Rented normally, it costs you £816 a month. That is £9,786 a year, every year you hold it.

Will it pay?Calculator

The mortgage alone costs more than the whole rent — you top up £816 a month

It is £816 a month short. Borrowing £150,556 less would close that shortfall — which is £150,556 more cash at the start, on top of the deposit.

£1,381 mortgage

£945 rent in£816 short

◧ market rent £945 · 7 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

£117,250 + refurb costs

And about £48,931 more over five years, because it loses £816 every month you hold it — before any repair. That already assumes the rent never falls.

£117,250 to buy it

deposit · stamp duty · solicitor · fees~£23,184, unseen

□ works not inspected

What would have to be true?The search

No offer makes this pay

Even at £204,000 — well below the £340,000 asked — the rent still does not cover the costs. The gap is the rent against the running costs, not the price, so negotiating does not close it.

◧ worked back from the rent■ stamp duty re-bandedtested down to £204,000

What will the rent borrow?Lender test

The rent carries £100,265 of the £255,000 loan

That £154,735 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 £138,692. Lenders test the rent at 7.5% and need it to cover 145% of the payment.

£2,311 needed

more than the £909 rent

stressed at 7.5%, 145% cover

◧ rent after empty weeks £909PRA-style test

How big is it, really?The plan

The plan and the advert, side by side 1,929 sq ft

Two figures for this house, and neither is a survey. Open for both.

□ 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

1 school 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

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 12 Sep 2026

Which strategy wins?The ways to run it

Short-stay let beats Rent by the room by £935 a month

Your controls are set to Standard rental — £1,326 a month behind Short-stay let.

Short-stay let+£510 · £140,434 in

3 nearby short-lets within 20 km · low confidence

Rent by the room−£425 · £176,750 in

Standard rental−£816 · £140,434 in

Guaranteed council rent−£878 · £140,434 in

Housing-benefit rent−£1,028 · £140,434 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

−£66,214 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 £140,434 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

Could you let it by the room?Room by room

−£425 to +£57 a month at 5 rooms two models disagree, before tax, once converted

The floorplan supports 5 lettable rooms and £25,500 of work gets you there — but the two ways this page prices them do not agree on whether they pay.

◧ room-add model · medium confidence■ 37 room adverts in TS18Dwelfy’s room-add model, before tax