Rented normally, it costs you £75 a month. That is £895 a year, every year you hold it.

Will it pay?Calculator

You top up £75 a month — the mortgage takes 70p of every pound of rent

Borrowing £14,315 less would close that shortfall — which is £14,315 more cash at the start, on top of the deposit.

+£948−£664−£358−£75

Rent inMortgageRunning costsShort by

The rent covers £948 of that — you cover £75

◧ market rent £948 · 5 comps2 empty weeks a year assumed

What if I change my assumptions?The dials

At the asking price, 25% deposit, 6.25% charged

Change any of these 16 and every card on this page changes with it. The 6.25% is the 5.50% quoted plus a company premium.

◧ worked out from local rents

What will it cost me to buy?Breakdown

£57,150 + refurb costs

And about £4,473 more over five years, because it loses £75 every month you hold it — before any repair. That already assumes the rent never falls.

£57,150 to buy it

~£18,912

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

□ works not inspected

What would have to be true?The working

£15,000 off and it stops losing money

At the asking price you feed it £75 a month. At £150,908 the rent covers everything — leaving stamp duty of £8,064 at that price.

offer £150,908

asked £170,000

◧ 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 £135,000 in 2019

Nothing nearby is comparable, but asking is 26% more than the £135,000 paid for it in 2019.

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

What will the rent borrow?Lender test

The rent carries £100,584 of the £127,500 loan

That £26,916 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 £10,823. Lenders test the rent at 7.5% and need it to cover 145% of the payment.

£1,155 needed

more than the £912 rent

stressed at 7.5%, 145% cover

◧ rent after empty weeks £912PRA-style test

How big is it, really?The plan

One figure, and nothing checking it 1,356 sq ft

Only the agent’s figure exists for this house. Open for what that means.

□ area unchecked — agent’s own

Is it a good location?Open the map

No school rated Good or better in this postcode area

3 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 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 23 Sep 2026

Which strategy wins?The ways to run it

Rent by the room beats Standard rental by £329 a month

Rent by the room also ties up the least cash, £76,062.

Rent by the room+£254 · £76,062 in

Standard rental−£75 · £76,062 in

Housing-benefit rent−£314 · £76,062 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) · Guaranteed council rent (no scheme in this borough) · Buy, improve & sell (pays out on sale)

◧ 3 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

−£12,174 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 28% in the price would leave nothing from a sale after selling costs, and you would still owe the lender any shortfall. That is the £76,062 you put in. The 5-year fix runs past this 5-year hold, so the rate reset comes after it.

−£76,062+£201,266−£5,032−£127,500−£4,846−£12,174

Cash you put inSale valueSelling costsMortgageRent lossesYou are down

◧ 2.0%/yr growth assumed