Rented normally, it costs you £313 a month. That is £3,758 a year, every year you hold it.

Will it pay?Calculator

You top up £313 a month — the mortgage takes 84p of every pound of rent

Borrowing £57,810 less would close that shortfall — which is £57,810 more cash at the start, on top of the deposit.

+£2,290−£1,930−£673−£313

Rent inMortgageRunning costsShort by

The rent covers £2,290 of that — you cover £313

◧ market rent £2,290 · 88 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

£166,525 + refurb costs

And about £18,788 more over five years, because it loses £313 every month you hold it — before any repair. That already assumes the rent never falls.

£166,525 to buy it

deposit · stamp duty · solicitor · fees~£23,506, 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 £313 a month. At £397,905 the rent covers everything — leaving stamp duty of £29,791 at that price.

offer £397,905

asked £475,000

◧ 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 £242,971 of the £356,250 loan

That £113,279 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 £74,404. Lenders test the rent at 7.5% and need it to cover 145% of the payment.

£3,229 needed

more than the £2,202 rent

stressed at 7.5%, 145% cover

◧ rent after empty weeks £2,202PRA-style test

How big is it, really?The plan

Measured off the plan, not by a surveyor 1,046 sq ft

The area comes off the plan, not a survey. Open for what that means.

□ area off the floorplan — not a survey

Is it a good location?Open the map

Harrow, HA3 7HR

2 of 4 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 · 5 we could not check · 1 does not apply to this property

■ from council licensing registerlisting last seen 14 Sep 2026

Which strategy wins?The ways to run it

Every way loses money — Standard rental loses least, at £313 a month

Let it to the council: £5,040 a year less, but they keep paying when it is empty.

Standard rental−£313 · £190,031 in

Rent by the room−£701 · £216,031 in

Guaranteed council rent−£733 · £190,031 in

Housing-benefit rent−£913 · £190,031 in

Short-stay let−£1,891 · £190,031 in

72 nearby short-lets within 11.1 km · medium confidence

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, after 5 years?The five-year sums

−£38,859 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 £190,031 you put in. The 5-year fix runs past this 5-year hold, so the rate reset comes after it.

−£190,031+£541,308−£13,533−£356,250−£20,353−£38,859

Cash you put inSale valueSelling costsMortgageRent lossesYou are down

◧ 2.0%/yr growth assumed