Rented normally, it costs you £27 a month. That is £322 a year, every year you hold it.

Will it pay?Calculator

You top up £27 a month — the mortgage takes 53p of every pound of rent

Borrowing £4,954 less would close that shortfall — which is £4,954 more cash at the start, on top of the deposit.

+£539−£284−£282−£27

Rent inMortgageRunning costsShort by

The rent covers £539 of that — you cover £27

◧ market rent £539 · 52 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

£24,735 + refurb costs

And about £1,610 more over five years, because it loses £27 every month you hold it — before any repair. That already assumes the rent never falls.

£24,735 to buy it

deposit · stamp duty · solicitor · fees~£1,350, unseen

□ 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 £27 a month. At £63,338 the rent covers everything — leaving stamp duty of £3,167 at that price.

offer £63,338

asked £69,950

◧ 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 £70,000 in 2007

Nothing nearby is comparable, and it is asking about what it fetched in 2007.

□ 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 8% 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.

£475 needed

of £518 rent

stressed at 7.5%, 145% cover

◧ rent after empty weeks £518PRA-style test

How big is it, really?The plan

Measured off the plan, not by a surveyor 929 sq ft

The area comes off the plan, not a survey. Open for what that means.

□ area off the floorplan — not a survey

Is it a good location?Open the map

Hartlepool, TS26 8EF

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

Article 4Not assessed for this address

■ 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 · 1 came back clear · 6 we could not check · 1 does not apply to this property

■ from the Renters’ Rights Act 2025listing last seen 18 Sep 2026

Which strategy wins?The ways to run it

Rent by the room beats Guaranteed council rent by £563 a month

Your controls are set to Standard rental — £634 a month behind Rent by the room.

Rent by the room+£607 · £56,085 in

Guaranteed council rent+£44 · £26,085 in

Standard rental−£27 · £26,085 in

Housing-benefit rent−£64 · £26,085 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) · Short-stay let (no local short-let data) · 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

−£4,047 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 24% in the price would leave nothing from a sale after selling costs, and you would still owe the lender any shortfall. That is the £26,085 you put in. The 5-year fix runs past this 5-year hold, so the rate reset comes after it.

−£26,085+£78,199−£1,955−£52,463−£1,744−£4,047

Cash you put inSale valueSelling costsMortgageRent lossesYou are down

◧ 2.0%/yr growth assumed