Rented normally, it costs you £161 a month. That is £1,935 a year, every year you hold it.

Will it pay?Calculator

You top up £161 a month — the mortgage takes 56p of every pound of rent

Borrowing £29,765 less would close that shortfall — which is £29,765 more cash at the start, on top of the deposit.

+£582−£325−£418−£161

Rent inMortgageRunning costsShort by

The rent covers £582 of that — you cover £161

□ 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

£28,200 + refurb costs

And about £9,674 more over five years, because it loses £161 every month you hold it — before any repair. That already assumes the rent never falls.

£28,200 to buy it

~£7,423

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

□ works not inspected

What would have to be true?The search

No offer makes this pay

Even at £48,000 — well below the £80,000 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 £48,000

What will the rent borrow?Lender test

The rent carries the whole loan — it could fall 3% and still cover it

Your deposit is what limits this one, not the rent. Lenders test the rent at 7.5% and need it to cover 145% of the payment.

£544 needed

of £560 rent

stressed at 7.5%, 145% cover

◧ rent after empty weeks £560PRA-style test

How big is it, really?The plan

One figure, and nothing checking it 431 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

Nottingham, NG7 3BB

1 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

£1,030 a year in charges for the building, owed even when nobody is living there

The contract the property is sold under sets these charges, and they can go up over the years.

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

■ from the listinglisting last seen 18 Sep 2026

Which strategy wins?The ways to run it

Every way loses money — Guaranteed council rent loses least, at £132 a month

Let it to the council and you keep £29 a month more, and they keep paying when it is empty.

Guaranteed council rent−£132 · £35,623 in

Standard rental−£161 · £35,623 in

Housing-benefit rent−£226 · £35,623 in

Each row: money kept a month, then the cash it ties up. Not compared: Rent by the room (only 1 bedroom) · 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)

◧ 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

−£14,790 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 27% in the price would leave nothing from a sale after selling costs, and you would still owe the lender any shortfall. That is the £35,623 you put in. The 5-year fix runs past this 5-year hold, so the rate reset comes after it.

−£35,623+£93,654−£2,341−£60,000−£10,479−£14,790

Cash you put inSale valueSelling costsMortgageRent lossesYou are down

◧ 2.0%/yr growth assumed