The best investors don’t spend hours analysing one deal.

They quickly decide:

Proceed — or pass.

Here’s how to analyse a buy-to-let property deal in 10 minutes using a structured approach.

Step 1: Start With the Core Numbers

Ignore distractions. Focus on the fundamentals:

• Purchase price
• Estimated refurb cost
• Expected rental income
• Estimated end value

If you can’t confidently estimate those four things, you don’t have a deal — you have a guess.

Step 2: Calculate Rental Yield

Rental yield tells you whether the deal is even worth deeper analysis.

Gross Yield Formula:

Annual Rent ÷ Purchase Price × 100

Example:

£750 per month rent = £9,000 per year
Purchase price = £100,000

Gross yield = 9%

For many UK investors, anything below 6–7% may struggle depending on strategy and location.

Yield is your first filter.

Step 3: Calculate ROI (Return on Investment)

ROI shows how hard your cash is working.

ROI Formula:

Annual Profit ÷ Total Cash Invested × 100

Cash invested includes:

• Deposit
• Refurb
• Fees
• Stamp duty

This is more important than yield for leveraged investors.

Step 4: Stress-Test the Deal

This is where serious investors separate themselves.

Ask:

• What if refurb costs go 10% over?
• What if rent is £50 lower?
• What if valuation comes in £5,000 short?
• What if mortgage rates increase?

If the deal only works in a perfect scenario, it doesn’t work.

Step 5: Check Your Maximum Offer

Before making an offer, confirm:

• Does it meet your ROI target?
• Does it hit your required cash flow?
• Does it leave enough equity buffer?
• Does it fit your strategy?

If not, reduce your offer or walk away.

Discipline builds portfolios. Emotion destroys them.

Why Investors Lose Deals

Most missed opportunities aren’t because investors can’t find properties.

They lose deals because:

• Analysis takes too long
• Numbers are unclear
• Confidence is low
• They second-guess their own calculations

When decisions drag on, opportunities slip away.

The 10-Minute Rule

You should know within 10 minutes whether a deal deserves serious attention.

If it passes:

Analyse deeper.
Arrange viewing.
Prepare your offer.

If it fails:

Move on quickly.

Speed with clarity is the advantage.

Final Thought

Buy-to-let analysis doesn’t need to be complicated. It needs to be structured.

When you remove spreadsheets and manual calculations, you remove hesitation.

Property Assistant was built to automate deal analysis — ROI, yield, comparables and maximum offer calculated in seconds — so you can focus on negotiating and growing your portfolio.

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