Rented normally, it costs you £88 a month. That is £1,058 a year, every year you hold it.

Will it pay?Calculator

You top up £88 a month — the mortgage takes 73p of every pound of rent

Borrowing £16,284 less would close that shortfall — which is £16,284 more cash at the start, on top of the deposit.

+£1,275−£934−£429−£88

Rent inMortgageRunning costsShort by

The rent covers £1,275 of that — you cover £88

◧ market rent £1,275 · 42 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

£77,250 + refurb costs

And about £5,292 more over five years, because it loses £88 every month you hold it — before any repair. That already assumes the rent never falls.

£77,250 to buy it

deposit · stamp duty · solicitor · fees~£13,790, unseen

□ works not inspected

What would have to be true?The working

£20,000 off and it stops losing money

At the asking price you feed it £88 a month. At £208,280 the rent covers everything — leaving stamp duty of £12,080 at that price.

offer £208,280

asked £230,000

◧ 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.

+32 more

our bar: 10 within 500 m

our own middle half£1,167–£1,393/mo

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

What will the rent borrow?Lender test

The rent carries £135,279 of the £172,500 loan

That £37,221 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 £15,577. Lenders test the rent at 7.5% and need it to cover 145% of the payment.

£1,563 needed

more than the £1,226 rent

stressed at 7.5%, 145% cover

◧ rent after empty weeks £1,226PRA-style test

Who has to say yes?Council record

Birmingham council approves 50% — 45% on a cautious reading

A council-wide rate, not a forecast — and Birmingham council refuses schemes that sandwich a family home. Check both neighbours.

50%

0%50%100%

never approvesalways approves

the band is the cautious reading of the same 393 decisions — as low as 45%

■ Article 4 — planning permission requireddecision record held for this authority

How big is it, really?The plan

One figure, and nothing checking it 785 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

Birmingham, B29 7QE

2 of 3 schools in this postcode area rated Good or Outstanding and flood risk checking… — open for the map, the schools and the rest.

Article 4Planning permission required to let by the room

■ postcode area, not this address

What could kill thisThe checks

The council here has taken away the automatic right to rent this out by the room

You would have to apply for permission first, and the council can say no.

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

■ from the Article 4 maplisting last seen 06 Sep 2026

Which strategy wins?The ways to run it

Rent by the room beats Standard rental by £140 a month

Let it to the council: £2,028 a year less, but they keep paying when it is empty.

Rent by the room+£52 · £117,040 in

Standard rental−£88 · £91,040 in

Guaranteed council rent−£257 · £91,040 in

Short-stay let−£370 · £91,040 in

98 nearby short-lets within 5.5 km · low confidence

Housing-benefit rent−£510 · £91,040 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) · 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

−£12,034 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 £91,040 you put in. The 5-year fix runs past this 5-year hold, so the rate reset comes after it.

−£91,040+£263,835−£6,596−£172,500−£5,733−£12,034

Cash you put inSale valueSelling costsMortgageRent lossesYou are down

◧ 2.0%/yr growth assumed