A spreadsheet property deal analyser is only as good as the numbers you type into it. The slow part of property deal analysis is collecting those numbers: the last sale price, what similar homes sold for, achievable rent, the EPC, planning history and ground risk. Done by hand across portals, the EPC register and council planning sites, that can take an evening per property.
An AI assistant connected to a property data source through the Model Context Protocol (MCP) can fetch each of those facts in a single prompt. You still make the decision. The assistant does the fetching, and you check what it brings back.
This walkthrough is for property investors screening buy-to-let deals in England. What do you ask, what comes back, and what still needs a human?
What does a buy to let deal analyser need to check?
Seven things, in roughly this order. Each one can kill a deal, so the order puts the cheapest disqualifiers first.
| CHECK | WHAT YOU ARE LOOKING FOR | WHY IT MATTERS |
|---|---|---|
| Identity | UPRN, tenure, title numbers, property type | Confirms you are analysing the right home and whether it is leasehold |
| Sale and listing history | Past sale prices, listing dates, reductions, withdrawals | Shows how the vendor's price compares with what they paid and how the listing has behaved |
| Valuation and comparables | Automated valuation and sold comparables | Tests the asking price against recorded sales |
| Rent and yield | Rental comparables and let-agreed evidence | Sets income and the mortgage you can raise |
| EPC | Current rating and fabric | Minimum standards for letting are rising |
| Planning | Applications and constraints | Nearby schemes, conservation areas, flood constraints |
| Ground risk | Coal and non-coal mining areas | Can affect mortgageability and insurance |
How do you set up an AI property deal analyser?
Connect an AI assistant to a property data MCP server. Propalt's MCP server works in Claude and ChatGPT. Once connected, the assistant chooses the right data call for each question.
Two habits make the output usable. Ask the assistant to state the source and date of every figure, and ask it to say "not found" rather than estimate. If a figure has no source, treat it as missing.
Step 1: Can the assistant identify the exact property?
Start here, because every later step depends on it.
"Find [address, postcode]. Give me the Propalt property ID, UPRN, tenure, title numbers, property type, current EPC rating and Propalt AVM."
The assistant resolves the address, then returns the property record: UPRN, address text, tenure, title number list, property type, current energy rating and Propalt's AVM. If more than one match comes back, pick the right one before going further. Our guide to the UPRN explains why the identifier matters when you join datasets.
If the tenure is leasehold, ask for the lease details too. Lease length changes both value and lending.
Step 2: What do the sale and listing history show?
"Show the full sale and listing history for this property, with dates and prices for each event."
This returns past HM Land Registry sale prices alongside portal listing events, such as first listed date, price reductions, sales agreed and withdrawals. Two questions to ask of it: how much has the vendor's price moved, and has this home been listed before without selling?
Withdrawals are common. In Q3 2026, 80,077 homes left Rightmove and Zoopla without a sale agreed, a withdrawal rate of 30.6%, according to Propalt's national figures. A home that has been withdrawn and relisted may have a vendor ready to negotiate.
Step 3: Is the asking price supported by sold comparables?
"Give me 10 sold comparables for this property: same type and bedrooms, nearest first, with sale price, sale date, floor area and price per square metre."
The comparables call returns similar homes with their HMLR sale price and date, floor area, price per square metre, distance and a similarity score. Read the dates: a comparable from 2020 says little about 2026. Discard anything with a very different floor area.
Propalt's AVM is an automated valuation built by Propalt. It is not a surveyor's valuation or a lender's down-valuation risk check, so use it as one data point next to the comparables.
An AI deal analyser gives you the evidence in minutes. It does not give you a valuation a lender will rely on.
Step 4: What rent can it achieve, and what is the yield?
"Give me letting comparables for this property, then a rental valuation. List homes let agreed in this outcode in the last six months with the same bedrooms."
This returns rental comparables, a rental estimate, and listings in the area that have recently let. Let-agreed evidence is stronger than asking rents because it shows what tenants accepted.
Gross yield is annual rent divided by purchase price. As an illustration, £1,150 a month on a £250,000 purchase is £13,800 a year, a gross yield of 5.5%. Net yield deducts letting fees, insurance, repairs and voids, which the data cannot know for you.
To see where gross yields are highest before you shortlist an area, our guide to the best rental yields in the UK compares yields by area.
Step 5: Does the EPC create a cost?
"What is the current EPC rating and the building fabric for this property? List the walls, roof, windows and heating."
The EPC fabric call returns the rating and recorded fabric details. As of October 2026, privately rented homes in England must meet EPC E. In January 2026 the government confirmed a minimum of EPC C for all private tenancies from 1 October 2030, with a cost cap of £10,000 per property, and intends to legislate in 2027. A D-rated home bought today may need work before 2030, so price it in.
Step 6: What do planning and ground risk add?
"List planning applications on this property and within its postcode for the last five years. Then list planning constraints, and check whether the location falls in a coal mining or other mining area."
The planning call returns applications linked to the property or postcode. The constraints call returns designations such as conservation areas, heritage, flood and protected areas. The mining calls check the coordinates against coal and non-coal mining areas.
Treat a positive result as a reason to buy a proper report. GOV.UK's coal mining search is free, and a residential coal mining report (CON29M) from the Mining Remediation Authority costs £50 including VAT if you draw the boundary yourself, or £60 if the Authority draws it. Check flood risk on the Environment Agency's long term flood risk service as well. For HMOs, add Article 4 directions to the list, as covered in our piece on underwriting in an Article 4 area.
Our guide to coal, mining, flood and ground risk checks explains what each result means for a purchase and when it is worth paying for a full report.
How do you run the numbers on stamp duty and the mortgage?
Ask the assistant to show its working, then check the arithmetic yourself.
Stamp duty. These are the residential SDLT rates in England as of October 2026, in place since 1 April 2025. Buying an additional home adds a 5% surcharge to every band, a rate that rose from 3% for purchases on or after 31 October 2024. Companies buying residential property usually pay the higher rates too, and a 17% single rate can apply above £500,000. Non-UK residents pay a further 2%.
| PRICE BAND | STANDARD RATE | ADDITIONAL HOME |
|---|---|---|
| Up to £125,000 | 0% | 5% |
| £125,001 to £250,000 | 2% | 7% |
| £250,001 to £925,000 | 5% | 10% |
| £925,001 to £1.5 million | 10% | 15% |
| Above £1.5 million | 12% | 17% |
On a £250,000 buy-to-let: 5% of £125,000 (£6,250) plus 7% of £125,000 (£8,750) gives £15,000.
Mortgage stress test. Lenders follow the Prudential Regulation Authority's supervisory statement SS13/16. It refers to an industry minimum interest coverage ratio (ICR) of 125%, meaning rent of at least 125% of the stressed interest. It expects lenders to allow for a rise of at least 2 percentage points in rates and to assume a borrower rate of no less than 5.5% over the first five years. For fixes of five years or more, lenders need not apply that five-year forward look, but they still consider refinancing risk when the fix ends.
For a £187,500 interest-only loan (75% of £250,000), interest at 5.5% is £10,312.50 a year. At 125% cover, the rent needs to be at least £12,891 a year, about £1,074 a month. The illustrative £1,150 a month passes. Lenders can set a higher ratio than 125%, so check the one your lender uses.
"Calculate SDLT on a £250,000 additional residential purchase in England, then test a £187,500 interest-only loan at 5.5% against £1,150 a month rent at 125% and 145% cover. Show each step."
What can an AI deal analyser not tell you?
The condition of the building, what the lease says in full, whether the title has defects, and what the street feels like on a Friday night. Those still need a survey, a solicitor and a visit. Data also lags: HMLR sale prices take time to register, so the latest sales may not appear yet.
Used well, the assistant turns ten minutes of prompts into a screened deal with sources. The ones that pass go to a surveyor. For how lenders and brokers use the same data, see AI property data for brokers and lenders.
📌 KEY TAKEAWAY
Property deal analysis has seven checks: identity, sale and listing history, comparables, rent, EPC, planning and ground risk. An AI assistant connected to an MCP server can fetch each in one prompt, but it does not replace the survey, the solicitor or your own arithmetic. Run the numbers with the 5% additional-home SDLT surcharge and a stress test at 5.5% and 125% cover, and confirm both against current rules before you offer. Propalt's MCP server connects Claude or ChatGPT to sale history, comparables, rental evidence, EPC, planning and mining data for UK properties.
SOURCES & DATA REFERENCES
- HM Revenue & Customs (accessed October 2026). 'Stamp Duty Land Tax: residential property rates.' Current bands, 5% higher rates, 2% non-resident surcharge. gov.uk/stamp-duty-land-tax/residential-property-rates
- HM Revenue & Customs (30 October 2024). 'Stamp Duty Land Tax: Increase to the higher rates of Stamp Duty Land Tax and to the single rate payable by non-natural persons.' Surcharge from 3% to 5% from 31 October 2024, including company purchases. gov.uk/government/publications/stamp-duty-land-tax-increase-to-the-higher-rates-of-stamp-duty-land-tax-and-to-the-single-rate-payable-by-non-natural-persons
- HM Revenue & Customs (2024). 'Stamp Duty Land Tax rates: 31 October 2024 to 31 March 2025.' Temporary thresholds ended 31 March 2025; current bands from 1 April 2025. gov.uk/government/publications/rates-and-allowances-stamp-duty-land-tax
- HM Revenue & Customs (28 October 2026). 'Budget 2026: Overview of tax legislation and rates (OOTLAR), Annex A: rates and allowances.' Residential SDLT rates and thresholds, and the higher rates for additional dwellings, as in place from 1 April 2025. gov.uk/government/publications/budget-2026-overview-of-tax-legislation-and-rates-ootlar/annex-a-rates-and-allowances
- Prudential Regulation Authority (January 2026 update, effective 1 January 2027). 'SS13/16 Underwriting standards for buy-to-let mortgage contracts.' ICR industry minimum 125%, 5.5% minimum rate, 2 percentage point increase, five-year fixes. bankofengland.co.uk/prudential-regulation/publication/2016/underwriting-standards-for-buy-to-let-mortgage-contracts-ss
- Pinsent Masons Out-Law (26 January 2026). 'EPC reforms for private rented property confirmed.' EPC C for all tenancies from 1 October 2030, £10,000 cap, legislation intended 2027, EPC E until then. pinsentmasons.com/en-gb/out-law/news/epc-reforms-mees-private-rented-property-confirmed
- GOV.UK (accessed October 2026). 'Find out if a property is affected by coal mining.' Free search. gov.uk/check-if-property-is-affected-by-coal-mining
- Mining Remediation Authority (checked 27 October 2026; page updated 27 February 2026). '2026 mining reports prices.' Residential CON29M on the coalfield £50 including VAT with a customer-drawn boundary, £60 with an Authority-drawn boundary. miningremediation.co.uk/2026-mining-reports-prices/
- Environment Agency (accessed October 2026). 'Check the long term flood risk for an area in England.' gov.uk/check-long-term-flood-risk
- Propalt (October 2026). Quarterly market data, Q3 2026, national: 80,077 homes left Rightmove and Zoopla without a sale agreed (30.6%). api.propalt.io
Contains HM Land Registry data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. This data is licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
