Rented normally, it costs you £283 a month. That is £3,391 a year, every year you hold it.

Will it pay?Calculator

You top up £283 a month — the mortgage takes 89p of every pound of rent

Borrowing £52,166 less would close that shortfall — which is £52,166 more cash at the start, on top of the deposit.

+£1,236−£1,097−£422−£283

Rent inMortgageRunning costsShort by

The rent covers £1,236 of that — you cover £283

◧ market rent £1,236 · 14 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

£91,700 + refurb costs

And about £16,954 more over five years, because it loses £283 every month you hold it — before any repair. That already assumes the rent never falls.

£91,700 to buy it

deposit · stamp duty · solicitor · fees~£12,987, unseen

□ works not inspected

What would have to be true?The working

£65,000 off and it stops losing money

At the asking price you feed it £283 a month. At £200,443 the rent covers everything — leaving stamp duty of £11,531 at that price.

offer £200,443

asked £270,000

◧ 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 £131,141 of the £202,500 loan

That £71,359 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 £50,377. Lenders test the rent at 7.5% and need it to cover 145% of the payment.

£1,835 needed

more than the £1,188 rent

stressed at 7.5%, 145% cover

◧ rent after empty weeks £1,188PRA-style test

Who has to say yes?Council record

Plymouth council approves 97% — 92% on a cautious reading

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

97%

0%50%100%

never approvesalways approves

the band is the cautious reading of the same 105 decisions — as low as 92%

■ 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 2,051 sq ft

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

AdvertFloorplan

586 sq ft1.5k sq ft2.3k sq ft

586 sq ft2,344 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

Plymouth, PL3 4LQ

3 of 4 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 to know before you offerThe checks

Every tenancy here is periodic, with no Section 21 to end it

Tenancies are now periodic, with no Section 21 — budget a longer void.

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

■ from the Renters’ Rights Act 2025listing last seen 19 Sep 2026

Which strategy wins?The ways to run it

Short-stay let beats Standard rental by £1,124 a month

Let it to the council: £4,284 a year less, but they keep paying when it is empty.

Short-stay let+£841 · £104,687 in

15 nearby short-lets within 20 km · low confidence

Standard rental−£283 · £104,687 in

Guaranteed council rent−£640 · £104,687 in

Housing-benefit rent−£785 · £104,687 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) · 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

−£25,816 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 £104,687 you put in. The 5-year fix runs past this 5-year hold, so the rate reset comes after it.

−£104,687+£307,422−£7,686−£202,500−£18,365−£25,816

Cash you put inSale valueSelling costsMortgageRent lossesYou are down

◧ 2.0%/yr growth assumed