Example deal report
Example holiday-let deal: from headline income to decision record.
This illustrative worked example shows how purchase price, mortgage cost, occupancy, nightly rate, cleaning, management route, furnishing budget and risk factors change the investment case.
Promising first-pass screen, but finance, restrictions, setup costs and comparables still need verification.
Illustrative worked example
Example: how a promising holiday-let deal can change after costs.
This simplified model shows the type of assumptions Holiday Let Investor asks users to challenge. It is not a live listing, valuation, forecast, advice or promise of returns.
Purchase and finance
Income and operating assumptions
What changes the decision
| Illustrative line item | Self-managed scenario | Agent-managed scenario | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gross revenue | £32,200 | £32,200 | Occupancy and nightly rate look attractive before costs. |
| Platform fees | -£4,500 | -£4,500 | OTA and payment costs reduce headline bookings. |
| Cleaning and laundry | -£3,800 | -£3,800 | Turnover cost affects short-stay economics. |
| Utilities, insurance, repairs and software | -£9,100 | -£9,100 | Ongoing expenses need modelling before they become surprises. |
| Management fee | £0 | -£5,800 | Management fees can turn a good-looking deal into a marginal one. |
| Mortgage cost | -£11,900 | -£11,900 | Finance pressure can matter more than a small change in nightly rate. |
| Estimated annual cash flow | £2,900 | -£2,900 | The same property can look different once the operating route changes. |
| Break-even occupancy | 52% | 63% | A higher break-even leaves less room for seasonality or weak demand. |
Risk factors to verify
Comparable booked-rate evidence, not only advertised rates.
Whether agency fees wipe out most of the margin.
Local planning, lease, mortgage, insurance and business-rates position.
True furnishing, launch, maintenance and replacement costs.
Users should adapt every assumption to their own property, finance, location, tax position, operating route and professional advice. Small changes in occupancy, costs, interest rate or setup spend can materially change the outcome.
Worked examples
Three fictional deals, three different pressure points.
These examples are deliberately illustrative. The point is not to predict returns, but to show how purchase price, finance, occupancy, costs and management route interact.
Illustrative case
Cornwall Cottage
A classic coastal cottage with strong peak-week appeal, but a tight margin once agency management, winter occupancy and setup costs are included.
| Cleaning and laundry | £3,800 |
|---|---|
| Utilities and services | £3,200 |
| Insurance | £1,600 |
| Maintenance reserve | £2,900 |
| Self-managed cashflow | £2,900 |
| Agent-managed cashflow | -£2,900 |
| Break-even occupancy | 52% self-managed / 63% managed |
Comparable booked-rate evidence
Winter occupancy
Guest-ready furnishing budget
Lesson: Peak demand can hide how little room remains once the property is professionally managed.
Illustrative case
Lake District Apartment
An attractive apartment with obvious visitor demand, but service charges, lease questions and agency fees make the downside case more fragile.
| Cleaning and laundry | £3,200 |
|---|---|
| Utilities and services | £4,400 |
| Insurance | £1,200 |
| Maintenance reserve | £2,400 |
| Self-managed cashflow | £1,800 |
| Agent-managed cashflow | -£2,700 |
| Break-even occupancy | 51% self-managed / 62% managed |
Lease and short-let restrictions
Service charge pressure
Low-season demand
Lesson: Lower purchase price does not automatically mean a stronger investment case.
Illustrative case
York Holiday House
A city-break house with stronger occupancy assumptions, but parking, guest turnover and local restriction checks need to be resolved before relying on the forecast.
| Cleaning and laundry | £4,600 |
|---|---|
| Utilities and services | £3,900 |
| Insurance | £1,800 |
| Maintenance reserve | £3,400 |
| Self-managed cashflow | £4,200 |
| Agent-managed cashflow | -£2,900 |
| Break-even occupancy | 55% self-managed / 66% managed |
Parking and guest fit
Council and planning checks
High guest turnover
Lesson: A stronger revenue case can still become marginal when the management route changes.
These are fictional, simplified examples. They are not valuations, forecasts, income promises, investment advice, mortgage advice, tax advice or purchase recommendations.
Visual proof, not vague promises
The useful outputs are tables, comparisons and decision records.
Holiday Let Investor is built around the practical artefacts a buyer needs: deal analysis tables, cashflow tables, break-even checks, sensitivity views, workflows and decision trees.
Cashflow table
From gross bookings to owner cashflow.
| Gross bookings | £32,200 |
|---|---|
| Platform fees | -£4,500 |
| Cleaning and laundry | -£3,800 |
| Utilities, insurance and repairs | -£7,700 |
| Mortgage interest | -£11,900 |
| Estimated self-managed cashflow | £4,300 before reserves and tax prompts |
Occupancy sensitivity
Small occupancy changes can change the answer.
| Occupancy | Signal | Decision pressure |
|---|---|---|
| 48% | Weak margin | Renegotiate or reject unless evidence improves. |
| 55% | Borderline | Needs clean costs and strong restriction checks. |
| 62% | Resilient | Still needs management and setup spend review. |
Self-managed vs managed
The same deal can flip.
| Self-managed | More admin, better cashflow if systems work. |
|---|---|
| Agent-managed | Lower workload, weaker net cashflow. |
| Hybrid | Owner keeps pricing and finance review, outsources turnovers. |
| Decision | Model the route you will actually use. |
Screen the listing
Capture purchase price, property fit, location signal and evidence gaps.
Model the costs
Add finance, platform fees, cleaning, utilities, furnishing, repairs and management route.
Stress test the case
Change occupancy, nightly rate, interest cost, setup spend and maintenance reserve.
Decide the next action
Proceed, renegotiate, collect better evidence, seek professional advice or reject.
Proof-style guides and examples
Follow the assumptions that usually decide the deal.
These routes connect the worked example, calculator, deal report, Pro and AI workflow pages so investors can move from one question to the next without losing the assumption trail.
Decision guide
Holiday let setup costs
Budget furniture, launch stock, photography, safety items, maintenance reserve and contingency before setup spend weakens the deal.
Review setup costsDecision guide
Holiday let management fees
Compare self-managed and agent-managed cases so owner workload and agency cost are visible before the margin is trusted.
Compare management feesDecision guide
Forecast vs actual holiday-let performance
After purchase, compare the original deal case with real bookings, costs, occupancy, KPIs, P&L and owner actions.
Review forecast vs actualDecision guide
Why we rejected a holiday-let deal
Use the worked example to see how a promising listing can become weaker once finance, evidence gaps, restrictions and setup costs are visible.
Read rejection exampleDecision guide
Good holiday-let deal vs bad deal
Compare two fictional opportunities and see why the better-looking deal can lose after all costs and restrictions are modelled.
Compare dealsDecision guide
How management fees affect holiday-let profitability
Compare the same deal under self-management and agency management so the cost of reducing owner workload is not hidden.
Compare scenariosDecision guide
Why occupancy assumptions matter more than nightly rates
Use the holiday let profit calculator and break-even occupancy output before relying on a headline nightly rate.
Use calculatorDecision guide
Self-management vs agent management
Review the AI and workflow routes for owners who want to self-manage without turning the property into a second job.
View AI workflowsDecision guide
Holiday-let furnishing budget example
Model guest-ready furniture, launch stock, safety items, photography and replacement reserves before they surprise the offer case.
Open workbook pageDecision guide
Holiday-let break-even occupancy explained
Use break-even occupancy to understand how much room the deal has if rates soften, costs rise or occupancy underperforms.
Check a dealSample output
Example report sections.
Financial snapshot
Risks to verify
Local planning and lease position.
Cleaning, laundry and management quotes.
Comparable booked-rate evidence.
Insurance and mortgage suitability.
Decision record
The paid workbook is where the buyer keeps assumptions, costs, scenarios, sensitivity checks and notes before spending more money on surveys, legal work or offers.
Get the workbookReport views
The report, spreadsheet and Pro keep the same investment story visible.
Deal Checker sample result
Spreadsheet tab preview
KPI dashboard
Monthly P&L
Setup budget tracker
Actual vs forecast tracker
Expense tracker
Income tracker
AI workflow map
Export and accounting support
Trust note
A report makes uncertainty clearer, not hidden.
The best output is not a single attractive profit number. It is a list of assumptions, confidence gaps, sensitivity checks and professional questions to verify before relying on the deal.
Holiday Let Investor provides educational tools and decision-support resources. It does not provide regulated investment, mortgage, tax, legal, planning, valuation or accounting advice. Outputs depend on user assumptions and should support, not replace, your own checks and professional advice. This example is not a live listing, valuation, income forecast or purchase recommendation.