“We’re in Burnley now, a hotspot for investment, with landlords taking home an annual rental yield of 7 per cent.” So opened episode 23 of Homes Under the Hammer, broadcast this week, a BBC show that follows buyers who purchase rundown homes at auction and renovate them, either to flip for a profit, or to rent out. In a testament to Britain’s enduring fascination with property investment, the show is in its 27th series.

Once renovated, the three-bed semi will rent for ￡650 per calendar month, the estate agent says. It sells for ￡78,000 to brothers Charlie and Harry from London (with 20 properties already under their belt), who plan to put it straight out to rent after a four-week renovation that cost less than ￡10,000. Spoiler: they do it in three weeks and achieve an 8 per cent yield.

Sounds easy, right? Anyone with a reasonable chunk of money to invest ought to consider getting into the landlord game. Not so fast, though: the Burnley developers may have done well — but the town is in a sweet spot, where the figures for buy-to-let still add up.