Rented normally, it costs you £119 a month. That is £1,432 a year, every year you hold it.

Will it pay?Calculator

You top up £119 a month — the mortgage takes 74p of every pound of rent

Borrowing £22,025 less would close that shortfall — which is £22,025 more cash at the start, on top of the deposit.

+£1,702−£1,259−£562−£119

Rent inMortgageRunning costsShort by

The rent covers £1,702 of that — you cover £119

◧ market rent £1,702 · 27 comps2 empty weeks a year assumed

What if I change my assumptions?The dials

At the asking price, 25% deposit, 6.50% charged

Change any of these 16 and every card on this page changes with it. The 6.50% is the 5.75% quoted plus a company premium.

◧ worked out from local rents

What will it cost me to buy?Breakdown

£106,675 + refurb costs

And about £7,158 more over five years, because it loses £119 every month you hold it — before any repair. That already assumes the rent never falls.

£106,675 to buy it

deposit · stamp duty · solicitor · fees~£15,036, unseen

□ works not inspected

What would have to be true?The working

£25,000 off and it stops losing money

At the asking price you feed it £119 a month. At £280,604 the rent covers everything — leaving stamp duty of £18,060 at that price.

offer £280,604

asked £310,000

◧ worked back from the rent■ stamp duty re-bandedrounded down to £5,000 — the rent it works back from is an estimate

Is the price right?Comparables

We can't tell — nothing nearby is alike enough

The dearest sold for 2.4× the cheapest, so the rent has to justify this price on its own.

you'd pay £310,000

£96,500

£100,000

£102,500

£118,000

£129,500

£132,500

£140,000

£142,000

£148,000

£148,500

£185,000

£227,000

£96.5k£161.8k£227k

£96,500 cheapest£227,000 dearest

12 completed sales, same property type, last 3 years

□ 12 sold nearby, not matched on sizeHM Land Registry Price Paid Data

Can we trust the rent?Rent evidence

Nearby lettings back this rent

They are advertised rents rather than signed tenancies, so a slow month is still possible.

+17 more

our bar: 10 within 500 m

what 10 nearby lettings ask£1,100–£2,025/mo

our own middle half£1,558–£1,859/mo

■ 27 lettings within 500 mAdvertised rents, not signed tenancies

What will the rent borrow?Lender test

The rent carries £180,584 of the £232,500 loan

That £51,916 is yours to find on top of the deposit. Tested at 125% instead of 145% — a company or a basic-rate taxpayer usually is — the gap is £23,023. Lenders test the rent at 7.5% and need it to cover 145% of the payment.

£2,107 needed

more than the £1,637 rent

stressed at 7.5%, 145% cover

◧ rent after empty weeks £1,637PRA-style test

Who has to say yes?Council record

Salford council approves 72% — 67% on a cautious reading

A council-wide rate, not a forecast — and Salford council refuses schemes that sandwich a family home. Check both neighbours.

72%

0%50%100%

never approvesalways approves

the band is the cautious reading of the same 285 decisions — as low as 67%

■ Article 4 — planning permission requireddecision record held for this authority

How big is it, really?The plan

One figure, and nothing checking it 871 sq ft

Only the agent’s figure exists for this house. Open for what that means.

□ area unchecked — agent’s own

Is it a good location?Open the map

Salford, M50 2HA

1 of 1 school in this postcode area rated Good or Outstanding and flood risk checking… — open for the map, the schools and the rest.

Article 4Planning permission required to let by the room

■ postcode area, not this address

What could kill thisThe checks

The council here has taken away the automatic right to rent this out by the room

You would have to apply for permission first, and the council can say no.

2 problems found · 4 came back clear · 3 we could not check

■ from the Article 4 maplisting last seen 16 Sep 2026

Which strategy wins?The ways to run it

Short-stay let beats Standard rental by £829 a month

Let it to the council: £4,596 a year less, but they keep paying when it is empty.

Short-stay let+£710 · £121,711 in

40 nearby short-lets within 5.5 km · medium confidence

Standard rental−£119 · £121,711 in

Rent by the room−£215 · £147,711 in

Guaranteed council rent−£502 · £121,711 in

Housing-benefit rent−£796 · £121,711 in

Each row: money kept a month, then the cash it ties up. Not compared: Do it up, then remortgage (pays back at the remortgage) · Buy, improve & sell (pays out on sale)

◧ 5 ways, one measureranked on money kept each month, at the asking price

What would you walk away with, after 5 years?The five-year sums

−£17,736 after five years on the cash you put in, before tax on the sale

Less than the same cash would have made in a savings account, after tax on the interest. The savings account’s capital is not at risk; the property’s is. A fall of about 25% in the price would leave nothing from a sale after selling costs, and you would still owe the lender any shortfall. That is the £121,711 you put in. The 5-year fix runs past this 5-year hold, so the rate reset comes after it.

−£121,711+£353,056−£8,826−£232,500−£7,754−£17,736

Cash you put inSale valueSelling costsMortgageRent lossesYou are down

◧ 2.0%/yr growth assumed