Rented normally, it costs you £468 a month. That is £5,620 a year, every year you hold it.

Will it pay?Calculator

You top up £468 a month — the mortgage takes 87p of every pound of rent

Borrowing £86,460 less would close that shortfall — which is £86,460 more cash at the start, on top of the deposit.

+£2,744−£2,377−£836−£468

Rent inMortgageRunning costsShort by

The rent covers £2,744 of that — you cover £468

□ 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

£207,875 + refurb costs

And about £28,100 more over five years, because it loses £468 every month you hold it — before any repair. That already assumes the rent never falls.

£207,875 to buy it

~£82,825

deposit · stamp duty · solicitor · feeswe haven’t been inside

□ works not inspected

What would have to be true?The working

£115,000 off and it stops losing money

At the asking price you feed it £468 a month. At £469,714 the rent covers everything — leaving stamp duty of £36,971 at that price.

offer £469,714

asked £585,000

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

Can we trust the rent?Rent evidence

Nearby lettings back this rent

We hold too few nearby asking rents to cross-check this figure, so nothing here confirms it a second way.

+87 more

our bar: 10 within 500 m

our own middle half£2,346–£3,210/mo

■ 97 lettings within 1 km□ no nearby asks to cross-checkAdvertised rents, not signed tenancies

What will the rent borrow?Lender test

The rent carries £291,141 of the £438,750 loan

That £147,609 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 £101,027. Lenders test the rent at 7.5% and need it to cover 145% of the payment.

£3,976 needed

more than the £2,638 rent

stressed at 7.5%, 145% cover

◧ rent after empty weeks £2,638PRA-style test

How big is it, really?The plan

One figure, and nothing checking it 662 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

No school rated Good or better in this postcode area

5 schools in this postcode area, none rated Good or better 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 · 3 came back clear · 1 we could not check · 3 do not apply to this property

■ from council licensing registerlisting last seen 19 Sep 2026

Which strategy wins?The ways to run it

Every way loses money — Standard rental loses least, at £468 a month

Standard rental also ties up the least cash, £290,700.

Standard rental−£468 · £290,700 in

Housing-benefit rent−£1,569 · £290,700 in

Short-stay let−£2,157 · £290,700 in

5 nearby short-lets within 5.5 km · medium confidence

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) · Guaranteed council rent (no scheme in this borough) · 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, after 5 years?The five-year sums

−£72,196 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 30% in the price would leave nothing from a sale after selling costs, and you would still owe the lender any shortfall. That is the £290,700 you put in. The 5-year fix runs past this 5-year hold, so the rate reset comes after it.

−£290,700+£705,327−£17,633−£438,750−£30,439−£72,196

Cash you put inSale valueSelling costsMortgageRent lossesYou are down

◧ 2.0%/yr growth assumed