Rented normally, you'd make about £194 a month.

Will it pay?Calculator

£194 of every £1,118 is yours to keep, each month

You keep 17p of every pound of rent. The mortgage takes 44p.

£488 mortgage

£1,118 rent in£194 yours

◧ market rent £1,118 · 11 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

£40,500 + refurb costs

£10,500 of that never comes back — stamp duty, solicitor and lender fees.

£40,500 to buy it

~£13,558

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 £120,000 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 24% 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.

£816 needed

of £1,075 rent

stressed at 7.5%, 145% cover

◧ rent after empty weeks £1,075PRA-style test

Who has to say yes?Council record

Walsall council decides

Named from the postcode, with no decision record under it. Check Walsall 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 plan

One figure, and nothing checking it 769 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

Walsall, WS8 7LA

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 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.

3 problems found · 2 came back clear · 3 we could not check · 1 does not apply to this property

■ from the Article 4 maplisting last seen 16 Sep 2026

Which strategy wins?The ways to run it

Nothing here beats a plain let

Let it to the council: £1,956 a year less, but they keep paying when it is empty.

Standard rental+£194 · £54,058 in

Rent by the room+£126 · £54,058 in

Guaranteed council rent+£31 · £54,058 in

Housing-benefit rent−£111 · £54,058 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

+£7,219 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 28% in the price would leave nothing from a sale after selling costs, and you would still owe the lender any shortfall. That is the £54,058 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