Let by the room, you'd make about £613 a month, if it can be let.

Will it pay?Calculator

£613 of every £2,530 is yours to keep, each month

You keep 24p of every pound of rent. The mortgage takes 27p.

+£2,530−£691−£1,082−£144£613

Rent inMortgageRunning costsTaxProfit

Rent £2,530, modelled — few nearby lettings

□ market rent £2,530 · few comparables4 empty weeks a year assumed

What if I change my assumptions?The dials

At the asking price, 25% deposit, 6.70% charged

Try your own numbersLive

You keep£613/mo

All-in cash£89,906

Payback12.2 yrs

Offer−+

Deposit−+

Mortgage rate−+

Rent per double−+

Worked at 6.70% — 5.95% quoted plus a company premium.

◧ worked out from local rents

What will it cost me to buy?Breakdown

£55,475 + refurb and conversion costs

£14,225 of that never comes back — stamp duty, solicitor and lender fees.

£55,475 to buy it

~£34,431

deposit · stamp duty · solicitor · feeswe haven’t been inside

□ works not inspected

What would have to be true?

Nothing — it works at the asking price

The rent covers the mortgage, the running costs and the tax at the £165,000 asked, so there is no discount this card has to name. A lower price would be upside, not a condition.

◧ worked back from the rent

Is the price right?The deeds

Last sold for £130,000 in 2011

Nothing nearby is comparable, but asking is 27% more than the £130,000 paid for it in 2011.

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

Can we trust the rent?Rent evidence

Nearby lettings, and none of them price letting it by the room

The room rents rest on 2305 local room lets, so treat them as a guide.

■ 19 whole-home lettings within 1.5 km□ does not price rent by the roomAdvertised rents on whole-home lettings

What will the rent borrow?Lender test

The rent carries the whole loan — it could fall 56% 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.

£1,121 needed

of £2,530 rent

stressed at 7.5%, 145% cover

◧ market rent £2,530PRA-style test

Who has to say yes?Council record

Portsmouth council approves 84% — 80% on a cautious reading

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

84%

0%50%100%

never approvesalways approves

the band is the cautious reading of the same 599 decisions — as low as 80%

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

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

Portsmouth, PO1 5EW

1 of 3 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

The council here has taken away the automatic right to rent this out by the room

You would have to apply for permission first, and the council can say no.

2 problems found · 1 came back clear · 5 we could not check · 1 does not apply to this property

■ from the Article 4 maplisting last seen 15 Sep 2026

Which strategy wins?The ways to run it

Rent by the room beats Standard rental by £26 a month

Let it to the council: £2,328 a year less, but they keep paying when it is empty.

Rent by the room+£613 · £89,906 in

Standard rental+£587 · £88,906 in

Guaranteed council rent+£393 · £88,906 in

Housing-benefit rent+£99 · £88,906 in

Short-stay let−£201 · £88,906 in

7 nearby short-lets within 11.1 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

+£27,196 after five years on the cash you put in, before tax on the sale

More 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 32% in the price would leave nothing from a sale after selling costs, and you would still owe the lender any shortfall. That is the £89,906 you put in. The 5-year fix runs past this 5-year hold, so the rate reset comes after it.

−£89,906+£206,165−£5,154−£123,750+£39,841+£27,196

Cash you put inSale valueSelling costsMortgageRent keptYou walk with

◧ 2.0%/yr growth assumed