Rented normally, it costs you £186 a month. That is £2,233 a year, every year you hold it.

Will it pay?Calculator

You top up £186 a month — the mortgage takes 71p of every pound of rent

Borrowing £34,358 less would close that shortfall — which is £34,358 more cash at the start, on top of the deposit.

+£1,884−£1,341−£729−£186

Rent inMortgageRunning costsShort by

The rent covers £1,884 of that — you cover £186

□ 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

£113,975 + refurb costs

And about £11,166 more over five years, because it loses £186 every month you hold it — before any repair. That already assumes the rent never falls.

£113,975 to buy it

deposit · stamp duty · solicitor · fees~£14,445, unseen

□ works not inspected

What would have to be true?The working

£45,000 off and it stops losing money

At the asking price you feed it £186 a month. At £284,174 the rent covers everything — leaving stamp duty of £18,417 at that price.

offer £284,174

asked £330,000

◧ 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.

+43 more

our bar: 10 within 500 m

our own middle half£1,758–£2,019/mo

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

What will the rent borrow?Lender test

The rent carries £199,894 of the £247,500 loan

That £47,606 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 £15,623. Lenders test the rent at 7.5% and need it to cover 145% of the payment.

£2,243 needed

more than the £1,812 rent

stressed at 7.5%, 145% cover

◧ rent after empty weeks £1,812PRA-style test

How big is it, really?The plan

The plan and the advert, side by side 581 sq ft

Two figures for this house, and neither is a survey. Open for both.

AdvertFloorplan

571 sq ft581 sq ft591 sq ft

571 sq ft591 sq ft

neither is a survey — a tape measure settles it

□ area off the floorplan — not a survey

Is it a good location?Open the map

London, N17 0JY

3 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 · 4 came back clear · 1 we could not check · 2 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 £186 a month

Let it to the council: £2,304 a year less, but they keep paying when it is empty.

Standard rental−£186 · £128,420 in

Guaranteed council rent−£378 · £128,420 in

Housing-benefit rent−£665 · £128,420 in

Short-stay let−£1,088 · £128,420 in

33 nearby short-lets within 5.5 km · low 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) · 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

−£22,671 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 £128,420 you put in. The 5-year fix runs past this 5-year hold, so the rate reset comes after it.

−£128,420+£374,713−£9,368−£247,500−£12,096−£22,671

Cash you put inSale valueSelling costsMortgageRent lossesYou are down

◧ 2.0%/yr growth assumed