Rented normally, it costs you £204 a month. That is £2,451 a year, every year you hold it.

Will it pay?Calculator

You top up £204 a month — the mortgage takes 82p of every pound of rent

Borrowing £37,708 less would close that shortfall — which is £37,708 more cash at the start, on top of the deposit.

£1,219 mortgage

£1,495 rent in£204 short

◧ market rent £1,495 · 25 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

£102,650 + refurb costs

And about £12,255 more over five years, because it loses £204 every month you hold it — before any repair. That already assumes the rent never falls.

£102,650 to buy it

deposit · stamp duty · solicitor · fees~£1,350, unseen

□ works not inspected

What would have to be true?The working

£50,000 off and it stops losing money

At the asking price you feed it £204 a month. At £249,697 the rent covers everything — leaving stamp duty of £14,979 at that price.

offer £249,697

asked £300,000

◧ worked back from the rent■ stamp duty re-bandedrounded down to £5,000 — the rent it works back from is an estimate

What will the rent borrow?Lender test

The rent carries £158,621 of the £225,000 loan

That £66,379 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 £41,000. Lenders test the rent at 7.5% and need it to cover 145% of the payment.

£2,039 needed

more than the £1,438 rent

stressed at 7.5%, 145% cover

◧ rent after empty weeks £1,438PRA-style test

How big is it, really?The plan

One figure, and nothing checking it 732 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

Luton, LU3 2SE

2 of 5 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 · 4 we could not check · 1 does not apply to this property

■ from council licensing registerlisting last seen 16 Sep 2026

Which strategy wins?The ways to run it

Every way loses money — Standard rental loses least, at £204 a month

Let it to the council: £696 a year less, but they keep paying when it is empty.

Standard rental−£204 · £104,000 in

Rent by the room−£224 · £130,000 in

Guaranteed council rent−£262 · £104,000 in

Housing-benefit rent−£595 · £104,000 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

−£18,387 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 23% in the price would leave nothing from a sale after selling costs, and you would still owe the lender any shortfall. That is the £104,000 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