Rented normally, it costs you £569 a month. That is £6,823 a year, every year you hold it.

Will it pay?Calculator

You top up £569 a month — the mortgage takes 95p of every pound of rent

Borrowing £104,972 less would close that shortfall — which is £104,972 more cash at the start, on top of the deposit.

£1,381 mortgage

£1,448 rent in£569 short

£175 of that is a guess — no service charge published.

□ 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

£117,625 + refurb costs

And about £34,116 more over five years, because it loses £569 every month you hold it — before any repair. That already assumes the rent never falls.

£117,625 to buy it

deposit · stamp duty · solicitor · fees~£1,575, unseen

□ works not inspected

What would have to be true?The search

No offer makes this pay

Even at £204,000 — well below the £340,000 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 £204,000

Is the price right?Comparables

We can't tell — nothing nearby is alike enough

The dearest sold for 18.0× the cheapest, so the rent has to justify this price on its own.

you'd pay £340,000

£40,000

£150,000

£229,000

£233,000

£260,000

£280,000

£283,000

£300,000

£333,000

£355,000

£410,000

£720,000

£40k£380k£720k

£40,000 cheapest£720,000 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 £153,634 of the £255,000 loan

That £101,366 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 £76,785. Lenders test the rent at 7.5% and need it to cover 145% of the payment.

£2,311 needed

more than the £1,392 rent

stressed at 7.5%, 145% cover

◧ rent after empty weeks £1,392PRA-style test

Who has to say yes?Council record

Trafford council approves 71% — 51% on a cautious reading

A council-wide rate across 24 HMO decisions, not a forecast for this address.

71%

0%50%100%

never approvesalways approves

the band is the cautious reading of the same 24 decisions — as low as 51%

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

How big is it, really?The plan

The rooms are on the plan; the total is not

The plan is on file; the floor area is not.

□ no floor area published

Is it a good location?Open the map

Manchester, M16 7QR

1 of 2 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 · 1 came back clear · 6 we could not check

■ from the Article 4 maplisting last seen 16 Sep 2026

Which strategy wins?The ways to run it

Every way loses money — Short-stay let loses least, at £130 a month

Your controls are set to Standard rental — £439 a month behind Short-stay let.

Short-stay let−£130 · £119,200 in

92 nearby short-lets within 5.5 km · low confidence

Rent by the room−£292 · £145,200 in

Standard rental−£569 · £119,200 in

Guaranteed council rent−£767 · £119,200 in

Housing-benefit rent−£1,036 · £119,200 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

−£44,052 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 23% in the price would leave nothing from a sale after selling costs, and you would still owe the lender any shortfall. That is the £119,200 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