Rented normally, it costs you £395 a month. That is £4,740 a year, every year you hold it.

Will it pay?Calculator

You top up £395 a month — the mortgage takes 86p of every pound of rent

Borrowing £72,923 less would close that shortfall — which is £72,923 more cash at the start, on top of the deposit.

+£803−£691−£507−£395

Rent inMortgageRunning costsShort by

The rent covers £803 of that — you cover £395

□ 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

£57,450 + refurb costs

And about £23,700 more over five years, because it loses £395 every month you hold it — before any repair. That already assumes the rent never falls.

£57,450 to buy it

deposit · stamp duty · solicitor · fees~£13,211, unseen

□ works not inspected

What would have to be true?The search

No offer makes this pay

Even at £102,000 — well below the £170,000 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 £102,000

What will the rent borrow?Lender test

The rent carries £85,199 of the £127,500 loan

That £42,301 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 £28,669. Lenders test the rent at 7.5% and need it to cover 145% of the payment.

£1,155 needed

more than the £772 rent

stressed at 7.5%, 145% cover

◧ rent after empty weeks £772PRA-style test

Who has to say yes?Council record

Burnley council approves 74% — 58% on a cautious reading

A council-wide rate across 35 HMO decisions, not a forecast for this address.

74%

0%50%100%

never approvesalways approves

the band is the cautious reading of the same 35 decisions — as low as 58%

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

How big is it, really?The plan

The plan and the advert, side by side 1,795 sq ft

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

AdvertFloorplan

672 sq ft1.3k sq ft2k sq ft

672 sq ft2,020 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

Burnley, BB12 6AB

2 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 4Planning permission required to let by the room

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

■ from council licensing registerlisting last seen 09 Sep 2026

Which strategy wins?The ways to run it

Every way loses money — Short-stay let loses least, at £179 a month

Short-stay let also ties up the least cash, £70,661.

Short-stay let−£179 · £70,661 in

7 nearby short-lets within 20 km · low confidence

Standard rental−£395 · £70,661 in

Housing-benefit rent−£711 · £70,661 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) · 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

−£31,589 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 £70,661 you put in. The 5-year fix runs past this 5-year hold, so the rate reset comes after it.

−£70,661+£197,175−£4,929−£127,500−£25,673−£31,589

Cash you put inSale valueSelling costsMortgageRent lossesYou are down

◧ 2.0%/yr growth assumed