Rented normally, it costs you £429 a month. That is £5,143 a year, every year you hold it.

Will it pay?Calculator

You top up £429 a month — the mortgage takes 86p of every pound of rent

Borrowing £79,127 less would close that shortfall — which is £79,127 more cash at the start, on top of the deposit.

£873 mortgage

£535 running

£1,019 rent in£429 short

£175 of that is a guess — no service charge published.

□ service charge not published2 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

£72,525 + refurb costs

And about £25,716 more over five years, because it loses £429 every month you hold it — before any repair. That already assumes the rent never falls.

£72,525 to buy it

deposit · stamp duty · solicitor · fees~£11,074, unseen

□ works not inspected

What would have to be true?The search

No offer makes this pay

Even at £129,000 — well below the £215,000 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 £129,000

What will the rent borrow?Lender test

The rent carries £108,117 of the £161,250 loan

That £53,133 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 £35,835. Lenders test the rent at 7.5% and need it to cover 145% of the payment.

£1,461 needed

more than the £980 rent

stressed at 7.5%, 145% cover

◧ rent after empty weeks £980PRA-style test

How big is it, really?The plan

The plan and the advert, side by side 651 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 not own it outright — 80 years left, and buying more years has already got dearer

Nobody has priced those extra years here — you buy them from whoever owns the building.

2 problems found · 2 came back clear · 3 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 — Short-stay let loses least, at £344 a month

Let it to the council: £3,108 a year less, but they keep paying when it is empty.

Short-stay let−£344 · £83,599 in

18 nearby short-lets within 20 km · low confidence

Standard rental−£429 · £83,599 in

Guaranteed council rent−£688 · £83,599 in

Housing-benefit rent−£813 · £83,599 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

−£33,515 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 £83,599 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