Rented normally, it costs you £293 a month. That is £3,519 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 15 Sep 2026

Will it pay?Calculator

You top up £293 a month — the mortgage takes 70p of every pound of rent

Borrowing £54,141 less would close that shortfall — which is £54,141 more cash at the start, on top of the deposit.

£528 mortgage

£486 running

£750 rent in£293 short

£175 of that is a guess — no service charge published.

□ 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

£44,050 + refurb costs

And about £17,596 more over five years, because it loses £293 every month you hold it — before any repair. That already assumes the rent never falls.

£44,050 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 £140,000 in 2026

Nothing nearby is comparable, but asking is 7% less than the £140,000 paid for it in 2026.

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

What will the rent borrow?Lender test

The rent carries £79,576 of the £97,500 loan

That £17,924 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 £5,192. Lenders test the rent at 7.5% and need it to cover 145% of the payment.

£884 needed

more than the £721 rent

stressed at 7.5%, 145% cover

◧ rent after empty weeks £721PRA-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

Torquay, TQ1 4QT

4 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 4Not assessed for this address

■ postcode area, not this address

Which strategy wins?The ways to run it

Every way loses money — Standard rental loses least, at £293 a month

Let it to the council: £1,464 a year less, but they keep paying when it is empty.

Standard rental−£293 · £50,467 in

Guaranteed council rent−£415 · £50,467 in

Housing-benefit rent−£530 · £50,467 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?The five-year sums

−£22,596 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 £50,467 you put in. The 5-year fix runs past this 5-year hold, so the rate reset comes after it.

◧ 2.0%/yr growth assumed