Rented normally, it costs you £397 a month. That is £4,769 a year, every year you hold it.

Will it pay?Calculator

You top up £397 a month — the mortgage takes 94p of every pound of rent

Borrowing £73,365 less would close that shortfall — which is £73,365 more cash at the start, on top of the deposit.

+£1,147−£1,077−£468−£397

Rent inMortgageRunning costsShort by

The rent covers £1,147 of that — you cover £397

◧ market rent £1,147 · 12 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

£89,875 + refurb costs

And about £23,844 more over five years, because it loses £397 every month you hold it — before any repair. That already assumes the rent never falls.

£89,875 to buy it

deposit · stamp duty · solicitor · fees~£15,951, unseen

□ works not inspected

What would have to be true?The working

£95,000 off and it stops losing money

At the asking price you feed it £397 a month. At £167,178 the rent covers everything — leaving stamp duty of £9,202 at that price.

offer £167,178

asked £265,000

◧ 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 £121,698 of the £198,750 loan

That £77,052 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 £57,581. Lenders test the rent at 7.5% and need it to cover 145% of the payment.

£1,801 needed

more than the £1,103 rent

stressed at 7.5%, 145% cover

◧ rent after empty weeks £1,103PRA-style test

How big is it, really?The plan

The rooms are on the plan; the total is not

The plan is on file; the floor area is not.

□ no floor area published

Is it a good location?Open the map

Gateshead, NE39 2DJ

1 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 4Not assessed for this address

■ 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.

3 problems found · 5 we could not check · 1 does not apply to this property

■ from council licensing registerlisting last seen 18 Sep 2026

Which strategy wins?The ways to run it

Every way loses money — Short-stay let loses least, at £139 a month

Your controls are set to Standard rental — £258 a month behind Short-stay let.

Short-stay let−£139 · £105,826 in

59 nearby short-lets within 20 km · medium confidence

Rent by the room−£334 · £131,826 in

Standard rental−£397 · £105,826 in

Guaranteed council rent−£711 · £105,826 in

Housing-benefit rent−£841 · £105,826 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) · Buy, improve & sell (pays out on sale)

◧ 5 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

−£33,977 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 26% in the price would leave nothing from a sale after selling costs, and you would still owe the lender any shortfall. That is the £105,826 you put in. The 5-year fix runs past this 5-year hold, so the rate reset comes after it.

−£105,826+£304,029−£7,601−£198,750−£25,829−£33,977

Cash you put inSale valueSelling costsMortgageRent lossesYou are down

◧ 2.0%/yr growth assumed