Rented normally, it costs you £144 a month. That is £1,728 a year, every year you hold it.

Will it pay?Calculator

You top up £144 a month — the mortgage takes 76p of every pound of rent

Borrowing £26,580 less would close that shortfall — which is £26,580 more cash at the start, on top of the deposit.

+£1,598−£1,215−£527−£144

Rent inMortgageRunning costsShort by

The rent covers £1,598 of that — you cover £144

◧ market rent £1,598 · 6 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-£144/mo

All-in cash£121,743

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

£102,285 + refurb costs

And about £8,638 more over five years, because it loses £144 every month you hold it — before any repair. That already assumes the rent never falls.

£102,285 to buy it

deposit · stamp duty · solicitor · fees~£19,458, unseen

□ works not inspected

What would have to be true?The working

£35,000 off and it stops losing money

At the asking price you feed it £144 a month. At £263,552 the rent covers everything — leaving stamp duty of £16,355 at that price.

offer £263,552

asked £299,000

◧ 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?Comparables

20.3% over the middle sale — £50,500 more

Sales in this postcode sector, close enough in price to compare.

you'd pay £299,000

£248,500

£180k£235k£290k

£180,000 cheapest£290,000 dearest

Middle sale £248,500 · middle half £225,000–£255,000 shaded

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

What will the rent borrow?Lender test

The rent carries £169,549 of the £224,250 loan

That £54,701 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 £27,573. Lenders test the rent at 7.5% and need it to cover 145% of the payment.

£2,032 needed

more than the £1,537 rent

stressed at 7.5%, 145% cover

◧ rent after empty weeks £1,537PRA-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

Peterborough, PE7 0NF

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 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.

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

■ from council licensing registerlisting last seen 01 Sep 2026

Which strategy wins?The ways to run it

Rent by the room beats Standard rental by £156 a month

Let it to the council: £2,400 a year less, but they keep paying when it is empty.

Rent by the room+£12 · £165,785 in

Standard rental−£144 · £121,743 in

Guaranteed council rent−£344 · £121,743 in

Housing-benefit rent−£654 · £121,743 in

Each row: money kept a month, then the cash it ties up. Not compared: Do it up, then remortgage (pays back at the remortgage) · Short-stay let (no local short-let data) · 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

−£19,869 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 £121,743 you put in. The 5-year fix runs past this 5-year hold, so the rate reset comes after it.

−£121,743+£344,084−£8,602−£224,250−£9,358−£19,869

Cash you put inSale valueSelling costsMortgageRent lossesYou are down

◧ 2.0%/yr growth assumed