Rented normally, it costs you £35 a month. That is £419 a year, every year you hold it.

Will it pay?Calculator

You top up £35 a month — the mortgage takes 68p of every pound of rent

Borrowing £6,445 less would close that shortfall — which is £6,445 more cash at the start, on top of the deposit.

+£1,143−£772−£406−£35

Rent inMortgageRunning costsShort by

The rent covers £1,143 of that — you cover £35

◧ market rent £1,143 · 61 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-£35/mo

All-in cash£81,480

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

£63,850 + refurb costs

And about £2,095 more over five years, because it loses £35 every month you hold it — before any repair. That already assumes the rent never falls.

£63,850 to buy it

deposit · stamp duty · solicitor · fees~£17,630, unseen

□ works not inspected

What would have to be true?The working

£5,000 off and it stops losing money

At the asking price you feed it £35 a month. At £181,391 the rent covers everything — leaving stamp duty of £10,197 at that price.

offer £181,391

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

Is the price right?The deeds

Last sold for £90,000 in 2009

Nothing nearby is comparable, but asking is 111% more than the £90,000 paid for it in 2009.

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

What will the rent borrow?Lender test

The rent carries £121,273 of the £142,500 loan

That £21,227 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 £1,823. Lenders test the rent at 7.5% and need it to cover 145% of the payment.

£1,291 needed

more than the £1,099 rent

stressed at 7.5%, 145% cover

◧ rent after empty weeks £1,099PRA-style test

Who has to say yes?Council record

Birmingham council approves 50% — 45% on a cautious reading

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

50%

0%50%100%

never approvesalways approves

the band is the cautious reading of the same 393 decisions — as low as 45%

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

How big is it, really?The plan

Room to grow

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

□ no floor area published

Is it a good location?Open the map

Edgbaston, B17 8JP

2 of 4 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

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.

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

■ from council licensing registerlisting last seen 18 Sep 2026

Which strategy wins?The ways to run it

Rent by the room beats Standard rental by £167 a month

Let it to the council: £708 a year less, but they keep paying when it is empty.

Rent by the room+£132 · £106,975 in

Standard rental−£35 · £81,480 in

Guaranteed council rent−£94 · £81,480 in

Housing-benefit rent−£345 · £81,480 in

Short-stay let−£368 · £81,480 in

49 nearby short-lets within 5.5 km · low 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

−£9,382 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 27% in the price would leave nothing from a sale after selling costs, and you would still owe the lender any shortfall. That is the £81,480 you put in. The 5-year fix runs past this 5-year hold, so the rate reset comes after it.

−£81,480+£222,428−£5,561−£142,500−£2,269−£9,382

Cash you put inSale valueSelling costsMortgageRent lossesYou are down

◧ 2.0%/yr growth assumed

Could you let it by the room?Room by room

+£479 a month at 4 rooms on the room-add model, before tax, once converted

The floorplan supports 4 lettable rooms, and £17,125 of work gets you there.

◧ room-add model · medium confidence■ 260 room adverts in B17Dwelfy’s room-add model, before tax