Rented normally, it costs you £712 a month. That is £8,545 a year, every year you hold it.

Will it pay?Calculator

The mortgage alone costs more than the whole rent — you top up £712 a month

It is £712 a month short. Borrowing £131,457 less would close that shortfall — which is £131,457 more cash at the start, on top of the deposit.

£1,686 mortgage

£1,512 rent in£712 short

◧ market rent £1,512 · 17 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

£144,625 + refurb costs

And about £42,723 more over five years, because it loses £712 every month you hold it — before any repair. That already assumes the rent never falls.

£144,625 to buy it

deposit · stamp duty · solicitor · fees~£17,079, unseen

□ works not inspected

What would have to be true?The search

No offer makes this pay

Even at £249,000 — well below the £415,000 asked — the rent still does not cover the costs. The gap is the rent against the running costs, not the price, so negotiating does not close it.

◧ worked back from the rent■ stamp duty re-bandedtested down to £249,000

Is the price right?Comparables

Nothing nearby is comparable — it is asking about what it fetched in 2023

The dearest sold for 2.6× the cheapest, so the rent has to justify this price on its own.

you'd pay £415,000

£250,000

£300,000

£304,000

£310,000

£370,000

£374,000

£455,000

£495,000

£500,000

£502,500

£510,000

£640,000

£250k£445k£640k

£250,000 cheapest£640,000 dearest

12 completed sales, same property type, last 3 years

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

What will the rent borrow?Lender test

The rent carries £160,424 of the £311,250 loan

That £150,826 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 £125,158. Lenders test the rent at 7.5% and need it to cover 145% of the payment.

£2,821 needed

more than the £1,454 rent

stressed at 7.5%, 145% cover

◧ rent after empty weeks £1,454PRA-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 1,012 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, M27 5BD

1 of 5 schools 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 · 2 came back clear · 4 we could not check · 1 does not apply to this property

■ from the Article 4 maplisting last seen 15 Sep 2026

Which strategy wins?The ways to run it

Short-stay let beats Rent by the room by £1,127 a month

Your controls are set to Standard rental — £1,147 a month behind Short-stay let.

Short-stay let+£435 · £161,704 in

40 nearby short-lets within 11.1 km · medium confidence

Rent by the room−£692 · £187,704 in

Standard rental−£712 · £161,704 in

Guaranteed council rent−£940 · £161,704 in

Housing-benefit rent−£1,235 · £161,704 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?The five-year sums

−£60,546 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 £161,704 you put in. The 5-year fix runs past this 5-year hold, so the rate reset comes after it.

◧ 2.0%/yr growth assumed