Rented normally, it costs you £1,536 a month. That is £18,430 a year, every year you hold it.

Will it pay?Calculator

The mortgage alone costs more than the whole rent — you top up £1,536 a month

It is £1,536 a month short. Borrowing £283,546 less would close that shortfall — which is £283,546 more cash at the start, on top of the deposit.

+£1,840−£2,742−£634−£1,536

Rent inMortgageRunning costsShort by

The rent covers £1,840 of that — you cover £1,536

◧ market rent £1,840 · 20 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

£240,275 + refurb costs

And about £92,152 more over five years, because it loses £1,536 every month you hold it — before any repair. That already assumes the rent never falls.

£240,275 to buy it

deposit · stamp duty · solicitor · fees~£23,631, unseen

□ works not inspected

What would have to be true?The search

No offer makes this pay

Even at £405,000 — well below the £675,000 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 £405,000

What will the rent borrow?Lender test

The rent carries £195,225 of the £506,250 loan

That £311,025 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 £279,788. Lenders test the rent at 7.5% and need it to cover 145% of the payment.

£4,588 needed

more than the £1,769 rent

stressed at 7.5%, 145% cover

◧ rent after empty weeks £1,769PRA-style test

How big is it, really?The working

One figure, and nothing checking it 1,736 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

Leicester, LE5 6HB

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

■ from council licensing registerlisting last seen 10 Sep 2026

Which strategy wins?The ways to run it

Every way loses money — Rent by the room loses least, at £1,531 a month

Let it to the council: £4,512 a year less, but they keep paying when it is empty.

Rent by the room−£1,531 · £297,906 in

Standard rental−£1,536 · £263,906 in

Guaranteed council rent−£1,912 · £263,906 in

Housing-benefit rent−£2,237 · £263,906 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, after 5 years?The five-year sums

−£126,823 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 £263,906 you put in. The 5-year fix runs past this 5-year hold, so the rate reset comes after it.

−£263,906+£762,213−£19,055−£506,250−£99,825−£126,823

Cash you put inSale valueSelling costsMortgageRent lossesYou are down

◧ 2.0%/yr growth assumed