Rented normally, it costs you £273 a month. That is £3,276 a year, every year you hold it.

Will it pay?Calculator

You top up £273 a month — the mortgage takes 85p of every pound of rent

Borrowing £50,400 less would close that shortfall — which is £50,400 more cash at the start, on top of the deposit.

£650 mortgage

£355 running

£761 rent in£273 short

◧ market rent £761 · 130 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

£53,800 + refurb costs

And about £16,380 more over five years, because it loses £273 every month you hold it — before any repair. That already assumes the rent never falls.

£53,800 to buy it

deposit · stamp duty · solicitor · fees~£11,505, unseen

□ works not inspected

What would have to be true?The search

No offer makes this pay

Even at £96,000 — well below the £160,000 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 £96,000

Is the price right?Comparables

We can't tell — nothing nearby is alike enough

The dearest sold for 3.0× the cheapest, so the rent has to justify this price on its own.

you'd pay £160,000

£190,000

£190,000

£205,000

£270,000

£275,000

£295,000

£329,995

£340,500

£354,995

£388,000

£510,000

£575,000

£190k£382.5k£575k

£190,000 cheapest£575,000 dearest

12 completed sales, same property type, last 3 years

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

What will the rent borrow?Lender test

The rent carries £80,743 of the £120,000 loan

That £39,257 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 £26,338. Lenders test the rent at 7.5% and need it to cover 145% of the payment.

£1,088 needed

more than the £732 rent

stressed at 7.5%, 145% cover

◧ rent after empty weeks £732PRA-style test

How big is it, really?The plan

One figure, and nothing checking it 667 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

Rotherham, S66 7HH

1 of 3 schools in this postcode area rated Good or Outstanding 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.

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

■ from council licensing registerlisting last seen 15 Sep 2026

Which strategy wins?The ways to run it

Every way loses money — Standard rental loses least, at £273 a month

Let it to the council: £1,704 a year less, but they keep paying when it is empty.

Standard rental−£273 · £65,305 in

Guaranteed council rent−£415 · £65,305 in

Housing-benefit rent−£517 · £65,305 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) · 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

−£22,762 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 27% in the price would leave nothing from a sale after selling costs, and you would still owe the lender any shortfall. That is the £65,305 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