Rented normally, it costs you £171 a month. That is £2,055 a year, every year you hold it.

Will it pay?Calculator

You top up £171 a month — the mortgage takes 61p of every pound of rent

Borrowing £31,611 less would close that shortfall — which is £31,611 more cash at the start, on top of the deposit.

£691 mortgage

£562 running

£1,125 rent in£171 short

◧ market rent £1,125 · 140 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

£57,450 + refurb costs

And about £10,274 more over five years, because it loses £171 every month you hold it — before any repair. That already assumes the rent never falls.

£57,450 to buy it

deposit · stamp duty · solicitor · fees~£11,362, unseen

□ works not inspected

What would have to be true?The working

£40,000 off and it stops losing money

At the asking price you feed it £171 a month. At £127,849 the rent covers everything — leaving stamp duty of £6,449 at that price.

offer £127,849

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 £230,000 in 2003

Nothing nearby is comparable, but asking is 26% less than the £230,000 paid for it in 2003.

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

Can we trust the rent?Rent evidence

Nearby lettings back this rent

They are advertised rents rather than signed tenancies, so a slow month is still possible.

+130 more

our bar: 10 within 500 m

what 20 nearby lettings ask£650–£1,400/mo

our own middle half£991–£1,277/mo

■ 140 lettings within 500 mAdvertised rents, not signed tenancies

What will the rent borrow?Lender test

The rent carries £119,363 of the £127,500 loan

That £8,137 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 rent carries the whole loan. Lenders test the rent at 7.5% and need it to cover 145% of the payment.

£1,155 needed

more than the £1,082 rent

stressed at 7.5%, 145% cover

◧ rent after empty weeks £1,082PRA-style test

How big is it, really?The plan

Measured off the plan, not by a surveyor 711 sq ft

The area comes off the plan, not a survey. Open for what that means.

□ area off the floorplan — not a survey

Is it a good location?Open the map

No school rated Good or better in this postcode area

2 schools in this postcode area, none rated Good or better 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

£2,150 a year in charges for the building, owed even when nobody is living there

The contract the property is sold under sets these charges, and they can go up over the years.

3 problems found · 3 came back clear · 1 we could not check · 2 do not apply to this property

■ from the listinglisting last seen 15 Sep 2026

Which strategy wins?The ways to run it

Every way loses money — Standard rental loses least, at £171 a month

Let it to the council: £4,608 a year less, but they keep paying when it is empty.

Standard rental−£171 · £68,812 in

Short-stay let−£449 · £68,812 in

30 nearby short-lets within 5.5 km · low confidence

Guaranteed council rent−£555 · £68,812 in

Housing-benefit rent−£673 · £68,812 in

Each row: money kept a month, then the cash it ties up. Not compared: Rent by the room (only 2 bedrooms) · Do it up, then remortgage (pays back at the remortgage) · 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?The five-year sums

−£16,490 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 £68,812 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