Rented normally, it costs you £35 a month. That is £423 a year, every year you hold it.

Will it pay?Calculator

You top up £35 a month — the mortgage takes 55p of every pound of rent

Borrowing £6,515 less would close that shortfall — which is £6,515 more cash at the start, on top of the deposit.

+£559−£305−£290−£35

Rent inMortgageRunning costsShort by

The rent covers £559 of that — you cover £35

◧ market rent £559 · 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

£26,325 + refurb costs

And about £2,117 more over five years, because it loses £35 every month you hold it — before any repair. That already assumes the rent never falls.

£26,325 to buy it

~£11,559

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

□ works not inspected

What would have to be true?The working

£5,000 off and it stops losing money

At the asking price you feed it £35 a month. At £66,313 the rent covers everything — leaving stamp duty of £3,316 at that price.

offer £66,313

asked £75,000

◧ worked back from the rent■ stamp duty re-bandedrounded down to £5,000 — the rent it works back from is an estimate

Is the price right?The deeds

Last sold for £52,000 in 2021

Nothing nearby is comparable, but asking is 44% more than the £52,000 paid for it in 2021.

□ this address’s own deeds, no comparable saleHM Land Registry Price Paid Data

What will the rent borrow?Lender test

The rent carries the whole loan — it could fall 5% 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.

£510 needed

of £538 rent

stressed at 7.5%, 145% cover

◧ rent after empty weeks £538PRA-style test

Who has to say yes?Council record

County Durham council approves 0% — 0% on a cautious reading

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

0%

0%50%100%

never approvesalways approves

the band is the cautious reading of the same 3 decisions — as low as 0%

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

How big is it, really?The plan

One figure, and nothing checking it 764 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

Durham, DL16 6DX

3 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 · 1 came back clear · 4 we could not check · 2 do not apply to this property

■ from council licensing registerlisting last seen 19 Sep 2026

Which strategy wins?The ways to run it

Every way loses money — Standard rental loses least, at £35 a month

Let it to the council: £816 a year less, but they keep paying when it is empty.

Standard rental−£35 · £37,884 in

Guaranteed council rent−£103 · £37,884 in

Housing-benefit rent−£194 · £37,884 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) · 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

−£7,604 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 30% in the price would leave nothing from a sale after selling costs, and you would still owe the lender any shortfall. That is the £37,884 you put in. The 5-year fix runs past this 5-year hold, so the rate reset comes after it.

−£37,884+£91,101−£2,278−£56,250−£2,294−£7,604

Cash you put inSale valueSelling costsMortgageRent lossesYou are down

◧ 2.0%/yr growth assumed