Rented normally, it costs you £744 a month. That is £8,930 a year, every year you hold it.

Will it pay?Calculator

You top up £744 a month — the mortgage takes 96p of every pound of rent

Borrowing £137,384 less would close that shortfall — which is £137,384 more cash at the start, on top of the deposit.

£1,828 mortgage

£1,906 rent in£744 short

◧ market rent £1,906 · 143 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

£157,775 + refurb costs

And about £44,650 more over five years, because it loses £744 every month you hold it — before any repair. That already assumes the rent never falls.

£157,775 to buy it

deposit · stamp duty · solicitor · fees~£16,744, unseen

□ works not inspected

What would have to be true?The search

No offer makes this pay

Even at £270,000 — well below the £450,000 asked — the rent still does not cover the costs. The gap is the rent against the running costs, not the price, so negotiating does not close it.

◧ worked back from the rent■ stamp duty re-bandedtested down to £270,000

Is the price right?The deeds

Last sold for £470,000 in 2019

Nothing nearby is comparable, but asking is 4% less than the £470,000 paid for it in 2019.

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

Can we trust the rent?Rent evidence

Nearby lettings back this rent

They are advertised rents rather than signed tenancies, so a slow month is still possible.

+133 more

our bar: 10 within 500 m

what 20 nearby lettings ask£1,650–£2,500/mo

our own middle half£1,712–£2,122/mo

■ 143 lettings within 500 mAdvertised rents, not signed tenancies

What will the rent borrow?Lender test

The rent carries £202,228 of the £337,500 loan

That £135,272 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 £102,915. Lenders test the rent at 7.5% and need it to cover 145% of the payment.

£3,059 needed

more than the £1,833 rent

stressed at 7.5%, 145% cover

◧ rent after empty weeks £1,833PRA-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

Harrow, HA1 2DS

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.

2 problems found · 2 came back clear · 3 we could not check · 2 do not apply to this property

■ from council licensing registerlisting last seen 05 Sep 2026

Which strategy wins?The ways to run it

Every way loses money — Standard rental loses least, at £744 a month

Let it to the council: £4,644 a year less, but they keep paying when it is empty.

Standard rental−£744 · £174,519 in

Guaranteed council rent−£1,131 · £174,519 in

Housing-benefit rent−£1,283 · £174,519 in

Short-stay let−£2,005 · £174,519 in

72 nearby short-lets within 11.1 km · medium confidence

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) · 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?The five-year sums

−£64,255 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 £174,519 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