Rented normally, you'd make about £901 a month, if it can be let.

Will it pay?Calculator

£901 of every £4,159 is yours to keep, each month

You keep 22p of every pound of rent. The mortgage takes 44p.

£1,828 mortgage

£4,159 rent in£901 yours

◧ market rent £4,159 · 33 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

£157,775 + refurb costs

£45,275 of that never comes back — stamp duty, solicitor and lender fees.

£157,775 to buy it

deposit · stamp duty · solicitor · fees~£23,506, unseen

□ works not inspected

What would have to be true?

Nothing — it works at the asking price

The rent covers the mortgage, the running costs and the tax at the £450,000 asked, so there is no discount this card has to name. A lower price would be upside, not a condition.

◧ worked back from the rent

Can we trust the rent?Rent evidence

Nearby lettings, but only by searching 1.5 km

We widened the search to find them, so these are not next-door comparisons.

+23 more

our bar: 10 within 500 m

our own middle half£3,757–£4,604/mo

■ 33 lettings within 1.5 km□ searched wider than our barAdvertised rents, not signed tenancies

What will the rent borrow?Lender test

The rent carries the whole loan — it could fall 24% and still cover it

Your deposit is what limits this one, not the rent. Lenders test the rent at 7.5% and need it to cover 145% of the payment.

£3,059 needed

of £3,999 rent

stressed at 7.5%, 145% cover

◧ rent after empty weeks £3,999PRA-style test

How big is it, really?The plan

Measured off the plan, not by a surveyor 738 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

London, N1 4RN

2 of 3 schools in this postcode area rated Good or Outstanding 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 · 2 came back clear · 5 we could not check

■ from council licensing registerlisting last seen 15 Sep 2026

Which strategy wins?The ways to run it

Short-stay let beats Standard rental by £35 a month

Let it to the council: £10,272 a year less, but they keep paying when it is empty.

Short-stay let+£936 · £181,281 in

6 nearby short-lets within 5.5 km · medium confidence

Standard rental+£901 · £181,281 in

Guaranteed council rent+£45 · £181,281 in

Rent by the room−£543 · £207,281 in

Housing-benefit rent−£625 · £181,281 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) · 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

+£40,653 after five years on the cash you put in, before tax on the sale

More 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 £181,281 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