Rented normally, it costs you £307 a month. That is £3,682 a year, every year you hold it.

Will it pay?Calculator

You top up £307 a month — the mortgage takes 75p of every pound of rent

Borrowing £56,644 less would close that shortfall — which is £56,644 more cash at the start, on top of the deposit.

£934 mortgage

£567 running

£1,242 rent in£307 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

£77,550 + refurb costs

And about £18,409 more over five years, because it loses £307 every month you hold it — before any repair. That already assumes the rent never falls.

£77,550 to buy it

deposit · stamp duty · solicitor · fees~£10,790, unseen

□ works not inspected

What would have to be true?The working

£75,000 off and it stops losing money

At the asking price you feed it £307 a month. At £154,464 the rent covers everything — leaving stamp duty of £8,312 at that price.

offer £154,464

asked £230,000

◧ worked back from the rent■ stamp duty re-bandedrounded down to £5,000 — the rent it works back from is an estimate

Is the price right?Comparables

Nothing nearby is comparable — but it is 18% over its 2021 price

The dearest sold for 2.6× the cheapest, so the rent has to justify this price on its own.

you'd pay £230,000

£117,500

£148,200

£166,000

£175,000

£190,900

£190,900

£200,000

£235,000

£240,000

£244,000

£245,000

£300,000

£117.5k£208.8k£300k

£117,500 cheapest£300,000 dearest

12 completed sales, same property type, last 3 years

□ 12 sold nearby, not matched on sizeHM Land Registry Price Paid Data

Can we trust the rent?Rent evidence

Nearby lettings, but only by searching 1.5 km

We widened the search to find them, so these are not next-door comparisons.

+121 more

our bar: 10 within 500 m

what 6 nearby lettings ask£995–£1,400/mo

our own middle half£1,107–£1,393/mo

■ 131 lettings within 1.5 km□ searched wider than our barAdvertised rents, not signed tenancies

What will the rent borrow?Lender test

The rent carries £131,777 of the £172,500 loan

That £40,723 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 £19,638. Lenders test the rent at 7.5% and need it to cover 145% of the payment.

£1,563 needed

more than the £1,194 rent

stressed at 7.5%, 145% cover

◧ rent after empty weeks £1,194PRA-style test

How big is it, really?The plan

One figure, and nothing checking it 578 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

Sale, M33 7GR

1 of 1 school 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 to know before you offerThe checks

Every tenancy here is periodic, with no Section 21 to end it

Tenancies are now periodic, with no Section 21 — budget a longer void.

1 problem found · 1 came back clear · 5 we could not check · 2 do not apply to this property

■ from the Renters’ Rights Act 2025listing last seen 12 Sep 2026

Which strategy wins?The ways to run it

Every way loses money — Short-stay let loses least, at £296 a month

Let it to the council: £2,808 a year less, but they keep paying when it is empty.

Short-stay let−£296 · £88,340 in

8 nearby short-lets within 5.5 km · medium confidence

Standard rental−£307 · £88,340 in

Guaranteed council rent−£541 · £88,340 in

Housing-benefit rent−£758 · £88,340 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

−£25,642 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 25% in the price would leave nothing from a sale after selling costs, and you would still owe the lender any shortfall. That is the £88,340 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