Rented normally, it costs you £349 a month. That is £4,192 a year, every year you hold it.

Will it pay?Calculator

You top up £349 a month — the mortgage takes 81p of every pound of rent

Borrowing £64,499 less would close that shortfall — which is £64,499 more cash at the start, on top of the deposit.

+£1,250−£1,016−£584−£349

Rent inMortgageRunning costsShort by

The rent covers £1,250 of that — you cover £349

□ 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

Try your own numbersLive

You keep-£349/mo

All-in cash£102,405

PaybackNever

Offer−+

Deposit−+

Mortgage rate−+

Rent−+

Worked at 6.50% — 5.75% quoted plus a company premium.

◧ worked out from local rents

What will it cost me to buy?Breakdown

£84,775 + refurb costs

And about £20,962 more over five years, because it loses £349 every month you hold it — before any repair. That already assumes the rent never falls.

£84,775 to buy it

deposit · stamp duty · solicitor · fees~£17,630, unseen

□ works not inspected

What would have to be true?The working

£85,000 off and it stops losing money

At the asking price you feed it £349 a month. At £163,989 the rent covers everything — leaving stamp duty of £8,979 at that price.

offer £163,989

asked £250,000

◧ 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?The deeds

Last sold for £27,000 in 2000

Nothing nearby is comparable, but asking is 826% more than the £27,000 paid for it in 2000.

□ this address’s own deeds, no comparable saleHM Land Registry Price Paid Data

What will the rent borrow?Lender test

The rent carries £132,626 of the £187,500 loan

That £54,874 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 £33,654. Lenders test the rent at 7.5% and need it to cover 145% of the payment.

£1,699 needed

more than the £1,202 rent

stressed at 7.5%, 145% cover

◧ rent after empty weeks £1,202PRA-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

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

Eccles, M30 0LY

2 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

You would need a licence from the council first

Letting without the council’s licence is an offence, and the fee is in no figure here.

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

■ from council licensing registerlisting last seen 18 Sep 2026

Which strategy wins?The ways to run it

Short-stay let beats Rent by the room by £36 a month

Your controls are set to Standard rental — £407 a month behind Short-stay let.

Short-stay let+£58 · £102,405 in

31 nearby short-lets within 11.1 km · low confidence

Rent by the room+£22 · £128,405 in

Standard rental−£349 · £102,405 in

Guaranteed council rent−£366 · £102,405 in

Housing-benefit rent−£655 · £102,405 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

−£31,157 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 26% in the price would leave nothing from a sale after selling costs, and you would still owe the lender any shortfall. That is the £102,405 you put in. The 5-year fix runs past this 5-year hold, so the rate reset comes after it.

−£102,405+£288,672−£7,217−£187,500−£22,708−£31,157

Cash you put inSale valueSelling costsMortgageRent lossesYou are down

◧ 2.0%/yr growth assumed