Rented normally, you'd make about £411 a month, if it can be let.

Will it pay?Calculator

£411 of every £850 is yours to keep, each month

You keep 48p of every pound of rent. The mortgage takes under 1p.

£307 running

£411 yours

£850 rent in£411 yours

◧ market rent £850 · 14 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

£3,000 + refurb costs

£2,762 of that never comes back — stamp duty, solicitor and lender fees.

£3,000 to buy it

~£570

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

□ 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 £950 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

What will the rent borrow?Lender test

The rent carries the whole loan — it could fall 99% 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.

£6 neededof £817 rent

stressed at 7.5%, 145% cover

◧ rent after empty weeks £817PRA-style test

Who has to say yes?Council record

Wigan council decides

Named from the postcode, with no decision record under it. Check Wigan council's pre-application advice before you commit to a room-let plan.

■ Article 4 — planning permission required◧ authority from the postcode□ no decision recordfrom the Article 4 map we hold

How big is it, really?The working

One figure, and nothing checking it 876 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

Wigan, WN5 9RR

1 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 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 · 6 we could not check

■ from the Article 4 maplisting last seen 20 May 2026

Which strategy wins?The ways to run it

Rent by the room beats Standard rental by £51 a month

Let it to the council: £636 a year less, but they keep paying when it is empty.

Rent by the room+£462 · £3,570 in

Standard rental+£411 · £3,570 in

Guaranteed council rent+£358 · £3,570 in

Housing-benefit rent+£210 · £3,570 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?The five-year sums

+£23,825 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 45% in the price would leave nothing from a sale after selling costs, and you would still owe the lender any shortfall. That is the £3,570 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