Rented normally, it costs you £787 a month. That is £9,443 a year, every year you hold it.

Will it pay?Calculator

You top up £787 a month — the mortgage takes 100p of every pound of rent

Borrowing £145,276 less would close that shortfall — which is £145,276 more cash at the start, on top of the deposit.

£2,844 mortgage

£2,854 rent in£787 short

◧ market rent £2,854 · 13 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

£249,400 + refurb costs

And about £47,215 more over five years, because it loses £787 every month you hold it — before any repair. That already assumes the rent never falls.

£249,400 to buy it

deposit · stamp duty · solicitor · fees~£40,083, unseen

□ works not inspected

What would have to be true?The working

£190,000 off and it stops losing money

At the asking price you feed it £787 a month. At £506,270 the rent covers everything — leaving stamp duty of £40,627 at that price.

offer £506,270

asked £700,000

◧ 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 £302,812 of the £525,000 loan

That £222,188 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 £173,738. Lenders test the rent at 7.5% and need it to cover 145% of the payment.

£4,758 needed

more than the £2,744 rent

stressed at 7.5%, 145% cover

◧ rent after empty weeks £2,744PRA-style test

Who has to say yes?Council record

Reading council approves 73% — 63% on a cautious reading

A council-wide rate, not a forecast — and Reading council refuses schemes that sandwich a family home. Check both neighbours.

73%

0%50%100%

never approvesalways approves

the band is the cautious reading of the same 92 decisions — as low as 63%

■ Article 4 — planning permission requireddecision record held for this authority

How big is it, really?The plan

One figure, and nothing checking it 2,157 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

Reading, RG1 5RL

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 · 1 came back clear · 4 we could not check · 1 does not apply to this property

■ from the Article 4 maplisting last seen 15 Sep 2026

Which strategy wins?The ways to run it

Every way loses money — Short-stay let loses least, at £113 a month

Let it to the council: £9,624 a year less, but they keep paying when it is empty.

Short-stay let−£113 · £289,483 in

3 nearby short-lets within 20 km · low confidence

Standard rental−£787 · £289,483 in

Rent by the room−£932 · £331,483 in

Guaranteed council rent−£1,589 · £289,483 in

Housing-benefit rent−£1,876 · £289,483 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

−£84,047 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 £289,483 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