Rented normally, it costs you £143 a month. That is £1,710 a year, every year you hold it.

Will it pay?Calculator

You top up £143 a month — the mortgage takes 59p of every pound of rent

Borrowing £26,315 less would close that shortfall — which is £26,315 more cash at the start, on top of the deposit.

+£1,060−£630−£573−£143

Rent inMortgageRunning costsShort by

The rent covers £1,060 of that — you cover £143

□ service charge not published2 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

£52,425 + refurb costs

And about £8,552 more over five years, because it loses £143 every month you hold it — before any repair. That already assumes the rent never falls.

£52,425 to buy it

deposit · stamp duty · solicitor · fees~£11,761, unseen

□ works not inspected

What would have to be true?The working

£35,000 off and it stops losing money

At the asking price you feed it £143 a month. At £119,913 the rent covers everything — leaving stamp duty of £5,996 at that price.

offer £119,913

asked £155,000

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

What will the rent borrow?Lender test

The rent carries £112,467 of the £116,250 loan

That £3,783 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 rent carries the whole loan. Lenders test the rent at 7.5% and need it to cover 145% of the payment.

£1,054 needed

more than the £1,019 rent

stressed at 7.5%, 145% cover

◧ rent after empty weeks £1,019PRA-style test

How big is it, really?The working

One figure, and nothing checking it 645 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

Manchester, M25 9QD

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

You would not own it outright — 80 years left, and buying more years has already got dearer

Nobody has priced those extra years here — you buy them from whoever owns the building.

2 problems found · 2 came back clear · 3 we could not check · 2 do not apply to this property

■ from the listinglisting last seen 18 Sep 2026

Which strategy wins?The ways to run it

Short-stay let beats Guaranteed council rent by £1,307 a month

Your controls are set to Standard rental — £1,366 a month behind Short-stay let.

Short-stay let+£1,223 · £64,186 in

12 nearby short-lets within 5.5 km · medium confidence

Guaranteed council rent−£84 · £64,186 in

Standard rental−£143 · £64,186 in

Housing-benefit rent−£352 · £64,186 in

Each row: money kept a month, then the cash it ties up. Not compared: Rent by the room (only 2 bedrooms) · Do it up, then remortgage (pays back at the remortgage) · Buy, improve & sell (pays out on sale)

◧ 4 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

−£14,617 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 27% in the price would leave nothing from a sale after selling costs, and you would still owe the lender any shortfall. That is the £64,186 you put in. The 5-year fix runs past this 5-year hold, so the rate reset comes after it.

−£64,186+£179,573−£4,489−£116,250−£9,265−£14,617

Cash you put inSale valueSelling costsMortgageRent lossesYou are down

◧ 2.0%/yr growth assumed