesYou are down

◧ 2.0%/yr growth assumed