Rented normally, it costs you £1,111 a month. That is £13,327 a year, every year you hold it.

Will it pay?Calculator

The mortgage alone costs more than the whole rent — you top up £1,111 a month

It is £1,111 a month short. Borrowing £205,033 less would close that shortfall — which is £205,033 more cash at the start, on top of the deposit.

£3,453 mortgage

£3,195 rent in£1,111 short

◧ market rent £3,195 · 24 comps2 empty weeks a year assumed

What if I change my assumptions?The dials

At the asking price, 25% deposit, 6.50% charged

Change any of these 16 and every card on this page changes with it. The 6.50% is the 5.75% quoted plus a company premium.

◧ worked out from local rents

What will it cost me to buy?Breakdown

£304,150 + refurb costs

And about £66,636 more over five years, because it loses £1,111 every month you hold it — before any repair. That already assumes the rent never falls.

£304,150 to buy it

deposit · stamp duty · solicitor · fees~£37,030, unseen

□ works not inspected

What would have to be true?The working

£270,000 off and it stops losing money

At the asking price you feed it £1,111 a month. At £576,572 the rent covers everything — leaving stamp duty of £47,657 at that price.

offer £576,572

asked £850,000

◧ 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 £375,000 in 2007

Nothing nearby is comparable, but asking is 127% more than the £375,000 paid for it in 2007.

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

What will the rent borrow?Lender test

The rent carries £338,992 of the £637,500 loan

That £298,508 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 £244,269. Lenders test the rent at 7.5% and need it to cover 145% of the payment.

£5,777 needed

more than the £3,072 rent

stressed at 7.5%, 145% cover

◧ rent after empty weeks £3,072PRA-style test

Who has to say yes?Council record

Brent council approves 34% — 28% on a cautious reading

A council-wide rate across 223 HMO decisions, not a forecast for this address.

34%

0%50%100%

never approvesalways approves

the band is the cautious reading of the same 223 decisions — as low as 28%

■ 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

Wembley, HA0 3RX

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 15 Sep 2026

Which strategy wins?The ways to run it

Every way loses money — Rent by the room loses least, at £1,026 a month

Let it to the council: £5,796 a year less, but they keep paying when it is empty.

Rent by the room−£1,026 · £383,180 in

Standard rental−£1,111 · £341,180 in

Guaranteed council rent−£1,594 · £341,180 in

Housing-benefit rent−£2,130 · £341,180 in

Short-stay let−£3,514 · £341,180 in

84 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?The five-year sums

−£109,947 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 25% in the price would leave nothing from a sale after selling costs, and you would still owe the lender any shortfall. That is the £341,180 you put in. The 5-year fix runs past this 5-year hold, so the rate reset comes after it.

◧ 2.0%/yr growth assumed