Rented normally, you'd make about £21 a month.

Will it pay?Calculator

£21 of every £650 is yours to keep, each month

You keep 3p of every pound of rent. The mortgage takes 19p.

£477 running

£650 rent in£21 yours

£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

£12,450 + refurb costs

£4,950 of that never comes back — stamp duty, solicitor and lender fees.

£12,450 to buy it

~£6,774

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

□ works not inspected

What would have to be true?

No recorded basis for the rent to work from

Every price on this card is that rent inverted, and this row records no basis for its rent — not that the rent is wrong, but that we cannot show it was measured against nearby lettings. A price quoted to the £5,000 needs evidence we can point at.

□ rent basis not recorded

What will the rent borrow?Lender test

The rent carries the whole loan — it could fall 67% 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.

£204 needed

of £625 rent

stressed at 7.5%, 145% cover

◧ rent after empty weeks £625PRA-style test

How big is it, really?The plan

One figure, and nothing checking it 517 sq ft

The advert and the survey disagree — open for both figures and the gap.

■ area measured on site

Is it a good location?Open the map

No school rated Good or better in this postcode area

5 schools 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.

3 problems found · 2 came back clear · 2 we could not check · 2 do not apply to this property

■ from council licensing registerlisting last seen 15 Sep 2026

Which strategy wins?The ways to run it

Nothing here beats a plain let

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

Standard rental+£21 · £19,224 in

Guaranteed council rent−£37 · £19,224 in

Housing-benefit rent−£138 · £19,224 in

Each row: money kept a month, then the cash it ties up. Not compared: Rent by the room (only 1 bedroom) · 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)

◧ 3 ways, one measureranked on money kept each month, at the asking price

What would you walk away with?The five-year sums

−£3,314 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 33% in the price would leave nothing from a sale after selling costs, and you would still owe the lender any shortfall. That is the £19,224 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