Rented normally, it costs you £867 a month. That is £10,399 a year, every year you hold it.

Will it pay?Calculator

The mortgage alone costs more than the whole rent — you top up £867 a month

It is £867 a month short. Borrowing £159,984 less would close that shortfall — which is £159,984 more cash at the start, on top of the deposit.

£2,641 mortgage

£2,468 rent in£867 short

◧ market rent £2,468 · 6 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

£231,150 + refurb costs

And about £51,995 more over five years, because it loses £867 every month you hold it — before any repair. That already assumes the rent never falls.

£231,150 to buy it

deposit · stamp duty · solicitor · fees~£31,717, unseen

□ works not inspected

What would have to be true?The working

£210,000 off and it stops losing money

At the asking price you feed it £867 a month. At £436,655 the rent covers everything — leaving stamp duty of £33,666 at that price.

offer £436,655

asked £650,000

◧ 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 £261,857 of the £487,500 loan

That £225,643 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 £183,746. Lenders test the rent at 7.5% and need it to cover 145% of the payment.

£4,418 needed

more than the £2,373 rent

stressed at 7.5%, 145% cover

◧ rent after empty weeks £2,373PRA-style test

How big is it, really?The plan

One figure, and nothing checking it 1,475 sq ft

Only the agent’s figure exists for this house. Open for what that means.

□ area unchecked — agent’s own

Is it a good location?Open the map

Harrow, HA2 6AW

No schools in this postcode area 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 · 4 we could not check · 1 does not apply to this property

■ from council licensing registerlisting last seen 15 Sep 2026

Which strategy wins?The ways to run it

Every way loses money — Standard rental loses least, at £867 a month

Let it to the council: £2,496 a year less, but they keep paying when it is empty.

Standard rental−£867 · £262,867 in

Guaranteed council rent−£1,075 · £262,867 in

Housing-benefit rent−£1,299 · £262,867 in

Rent by the room−£1,814 · £262,867 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?The five-year sums

−£84,787 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 £262,867 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