Rented normally, it costs you £245 a month. That is £2,946 a year, every year you hold it.

What could kill thisThe checks

You would not own it outright — the lease runs out in 59 years

Nobody has priced those extra years here — you buy them from whoever owns the land under it.

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

■ from the listinglisting last seen 18 Sep 2026

Will it pay?Calculator

You top up £245 a month — the mortgage takes 61p of every pound of rent

Borrowing £45,319 less would close that shortfall — which is £45,319 more cash at the start, on top of the deposit.

+£1,843−£1,117−£971−£245

Rent inMortgageRunning costsShort by

The rent covers £1,843 of that — you cover £245

◧ market rent £1,843 · 5 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

£93,900 + refurb costs

And about £14,729 more over five years, because it loses £245 every month you hold it — before any repair. That already assumes the rent never falls.

£93,900 to buy it

deposit · stamp duty · solicitor · fees~£15,002, unseen

□ works not inspected

What would have to be true?The working

£60,000 off and it stops losing money

At the asking price you feed it £245 a month. At £214,548 the rent covers everything — leaving stamp duty of £12,518 at that price.

offer £214,548

asked £275,000

◧ 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 £195,544 of the £206,250 loan

That £10,706 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 rent carries the whole loan. Lenders test the rent at 7.5% and need it to cover 145% of the payment.

£1,869 needed

more than the £1,772 rent

stressed at 7.5%, 145% cover

◧ rent after empty weeks £1,772PRA-style test

How big is it, really?The plan

The plan and the advert, side by side 703 sq ft

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

AdvertFloorplan

693 sq ft703 sq ft713 sq ft

693 sq ft713 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

Windsor, SL5 9JW

1 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

Which strategy wins?The ways to run it

Every way loses money — Standard rental loses least, at £245 a month

Standard rental also ties up the least cash, £108,902.

Standard rental−£245 · £108,902 in

Housing-benefit rent−£847 · £108,902 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) · Guaranteed council rent (no scheme in this borough) · Buy, improve & sell (pays out on sale)

◧ 2 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

−£24,578 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 26% in the price would leave nothing from a sale after selling costs, and you would still owe the lender any shortfall. That is the £108,902 you put in. The 5-year fix runs past this 5-year hold, so the rate reset comes after it.

−£108,902+£314,388−£7,860−£206,250−£15,955−£24,578

Cash you put inSale valueSelling costsMortgageRent lossesYou are down

◧ 2.0%/yr growth assumed