Cash needed to buy

Holiday Let Purchase Cost Calculator

Build the cash needed to buy and launch a holiday let: deposit, transaction tax, fees, furnishing, repairs and contingency. This is not a generic stamp-duty toy.

PurchasePurchase price (£)Country / jurisdictionAdditional-property purchaseDeposit (%)Property tax methodProperty tax amount if entered manually (£)Required for Wales (LTT) and Scotland (LBTT). Official calculators: WRA and Revenue Scotland.

Fees and setupMortgage arrangement fee (£)Legal fees (£)Survey (£)Valuation (£)Broker fee (£)Furnishing (£)Refurbishment (£)Safety / compliance setup (£)Initial maintenance / repairs (£)Insurance upfront (£)Utility setup (£)Contingency (% of purchase price)Other purchase costs (£)Optional monthly operating reserve (£)

How it works

Cash required is deposit plus tax, fees, setup, repairs and contingency. That is the owner cash to complete and launch, not the purchase price alone. Acquisition cost adds the financed portion of the price back in.

What the inputs mean

England and Northern Ireland can use Holiday Let Investor’s SDLT configuration effective from 1 April 2025. Wales and Scotland must use a typed LTT or LBTT figure from the current official calculator or a solicitor. Additional-property status changes the England/NI estimate.

How to interpret the result

If cash required is a high percentage of purchase price, the return has to work harder. Model that cash in the main calculator before treating the asking price as the only number that matters.

Worked example

A £250,000 additional property in England with a 25% deposit, estimated SDLT, typical fees, £15,000 furnishing and 3% contingency can need more than £110,000 in owner cash before the first guest arrives.

Limitations

SDLT bands can change. Reliefs, first-time buyer treatment, corporate rules and non-resident surcharges need a solicitor or the official calculator. This page is not tax advice and does not calculate Welsh LTT or Scottish LBTT.

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FAQs

Common questions

Why can I not get an automatic Welsh or Scottish tax figure?

HLI only maintains an England and Northern Ireland SDLT configuration. Enter LTT or LBTT from the current official calculator so the page does not invent a tax bill.

Is the SDLT figure advice?

No. It is an educational estimate from the published residential bands used by the HLI calculator, labelled with the configuration date.

Educational modelling only.

These tools model the assumptions you enter. They are not a valuation, mortgage offer, tax calculation for your circumstances, or a recommendation to buy. Holiday Let Investor does not provide regulated mortgage advice.