Rented normally, it costs you £48 a month. That is £581 a year, every year you hold it.

What could kill thisThe checks

It is sold as a retirement-only home, not on ordinary terms

This is not an ordinary purchase, so none of the figures on this page describe it.

2 problems found · 5 we could not check · 2 do not apply to this property

■ from the listinglisting last seen 19 Sep 2026

Will it pay?Calculator

You top up £48 a month — the mortgage takes 42p of every pound of rent

Borrowing £8,931 less would close that shortfall — which is £8,931 more cash at the start, on top of the deposit.

+£825−£345−£528−£48

Rent inMortgageRunning costsShort by

The rent covers £825 of that — you cover £48

□ 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

£29,775 + refurb costs

And about £2,903 more over five years, because it loses £48 every month you hold it — before any repair. That already assumes the rent never falls.

£29,775 to buy it

deposit · stamp duty · solicitor · fees~£6,417, unseen

□ works not inspected

What would have to be true?

No recorded basis for the rent to work from

Every price on this card is that rent inverted, and this row records no basis for its rent — not that the rent is wrong, but that we cannot show it was measured against nearby lettings. A price quoted to the £5,000 needs evidence we can point at.

□ rent basis not recorded

Is the price right?The deeds

Last sold for £95,000 in 2015

Nothing nearby is comparable, but asking is 11% less than the £95,000 paid for it in 2015.

□ 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 27% 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.

£578 needed

of £793 rent

stressed at 7.5%, 145% cover

◧ rent after empty weeks £793PRA-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

Southampton, SO16 7NT

1 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 4Planning permission required to let by the room

■ postcode area, not this address

Which strategy wins?The ways to run it

Guaranteed council rent beats Standard rental by £52 a month

Let it to the council and you keep £52 a month more, and they keep paying when it is empty.

Guaranteed council rent+£4 · £36,192 in

Standard rental−£48 · £36,192 in

Housing-benefit rent−£199 · £36,192 in

Each row: money kept a month, then the cash it ties up. Not compared: Rent by the room (only 1 bedroom) · 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

−£7,096 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 £36,192 you put in. The 5-year fix runs past this 5-year hold, so the rate reset comes after it.

−£36,192+£98,452−£2,461−£63,750−£3,144−£7,096

Cash you put inSale valueSelling costsMortgageRent lossesYou are down

◧ 2.0%/yr growth assumed